American Theater Company is closing its doors

SHARE American Theater Company is closing its doors
atc_exterior2.jpg

American Theater Company | Provide Photo

Chicago’s American Theater Company, which was responsible for revisiting the original production of “Grease,” and staging the world premieres of Stephen Karam’s Tony Award-winning “The Humans” and Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Disgraced,” today announced it is ceasing operations after 33 years. Its final production turned out to “We’re Gonna Be Okay,” which closed on March 4.

In a written statement from ATC’s board of directors, it was made clear that loss of revenue over the past few years, following the tragic death of artistic director PJ Paparelli in a car accident in Scotland in 2015, made it impossible for operations to continue:

Despite the innovative, engaging and inclusive approach to ATC that current artistic director Will Davis brought to our theater, which continued to garner a positive reception for our productions and educational programs, the theater has suffered from a reduction in earned revenue. This challenge was particularly acute this year, when despite the enormous success of works that originated at ATC – such as Tony Award winner The Humans and Pulitzer Prize winner Disgraced – our current productions have not been able to reach the audience they deserve. In the theater-rich Chicago community, it is increasingly difficult for a small non-profit organization like ours to thrive.

The theater, which has been located at 1909 W. Byron for 25 years, had been under the artistic leadership of Will Davis. Davis explained his vision, in part, for ATC, in an interview with the Chicago Reader in 2016, saying he wanted to transform the company, to make it a “home for formally experimental work.”

Will Davis | Provided Photo

Will Davis | Provided Photo

This is the second Chicago theater company to shut down this week. On Thursday, Quest Theatre Ensemble announced it was closing after 16 years.

“I’m very sad to hear about the closing of both these theaters,” said League of Chicago Theatres executive director Deb Clapp. “I do think they shut down for very different reasons and it’s really a coincidence that the announcements of their closings came within a day of each other. I think there has been a downturn in ticket sales and donations across the board for theaters in Chicago, large and small, and that’s especially difficult for small theaters that are vulnerable. And I think both theaters were vulnerable in recent years for very different reasons.

“Chicago has more than 200 theater companies and from time to time, for financial reasons, for artistic reasons or for personal reasons, companies do decide to close. We do not expect to see a rash of theater companies closing.”

The Latest
Christian I. Soto, 22, was charged with murder, attempted murder and home invasion, officials announced Thursday. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said earlier investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks.
Can a message generated by an algorithm ever match hearing from a human?
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.
Despite the addition of some new characters (human and otherwise) the film comes across as a relatively uninspired and fairly forgettable chapter in the Monsterverse saga.
Unite Here Local 1, representing the workers at the Signature Room and its lounge, said in a lawsuit in October the employer failed to give 60 days notice of a closing or mass layoff, violating state law.