Following a comprehensive national search, theater director and producer Jacob Harvey has been named the first-ever managing artistic director of the historic theaters at Chicago's Fine Arts Building at 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Harvey returns to Chicago, having served as artistic director of Chicago's Greenhouse Theater Center during 2016-18. He most recently worked with Cirque du Soleil and The Works Entertainment as a producer of the world-renowned smash hit The Illusionists on Broadway as well as national and international tours.
In 1898, Fine Arts Building created the historic Studebaker Theater, originally built to house vaudeville performances and later expanded for large productions in the 1920s. In subsequent decades, the Studebaker became known as one of the most important theatrical venues in Chicago, receiving landmark status in 1978. Today, the approximately 600-seat theater hosts nonprofit and touring productions and special events, ranging from Chicago Opera Theater and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras to the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival and a John Waters book-tour event.
Property owner Berger Realty Group is leading a projected $3 million+ renovation of the Studebaker Theater and Playhouse Theater at Fine Arts Building to enhance the experiences of theatergoers and producing companies at the venues.
