In high school, Shakespeare seemed stodgy and dull: it is difficult when you are sixteen to fully comprehend or enjoy the subtleties of his full body of work, and most teachers tend to stick to the more familiar plays, such as "Romeo & Juliet," "Julius Caesar," "Anthony & Cleopatra," or "Hamlet." In college, in my school's West Sussex (England) campus, I took a class called "Introduction to Shakespeare: Part 1" which oddly enough paired his comedies with his histories. ("Part 2" covered his tragedies) We saw "The Comedy of Errors," "Richard II," and "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Barbican in London, and "Twelfth Night," "Romeo & Juliet," "Henry IV parts 1&2" at the RSC in Stratford. It was here, in Shakespeare's own cities, where I truly fell in love with his work.
The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre had modest beginnings, originally performing atop the Red Lion pub in the Lincoln Park section of the city. They opened their beautiful new venue on Navy Pier in 1999, which includes a smaller "black box" theatre as well as the 510-seat mainstage, which resembles the Rose Theatre in London and where no seat is any more than nine rows from the stage. The exterior of the building is modern, almost like a glass sculpture, and the interior hosts not only the theatre space, but meeting space, a small pub, and a Shakespeare-centric bookstore.
The theatre hosts not only the CST, but also plays host to traveling productions: such as being the only North American stop on Peter Brooks’ Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord production of Le Costume (The Suit) tour. Recently, the CST hosted The Globe’s all-male production of "Twelfth Night" starring Mark Rylance performed to sellout crowds and outstanding reviews. The production was a perfect fit for the CST – and it was decidedly one of the best Shakespeare productions I’ve ever seen.
CST also performs family-friendly productions such as the recent "Green Eggs and Hamlet" in conjunction with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or, for the less serious-minded, The Second City’s annual summer Shakespeare productions – 2002 and 2003 saw "Hamlet! The Musical!", but 2004 breaks ground with "Romeo and Juliet Musical: The People vs. Friar Laurence, the Man Who Killed Romeo & Juliet". Spring also sees the arrival of "Short Shakespeare!" where a modern interpretation of a favorite, "A Midsummer’s Night Dream," is a great way to be introduced to the CST.
Access to the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is easy: it is located at the heart of Navy Pier, one of Chicago’s premiere tourist destinations. There are several restaurants on the Pier for before or after-play dining; and valet and self-parking is available (check with the box office for discounted rates). CTA buses #2, 29, 65, 66 and 124 all include the Pier on their routes.