Arie Crown Theater

The Arie Crown Theater was named after Lithuanian immigrant Arie Crown who was the father of Henry Crown the american industrialist and philanthropist. The theater is situated on Lake Shore Drive Chicago. It opened in 1960 with seating for 5000 people, one of the largest seating capacities in Chicago. The theatre was damaged by fire in 1967 and was closed until 1971. After re-opening a year later for Mahalia Jackson's funeral, the Arie Crown Theater has had nearly four decades presenting classical and rock music, also musicals. In more recent years, the acoustics have been improved by changing the proportions of the auditorium and staging area and this has reduced the seating capacity to 4250 people. Since 2000 the theatre has continued to present lavish productions and high profile concerts. The Arie Crown Theater is part of the McCormick Place convention facility, owned by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.

Appearances at The Arie Crown Theater

Performers

• Mikhail Baryshnikov
• Mary J. Blige
• Elvis Costello
• Crosby Stills & Nash
• Sheryl Crow
• Beck, Bogert & Appice
• The Beach Boys
• Tony Bennett
• Bobby Tench with BBA
• The Bolshoi Ballet
• The Boston Pops
• Jimmy Buffett
• George Carlin
• Ray Charles
• Chicago
• Natalie Cole
• David Copperfield
• Bill Cosby
• D'Angelo
• George Dalaras
• Sammy Davis Jr.
• Earth, Wind & Fire
• Aretha Franklin
• Judy Garland
• Whitney Houston
• Jennifer Hudson
• Elton John
• Tom Jones
• Meat Loaf
• Luis Miguel
• The Ruth Page Nutcracker
• Parliament Funkadelic
• The Partridge Family
• Pink Floyd
• Alla Pugacheva
• Lou Rawls
• Jerry Seinfeld
• Frank Sinatra
• Barbra Streisand
• Mel Torme
• Tina Turner
• Barry White
• Stevie Wonder
• Smokey Robinson

Speakers

• George W.Bush
• Madeleine Albright
• Rudolph Guiliani
• John F. Kennedy
• Gerald Ford
• Ronald Reagan
• George H.W. Bush
• Bill Clinton
• Maya Angelou
• Tom Brokaw
• Gwendolyn Brooks
• Barbara Bush
• Elizabeth Dole
• Bill Gates
• Martin Luther King
• Walter Payton
• Colin Powell
• Sammy Sosa
• Oprah Winfrey

References

• Hjort, Chris and Hinman, Doug. Jeff's book : A chronology of Jeff Beck's career 1965-1980 : from the Yardbirds to Jazz-Rock. Rock 'n' Roll Research Press, (2000). ISBN 0-9641005-3-3

External links

• Arie Crown. "The Arie Crown Theatre". Arie Crown.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
• Centre Stage. "The Arie Crown Theatre". Centre Stage Chicago.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
• McCormick Place. "McCormick Place". McCormick Place.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.