We love: Greenhouse Theater Center

The Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N Lincoln Ave, 773-404-7336) has a storied history—it was the home of Victory Gardens Theater and the late Body Politic Theatre. But the sports-bar scene that now surrounds the Greenhouse’s Lincoln Park berth causes a problem for the venue’s studio space, which backs up onto the sidewalk. Smokers patronizing nearby bars gather and gab right behind the studio audience, sometimes drowning out the action on stage. “We replaced that door this year hoping it would add more soundproofing,” says general manager Jen Kincaid, adding that none of the theater’s efforts to herd bar patrons elsewhere, using signs or even posting staffers outside, has had a lasting effect. “We want to install more soundproofing, but the problem is it’s a fire exit.”
In the meantime The Building Stage (412 N Carpenter St, 312-491-1369) sits in a quiet, warehouse-district ’hood.

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