Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier - the Bard in Illinois

Have you lamented that there is no trip to England in your future, and therefore, no opportunity to see an excellent Shakespeare production? Your worries may be over. I recently attended a performance of Romeo and Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. It was excellent!

My daughter's fifth grade class attended this performance. I was a little skeptical, as 1) I had never heard of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and 2) how great could the performance be if it were deemed okay for fifth graders?

I was pleasantly surprised. The theater is easy to find, near the center of the large strip of buildings that run along the Navy Pier. The Pier's food courts ensure ample availability of food, and parking in the Pier's garages is discounted 40% with your CST ticket.

Outside the theater, there is an expansive lobby with plenty of room to visit or wander. A bookstore and even an "English pub" are all available.

The stage is exceptional. It is inspired by the Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theatre, and is a "thrust stage" with the audience seated on three sides of the stage. This created an intimate theater setting and we really felt a part of the production. The theater seats 500, on three levels: main floor, dress circle, and gallery. We were originally seated in the dress circle, but realized we were in the wrong seats and then moved up to the top floor, the gallery. I would recommend sitting in the dress circle as it had the best view. We were encouraged to lean over the railings to watch the production, like the audience would have done in Shakespeare's day.

The performance we attended was an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet, created especially for school groups. I was disappointed with this at first, but not after seeing the production. All the essential plot elements were there in the 75-minute program, and the script was taken straight from the original. I was shocked when the actors told us that the original performance would have run over 4 hours! While productions for younger audiences are always available, full-length productions are too. There are even non-Shakespeare plays performed here.

Actors answer audience questions after a performance.

Credit: Susan Braun

Copyright: Susan Braun