The Riverfront Playhouse was founded in 1978 and established under the direction of David Morris as a creative outlet for actors of all walks of life and all levels of experience to learn and hone their craft. With the very first show, UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE, which featured the talents of Gary Puckett, Christiane Morris, Dick Hawks, and Barbara Alexander, the playhouse was off and running.
While performing in the backroom of Max's All-American Bar, which sat on the corner of The Water Street Mall and Galena Boulevard, the actors were all crammed into a coffin-like backstage area, and were forced to do their costume changes out on the Mall behind bedspreads held up by their fellow actors and technical personnel.
As the endurance of the playhouse became apparent, the need for slightly more spacious surroundings also became apparent. A storefront within the same building as Max's became available, so construction began. With materials that were begged, borrowed and otherwise appropriated, the playhouse took on a form similar to that which it is today. The box office, "concession stand", stage, orchestra, balcony, and loge all had found a home within 11 South Water Street Mall. Dressing rooms and green rooms were in the basement, as was all storage, along with the paintshop and workshop.
Gradually, the playhouse accumulated so much in the way of props, flats, furniture, set pieces, and costumes, that additional storage became a necessity. Through the courtesy of our landlord, 13 South Water Street Mall had gone un-rented for so long that he allowed us to use the space for storage. As it grew on us, plans for our very own public bathrooms began.
You see, for many years, we had no bathrooms. This was not so much a problem when Max's bar was open, as we'd send our patrons over there and they were happy to avail themselves of Max's hospitality, and Max was pleased to put all beverages in a "to-go" cup. But when Max closed the bar and moved on to greener pastures, we were, to quote a phrase no matter how crude, literally left without a pot to piss in.
So we improvised. Our landlord allowed us access to the bathrooms in the Loman Hotel upstairs (transients welcome, rooms by the week or month, tell 'em Jack sent ya), and our other neighbor, the Abogado, would leave his office unlocked for our patrons (up the stairs, turn right, behind the bookcase).
The situation became intolerable, so we began our trek through the maze of building permits, plumbing, electrical work, and dry-walling. After far too much time spent putzing around with construction on an "as time permits" basis, the new area was opened to the public to celebrate our 100th mainstage show. At last, the playhouse became what it is today.
July of 1996 brought heavy rains that flooded our basement. All of the furniture stored in the basement was lost, along with hundreds and hundreds of costume pieces and props. As we began to re-accumulate the needed variety of couches, armchairs, tables and desks, a second flood hit and wiped us out again. The need for furniture has been an ongoing struggle, and through the kind generosity of members and patrons alike, the inventory of set pieces has once again reached a utilitarian level
Although it has never lost it's charm as a repository for donated gee-gaws, The Riverfront Playhouse has doubled it's size since its inception, and we're constantly looking for ways to make it even bigger. Through the un-flagging loyalty of our personnel and patrons, we've made it to 150 mainstage shows, countless children's theatre presentations, and we have remained a venue for diverse and exciting entertainment in the Western Suburbs, as well as a sort of blue-collar clubhouse for the artsy fartsy types of the Chicagoland area. Our longevity is a tribute, not only to the folks that handle the day to day grind of business, but to the audiences that have kept our doors open since 1978. A debt of gratitude is owed to all.
