The new for-profit facility will be a 549-seat proscenium house designed by the architectural firm of Daniel Coffey and Associates, noted not only for new theatre design but for its expertise in the restoration of historic theatres. The front of house boasts a cream, gold and dark red color scheme, and 14 rows of stadium seating on one raked level. The decor incorporates several of the lead crystal chandeliers that are a signature feature of all DeSantis' theatres.

The proscenium opening is 35' wide by 17' high by 22' deep. A curved apron will add another 8' at the deepest point. There's no fly space, but the stage has a turntable. This configuration is similar to that of the Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace Theatre. An orchestra loft for up to eight musicians will fill the audience left space normally occupied by a box.

Technical capabilities are state-of-the-art, including a sound system similar to those with which the Goodman and Chicago Shakespeare theatres are equipped. Backstage there are six dressing rooms for up to 26 performers.

Michael Weber

DeSantis and team will produce five shows per calendar year beginning next January. Only four shows are planned for the rest of this year: The Full Monty, Paul Osborn's Mornings at Seven, Grand Hotel—The Musical and Stuart Ross' holiday revue, Plaid Tidings. Weber's eclectic directing choices include Steppenwolf associate artist Jessica Thebus for the Osborn play and veteran Broadway and Chicago performer/dancer Jim Corti to stage the opener.

Given the similar stage configurations of the Oakbrook and Water Tower Drury Lanes, there has been speculation that productions might move from one house to the other. DeSantis and his staff say that could happen from time to time, but there are no immediate plans for a production to play both houses. They also say that name artists will appear at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place from time to time, but that they'll be carefully selected individuals with strong Chicago ties (say, William L. Petersen or someone from the Steppenwolf Ensemble, perhaps).

The venue will operate under an Equity Special Agreement largely based on the Dinner Theatre rule book. A similar Oakbrook Terrace pact is up for renewal in May. At that time, Equity expects to negotiate a new three or four year deal to cover both Drury Lane houses, says Equity's Central Region executive director Kathryn Lamkey.

The new venue will have two full-time IATSE stagehands, while the orchestra minimum will fluctuate with each show, within an expected range of two to eight players.

Characteristic of the DeSantis brand of theatre, patrons will be offered numerous dinner theatre packages at upscale restaurants in and near Water Tower Place. Also, sharply discounted parking ($7 for the evening) will be offered at Water Tower Place and six other garages within two blocks. Hotel-and-theatre packages are in the works. Season subscriptions start at $112 for four shows. General manager Jensen says the first-year goal is 3,000 subscribers.

DeSantis' newest Drury Lane Theatre is across the street from the hallowed Chicago Water Tower, the city's castellated symbol of survival that pre-dates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. DeSantis is slightly younger than that, but surely ranks among the nation's most venerable active impresarios and theatrical survivors, whose producing philosophy has changed with his fortunes.

DeSantis opened his first theatre 47 years ago in Evergreen Park, the 820-seat, in-the-round Drury Lane Martinique (variously called the Drury Lane Dinner Theatre and the Drury Lane Evergreen Park) as an adjunct to a large restaurant and banquet hall business. At that time, DeSantis viewed theatre as a lure for his food and bar operations, and not as an end in itself. More than once, he declared on-record that you couldn't make a dime on theatre, you might break even at best, and the real money was in bar sales.

It was a time when The Loop still was active with playhouses and nightclubs, Off-Loop theatre didn't exist, and the concept of dinner theatre was just a-borning. To compete with TV and the downtown houses, DeSantis eagerly embraced the star system, bringing in scores of familiar—if faded and/or second string—movie and TV names the likes of Eva Gabor, Caesar Romero and George Hamilton. He put them up in a luxurious apartment within the Martinique complex at the unlikely location of Western Ave. and 95th Street, and starred them in a string of pleasantly forgettable commercial comedies from which all off-color jokes and four-letter words (meaning hell and damn) were expurgated. Besides being devoutly Catholic, DeSantis understood his conservative, Southwest side audience. (Given the story and content of The Full Monty, it is obvious that DeSantis has dropped his opposition to four-letter words—at least the milder ones—and adult situations.)

As Drury Lane Martinique flourished, DeSantis joined a small circle of local producers who seemed to have "the touch" in the 1960s and 1970s, among them William Pullinsi (Candlelight Dinner Playhouse), Carl Stone, Jr. (Pheasant Run Playhouse) and George Keathley (The Ivanhoe). In rapid succession in the 1970s, DeSantis was approached to open Drury Lane-brand in-the-round theatres in McCormick Place (Drury Lane East), at the new Marriott Lincolnshire Resort (Drury Lane North, as it originally was called) and in Water Tower Place. The latter two both opened in 1976.

But times had changed. The downtown theatre district had collapsed, Off-Loop theatre already had entered its second wave, and the in-town and north suburban audiences proved more sophisticated than those in Evergreen Park. Drury Lane East failed quickly (McCormick Place was a difficult location), Drury Lane North was turned over to new management after a year (and soon went to an all-musical policy), and stars alone could not provide sufficient luster for Drury Lane Water Tower Place. Easing himself away from the star system, DeSantis transferred Lunching, the hugely successful comedy by Chicago writer Alan Gross, from the Body Politic on Lincoln Ave. to Michigan Ave. It was the first time a commercial producer had reached out to the not-for-profit Off-Loop movement for a show.

Despite his ingenuity, DeSantis struggled to find a consistently winning formula at the 1,140-seat Water Tower Place, and shuttered the theatre in 1983. But he'd learned some lessons. When he opened his fifth Drury Lane Theatre in 1984 in Oakbrook Terrace, there were no more stars (except for concert performances). The 975-seat proscenium house always has relied on Chicago-based artists and a musical theatre format. But DeSantis didn't forget the Martinique (by that time sold to producer John R. Lazzara) either: built new from the ground up, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace included restaurants, bars, meeting rooms, vast banquet halls and free parking.

Along the way, DeSantis' business acumen made him a wealthy man. He wasn't simply the producer of Drury Lane Martinique, he owned the entire complex. And the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort is built on land DeSantis still owns. In lieu of fixed rent, the smart DeSantis negotiated with Marriott for a percentage of the annual revenues. His business success has allowed him to generously fund various church-related charities to which he is dedicated. An extremely private individual who shuns the spotlight, DeSantis is rarely seen even at his own opening nights, and has to date turned down all interview requests in connection with his new playhouse.