Four arts professionals are the new owners of the Skokie Theatre—now known as The Skokie.
Jose Pablo Cantillo and Kristi Cantillo, who split their time between Skokie and Greenville, South Carolina, and Chris Matsakis and Monica Matsakis of Glenview all have a vision of how they want to fill that historic venue at 7924 N. Lincoln Ave., which has been running continuously as a theater since 1912.
“We share a love of live entertainment,” Chris Matsakis explained. “All four of us love teaching and working with kids and having a place for the community to go as well as step on stage themselves.”
“It will be a very eclectic lineup that will include comedy, theater, storytelling, improv, music, jazz,” he added. “And we’re hoping to upgrade our equipment to have more feature
films. We’re hoping to do film festivals and even some live podcasts.”
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The two couples purchased the theater on June 29 from owner Wendy Kaplan and plan to reopen it in late 2026. The Skokie just received a big boost—a $50,000 grant from the Village of Skokie’s Storefront Enhancement Program.
It also surpassed the $25,000 online fundraising goal the new owners set on indiegogo.com, bringing in $30,365. Chris Matsakis said that campaign would reopen in a few weeks to raise funds designated for upgraded film equipment and a new large-format screen.
The four will be utilizing the skills they’ve developed as working professionals.
Jose Pablo Cantillo has been an actor, producer, and writer for more than two decades. His acting credits include “The Walking Dead,” “Sons of Anarchy,” and “Elysium,” “Chappie,” “Mayor of Kingston” and “The Rip.” He has produced “Where Hope Grows” and “The Great Alaskan Race,” game show Repo Games on SPIKE, and others.
Kristi Cantillo curated and taught in the ceramics programs in two high schools in Los Angeles County. She holds degrees in Fine Arts and Arts Education from Indiana University and Indiana State University, respectively.
Chris Matsakis is a Chicago-area entrepreneur. He studied finance in school and started comedy as a hobby, sparked by a comedy class in the city that his wife gave him as a gift. After finishing the class, he performed around Chicago for a couple years. On the business side, Chris spent about 20 years building and running an e-commerce company called Deal Genius, which was sold in 2025.
Monica Matsakis is a storyteller, actor and educator who taught storytelling at the Laughing Academy in Glenview. She has performed at The Moth, First Person Live, Truth Be Told, This Much is True and others.
Their interests are diverse and they plan to bring a wide variety of forms of entertainment to The Skokie.
Jose Pablo Cantillo is taking advantage of his Hollywood connections, with one-person shows and standup comedy shows under consideration.
Patrons who support the theater will become founding members, rewarded with opening night tickets and promised special experiences.
Jose Pablo Cantillo observed that, “There’s a trend toward younger audiences seeking live experiences.”
That has him contemplating returning to live performances, even though movies are keeping him busy now. He and his wife will soon be empty nesters—a good time for “a return to the
boards,” he said.
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The quartet has plans for physical changes to the building. They plan to update the décor, refresh the lobby and include a bar and lounge, Chris Matsakis said.
He added that The Skokie will stand out because of the variety of programming and because they are filling in what audiences want.
The Skokie hasn’t posted its performance calendar as yet but there are already shows planned for the lineup, including storytelling.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.