Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
A 549-seat live-performance venue at Chicago's Water Tower Place, operated by Broadway In Chicago.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place is a live-performance venue located inside the Water Tower Place shopping center in Chicago, Illinois. The venue is operated by Broadway In Chicago, a theatrical presenting organization associated with the Nederlander Organization. Its programming has included Broadway-oriented productions, musical theatre, comedy, concerts, touring productions, and contemporary performance events. The site began its theatrical life in 1976 as the Drury Lane Water Tower Place. The original theatre closed in 1983 and was subsequently converted into a movie theatre. Tony DeSantis, founder of the Drury Lane Theatre group, later invested approximately $9 million in converting another nearby movie theatre at 175 East Chestnut Street, just off Chicago's Michigan Avenue, into a live-performance venue. That redevelopment produced a new iteration of Drury Lane Water Tower Place, which opened on May 18, 2004. The 549-seat venue was designed with décor and programming intended to resemble the group's Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook, and its early season included mainstream musical and comedy presentations. The 2004 reopening began with The Full Monty. Later presentations associated with Broadway In Chicago included The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, SHOUT! The Mod Musical, and Xanadu. These productions positioned the venue as a relatively intimate Chicago outlet for touring and locally presented musical theatre rather than as a large-scale Broadway house. On April 6, 2010, Broadway In Chicago announced a long-term agreement with General Growth Properties, then the owner of Water Tower Place, to reopen and rebrand the venue. It returned to operation on September 24, 2010, under the name Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. The reopening featured a short concert engagement by Sutton Foster, followed by Traces, a French Canadian urban-acrobatics production. The venue's first marquee production under the Broadway Playhouse name was a new production of Studs Terkel's 1978 musical Working. The production included additional material by Lin-Manuel Miranda and involvement from producers David Stone and Mark Platt. The venue's identity is therefore tied to several overlapping functions: a shopping-center entertainment anchor, a compact theatre for Broadway In Chicago presentations, and a successor to the Drury Lane theatrical operation at the Water Tower Place site. Its 549-seat scale allows it to host productions that may be too small for Chicago's largest theatres while providing a more substantial setting than a club or studio space. The available reference material does not establish a separate publicly traded corporate entity for the venue, nor does it provide current executive names, financial performance, or a complete current schedule. The theatre remains associated with Broadway In Chicago's presenting network.
History
The site associated with Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place first opened as the Drury Lane Water Tower Place in 1976. That original theatre closed in 1983 and was converted into a movie theatre. A later redevelopment was undertaken by Tony DeSantis, founder of the Drury Lane Theatre group. DeSantis spent approximately $9 million converting another nearby movie theatre at 175 East Chestnut Street, close to Chicago's Michigan Avenue, into a venue for live performance. The redeveloped Drury Lane Water Tower Place opened on May 18, 2004. It had a reported capacity of 549 seats and used décor modeled on the group's Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook. Its programming emphasized mainstream musical theatre and comedy. The initial production was The Full Monty, followed by Broadway In Chicago presentations including The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, SHOUT! The Mod Musical, and Xanadu. A change in operating identity was announced on April 6, 2010. Broadway In Chicago entered into a long-term agreement with General Growth Properties, the then-owner of Water Tower Place, to reopen the venue under the name Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. The theatre officially reopened on September 24, 2010. Its reopening events included a short concert engagement by Sutton Foster and an engagement of Traces, a French Canadian urban-acrobatics production. The first marquee production under the Broadway Playhouse name was a new version of Working, the musical based on Studs Terkel's 1978 book and stage work. The production included additional material written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and involved producers David Stone and Mark Platt. It was presented in spring 2011. The production connected the newly branded venue with both Chicago's theatrical history and nationally recognized contemporary musical-theatre creators. Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place operates as a venue and presenting brand rather than as an independently documented public company. Broadway In Chicago is identified as its operator and a subsidiary of the Nederlander Organization. The venue's location within Water Tower Place gives it a role as an entertainment component of a major shopping complex, while its 549-seat format supports productions that require a dedicated theatre but do not need the capacity of Chicago's largest performance houses. Public reference material supplied for this entry does not establish a complete current leadership roster, ownership details for the physical premises, or current financial results.
- 2011
Working receives first marquee presentation under the new brand
[1]A new production of Working, with additional material by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was presented in spring 2011.
- 2010
Broadway Playhouse agreement announced
[1]Broadway In Chicago announced a long-term agreement with General Growth Properties to reopen the venue under the Broadway Playhouse name.
- 2010
Venue reopens under current name
[1]The theatre officially reopened as Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place on September 24, 2010.
- 2004
Drury Lane Water Tower Place reopens
[1]A redeveloped 549-seat live-performance venue opened on May 18, 2004, following an approximately $9 million conversion project associated with Tony DeSantis.
- 1983
Original theatre closes
[1]The original Drury Lane theatre at the site closed and was later converted into a movie theatre.
- 1976
Original Drury Lane Water Tower Place opens
[1]The original theatre at the Water Tower Place site opened under the Drury Lane Water Tower Place name.
Products and positioning
An intimate, centrally located Chicago presenting venue for Broadway-oriented theatre, concerts, comedy, and touring performance productions.
Theatre presenting
Broadway In Chicago theatrical presentations
The venue's principal offering is a program of live theatrical presentations organized or presented through Broadway In Chicago. These productions can include Broadway-related musicals, touring shows, and Chicago engagements of established stage works. The venue's 549-seat configuration provides a smaller-scale alternative to the city's largest commercial theatres while retaining a formal proscenium-theatre environment.
Live entertainment · 2010
Concerts and special performances
Broadway Playhouse also accommodates concert engagements and special performance events. The reopening in 2010 included a short series of concerts by Sutton Foster, demonstrating the venue's use for artist-led live events in addition to staged musicals and touring theatrical productions.
Performing arts · 2010
Contemporary performance and physical theatre
The venue has presented contemporary performance formats beyond conventional book musicals. Traces, a French Canadian urban-acrobatics production, followed the 2010 reopening and illustrates the theatre's capacity for physical performance, ensemble movement, and nontraditional touring entertainment.
Brand decisions
2011
Present Working as the first marquee production under the Broadway Playhouse brandProduct launchBackground
After the venue's 2010 reopening, Broadway In Chicago needed a major theatrical presentation to establish the identity of the renamed house.
Action taken
The venue presented a new production of Studs Terkel's Working in spring 2011, incorporating additional material by Lin-Manuel Miranda and involving producers David Stone and Mark Platt.
Aftermath
Working became the first marquee production associated with the venue after its conversion from the Drury Lane identity to Broadway Playhouse.
2010
Rebrand and reopen the venue as Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower PlaceStrategyBackground
The venue had operated under the Drury Lane Water Tower Place identity and had a history of use as both a theatre and a movie theatre. Broadway In Chicago and General Growth Properties agreed to establish a new operating and presenting identity.
Action taken
Broadway In Chicago entered a long-term agreement with General Growth Properties and reopened the venue under the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place name on September 24, 2010.
Aftermath
The venue became part of Broadway In Chicago's presenting network and launched its new identity with Sutton Foster concerts, Traces, and subsequently Working.
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