Goodman Theatre

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Goodman Theatre (Chicago). Founded in 1925 with a memorial gift from the family of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, who had been active in little theatre movements and had written some plays before being killed in World War I, the 683‐seat theatre was designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw and built alongside the Art Institute of Chicago on Lake Shore Drive, where city ordinances relating to height forced it to be placed underground. The house opened in 1925 with the first American performance of Galsworthy's The Forest, and its resident company continued to mount original plays and classics until it was forced to disband temporarily in 1930 because of the Depression. It served as a drama school before it was reactivated in 1969. Under the direction of Gregory Mosher and then Robert Falls, the company became nationally known for premiering such works as Glengarry Glen Ross and Hurlyburly and presenting sterling revivals, some of which transferred to Broadway with success, such as the 1999 mounting of Death of a Salesman. It has continued to mount a responsible repertory in both the original auditorium and its smaller, more experimental Stage 2. The school was dissociated from the organization in 1978 and was moved to DePaul University, and today the Goodman operates independently from the Art Institute. Most recently it has become a favorite tryout theatre for New York–bound productions, such as Hollywood Arms (2002) and Bounce (2003). In 1992 the Goodman won the regional theatre Tony Award.

Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Ill., opened in 1925. After the Cleveland Play House this is the oldest regional theatre in the United States, donated to the Art Institute of Chicago by the parents of the playwright Kenneth Sawyer Goodman in memory of their son. Seating 683, it was intended to combine a school of acting with a resident professional acting company; but the Depression forced the company to close, though the school continued to flourish. In the 1950s a subscription series of plays was introduced during which professional guest artists performed with students. In the 1960s it once again housed a fully professional company, the student productions being moved to the adjacent Goodman Theatre Studio, seating 135, until in 1977 the theatre was incorporated as the Chicago Theatre Group Inc. and the school ceased to be connected with it. The Mainstage theatre now offers six productions a year, classic revivals and works by new authors, while the studio theatre houses smaller productions. David Mamet was for a time playwright in residence.