After years of preparing shows in rented and borrowed spaces, Elmhurst Children’s Theatre has found a downtown Elmhurst home for its classes and rehearsals.
The 86-year-old organization recently announced it is leasing space at 121 W. First Street, the former location of the Elmhurst Hospital Pink Elephant shop, as their primary rehearsal and class space for the 2023-2024 season. Rehearsals for summer shows began June 19.
Elmhurst Children’s Theatre President Hilary Simonds said in a release, “We are thrilled to finally have a home base in Elmhurst — centrally located downtown for our cast members, students and their families.”
Simonds said the rented space will be used only for rehearsals and classes. The theatre will continue to put on its productions in area performance spaces, including auditoriums in local schools.
That will be the case for the upcoming Summer Double Feature program — two different Broadway shows performed back-to-back in Huizenga Auditorium of Timothy Christian Schools July 20, 21 and 22. The first show features students in grades 4-7 in Disney’s “The Lion King Kids,” a one-act musical designed for young performers based on the Broadway production. After a short intermission, the cast of 6th- 9th graders will take to the stage for a one-act performance of the 2007 Broadway show “Legally Blonde Junior,” based on the book by Amanda Brown and the hit Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon.
Children in fifth through eighth grade who live in Elmhurst or attend District 205 or parochial schools in Elmhurst may audition for ECT productions. The theatre group stages two main stage productions with a full pit orchestra, a summer double feature show and the Unintentionally Hilarious Sketch Comedy Troupe each year. The theatre hires professional directors and relies on parent volunteers to manage productions and rehearsals, create costumes, props and sets. Classes and camps are offered throughout the year for children in first through eighth grades.
The theatre group began as a series of children’s productions at Irion Hall on the campus of Elmhurst University in 1937. In 1948, Dr. C.C. Arends, director of both Elmhurst College Theater and Elmhurst Community Theatre productions, offered sponsorship of an Elmhurst community children’s theatre. ECT carries on the tradition of its founders, bringing the Elmhurst community high-quality productions and enriching the lives of children through involvement in the performing arts.
More Top Picks Best Gps Running Watches For Beginners
The theatre group’s new West First Street site, vacant since 2019, is part of a larger site which the Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts organization hopes to develop as part of a mixed use development, which would include a performing arts center.
While the Centre’s initial plan for the First Street block was to secure an option on the building at 109-119 West First, Shawna Roubitchek, the organization’s managing director, told Pioneer Press that they are now interested in buildings from 109 to 131 West First, and also around the corner to include the building at 107 N. Addison Ave.
“We are working closely with a mixed-used developer,” Roubitchek said. Once that process is complete, she said her organization plans to move forward on a capital campaign to help fund the development.
Once sponsored by Elmhurst’s PTA Council, the Elmhurst Children’s Theatre is now a self-supporting 501c3 nonprofit organization, sustained through participation fees, class tuition, ticket sales and donations of all sizes from community members. More information on Elmhurst Children’s Theatre and tickets for the upcoming summer show can be found at: elmhurstchildrenstheatre.com.
For more information on the Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts, visit ecpa-elmhurst.org.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.