The House Theatre of Chicago is a non-profit, ensemble theatre company in Chicago, IL. The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends from the British American Drama Academy

British American Drama Academy

The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in the United Kingdom.Background=The British American Drama Academy was founded in 1983 to enable students from around the world to study classical theatre with leading actors and directors of the British theatre...

 and Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

 with the mission of exploring the ideas of Community and Storytelling in order to create a unique theatrical experience for audience members. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has been nominated for more than 40 Joseph Jefferson Awards. In 2007, The House became the first recipient of Broadway in Chicago's Emerging Theater Award. Performances currently take place at the Chopin Theatre

Chopin Theatre

Chopin Theatre is an American for-profit cultural organization located along Polonia Triangle in Wicker Park within the West Town community area of Chicago...

 in Wicker Park.

History

The House staged its first show, Death and Harry Houdini at the Live Bait Theatre in the Fall of 2001. Artistic Director Nathan Allen wrote and directed the show which starred company member Dennis Watkins in the title role.

The team followed with the critically acclaimed hit, The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan. Allen directed the production, written by company member Phillip C. Klapperich. The show was extended twice, running for five months.

The genre-bending Valentine Trilogy spanned three seasons and established the House’s dedication to exploring the ideas of Community and Heroes through Storytelling and the use of music. The trilogy began with the critically acclaimed opening chapter of the Valentine Trilogy, San Valentino and the Melancholy Kid in winter 2004. Playwright and Songwriter Allen crafted an epic rock n’ roll drama about a small band of cowboys who hit the open range with more than cattle herding on their minds. A year later the company transported the story to feudal Japan for the samurai sequel, Curse of the Crying Heart. In 2006 the company mounted the concluding chapter, Valentine Victorious, which found reluctant hero Elliot Dodge taking on the corrupt streets of 1930s Chicago while battling his own demons.

The House found critical success again in 2006 with The Sparrow. Chicago Tribune Theatre Critic called it "a fresh, guileless, quirky and entirely lovable celebration of high school memories and small-town goodness, told in the accessible, youthful spirit of the iconic comic book." Following a sold-out run at the Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...

 Merle Reskin Garage Theater, the House remounted the show the following season at the Apollo Theatre

Apollo Theatre

The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...

.

The House Creative Team collaborated with the American Music Theatre Project and students at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 to develop the new musical Girls vs. Boys. The show premiered at the House in April 2010.

Current Season

(starting in September 2010)

• Thieves Like Us

• Star Witness

• The Nutcracker

• Odradek

Past Seasons

• Season Seven
  • All the Fame of Lofty Deeds
  • Wilson Wants It All
  • Girls vs. Boys
  • The Sparrow (Limited Engagement at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
    Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
    Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called The Arsht Center, is Florida's largest performing arts center and is located on Biscayne Boulevard in the Omni neighborhood of Downtown, Miami, Florida, United States...
    
     April 7-May 1, 2011)

• Season Six
  • Dave Davinci Saves the Universe
  • Rose and the Rime

• Season Five
  • The Magnificents
  • The Nutcracker
  • The Attempters
  • The Sparrow Returns
  • The Secret Order of The Magic Pearl

• Season Four
  • Hope Springs Infernal
  • The Sparrow
  • Hatfield & McCoy
  • Pop Theatre At The Old Town School

• Season Three
  • The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz
  • Valentine Victorious
  • The Boy Detective Fails

• Season Two
  • Cave With Man
  • Curse of the Crying Heart
  • Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe

• Season One
  • Death & Harry Houdini '03
  • San Valentino and the Melancholy Kid
  • The Rocket Man

• Season Zero
  • Death & Harry Houdini '01
  • The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan

• Other Productions
  • Ellen Under Glass
  • A Midsommer Night's Dreame
  • Alice
  • The Care Bears Movie
    The Care Bears Movie
    The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 Canadian animated film, the second feature production from the Toronto animation studio Nelvana. One of the first films based directly on a toy line, it introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. In the film, orphanage owners...
    
    : Live in Concert
  • Newsies: Live in Concert
  • Tremors: Edited for TV
  • Nice Guys Finish Last: Collaboraction's Fable Party
  • Defy Gravity: Museum of Science and Industry
  • Millennium Park Audio Installation
  • Beginners Guide to Camping
  • San Valentino and the Melancholy Kid: Theatre on The Lake
  • Curse of the Crying Heart: Theatre on The Lake
  • The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz: Northlight Theatre
  • Hero, Dragon, Pearl: The First Annual Gathering of The Secret Order of The Magic Pearl