Founded in 1955 as an amateur outdoor summer theater at the University of Chicago, Court Theatre has since become nationally renowned for translating and adapting classic texts for contemporary audiences.
Court Theatre was one of four local institutions—along with the Goodman Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre and The Second City—to recently earn a special honor from the Jeff Awards for their long and lasting contributions to Chicago theater.
“I am thrilled that Court Theatre is one of four Chicago institutions recognized for our decades-long commitment to producing theater for the city and its audiences,” said Angel Ysaguirre, executive director of Court Theatre. “We look forward to continuing that dedication in the coming decades, as we deepen and broaden our relationships on Chicago’s South Side and beyond.”
Established as a professional company in 1975 under the late D. Nicholas Rudall, professor in classics at UChicago, Court now serves 50,000 patrons and 4,000 high school students each season through its main stage productions and its community partner and education initiatives.
Charles Newell, Court Theatre’s Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, credited Rudall in accepting the award on Oct. 22: “Court Theatre is the house that Nick built, the professional theatre at the University of Chicago, an authentic partner in our South Side community and a place where we celebrate the power of classic theatre in ways that continue to push the field further and further.”
—Prof. Chuan He
