Harris Theater Harris & Harris Theater |
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Harris Theater (left) from Randolph Street
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Location (red dot) of the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance
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Address | 205 E. Randolph Street Chicago, Illinois United States |
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Parking | 2,218 (shared with Millennium Park) |
Owner | City of Chicago |
Capacity | 1,525 (1,400 for some configurations) |
Current use | Music and Dance performance |
Construction | |
Opened | November 8, 2003 |
Years active | 2003–present |
Architect | Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Architects |
Website | |
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The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance (also known as the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Harris & Harris Theater or, most commonly, the Harris Theater) is a 1,525-seat theater for the performing arts located along the northern edge of Millennium Park on Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, US. The theater, which is largely underground due to Grant Park-related height restrictions, was named for its primary benefactors, Joan and Irving Harris. It serves as the park's indoor performing venue, a complement to Jay Pritzker Pavilion, which hosts the park's outdoor performances.
Constructed in 2002–2003, it provides a venue for small and medium-sized music and dance groups, which had previously been without a permanent home and were underserved by the city's performing venue options. Among the regularly featured local groups are Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Chicago Opera Theater. It provides subsidized rental, technical expertise, and marketing support for the companies using it, and turned a profit in its fourth fiscal year.
The Harris Theater has hosted notable national and international performers, such as the New York City Ballet's first visit to Chicago in over 25 years (in 2006). The theater began offering subscription series of traveling performers in its 2008–2009 fifth anniversary season. Performances through this series have included the San Francisco Ballet,Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Stephen Sondheim.