WICKER PARK — Lollapalooza wasn't the only event attracting adoring crowds over the weekend. In Wicker Park, a few hundred theater fans stayed indoors Saturday for a 12-hour-long production of Greek tragedies inspired after the ancient Dionysian festival at the newly expanded Den Theatre.
Catching some sunlight during one of several intermissions, Downtown resident Susan Westby was standing on the street around 1 p.m. Saturday in front of the the new Den Theatre Mainstage at 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave.
"It is gorgeous," Susan Westby said of the expanded theater, which she predicted "will be a great attraction for Milwaukee Ave."
About one block north of the Polish Triangle, the new 5,000-square-foot theater — in a storefront that once housed a Rainbow Clothing store and, briefly, a Christian Scientology pop-up museum — opened at 11 a.m Saturday with previews of "All Our Tragic," a 12-hour-long adaptation of 32 Greek tragedies.
Packed with drama and plenty of deaths by stabbing, beheading and suicide, the production directed by Sean Graney kicked off the 18th season for the theater company The Hypocrites. The new street-level theater has been described Tribune critic Chris Jones as a "game-changer" for Wicker Park.
The Den's owner Ryan Martin, who opened the theater in December 2010 on the third floor of the same building at 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave, told Jones that the new street-level stage will be renamed "The Heath Theatre at The Den" to honor patrons Michael and Mona Heath, who donated $500,000 for the expansion.
Eventually, at 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., located next to the theater, Martin plans to add a bar. Until recently, that was the home of the The Boring Store, a literary tutoring center.
The Boring Store closed last week and will undergo a rebranding to "The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co." when 826CHI reopens in new digs at 1276 N. Milwaukee Ave. later this month.
The Hypocrites, who formerly performed out of the nearby Chopin Theatre at 1543 W. Division St., signed a five-year deal with The Den. The three-story building was built in 1898 and designed by architects Frommann and Jebsen, according to a 2007 Landmark Designation report for Milwaukee Ave.
Frommann and Jebsen also designed Shuba's Tavern, Southport Lanes and the Humboldt Park stables.
"All Our Tragic" previews run through Saturday. The show's official run, set for Aug 10-Oct. 2 at The Den Theatre Mainstage, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave. Tickets are $30. For more information, visit the-hypocrites.com, or call 773-525-5991.
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