Historic renovation is like a box of chocolates: you never know what’cher gonna’ git. That’s the message delivered by Broadway in Chicago president Lou Raizin and chief architect George Halik (of Booth Hansen Architects) about the task of transforming the 100-year-old Shubert Theatre into the LaSalle Bank Theatre. That task, which will have taken a year by the time it’s completed, has escalated in cost from $8 million to $14 million.

Raizin and Halik took the press on a cellar-to-dome hard hat tour of the venue Feb. 7, pointing out unexpected discoveries along the way, among them solid brass embellishments long painted over, newly-uncovered barrel vault ceilings and unknown mosaic tile floors. Like archeological discoveries that halt the digging of a subway in Rome or Athens, each find at the LaSalle Bank Theatre (as it already is being called) has added to the cost and extended the completion time. Originally scheduled to open last October, the theatre now is on firm footing for a May 20th grand opening, according to Raizin, with several special events preceding the first show, Golda’s Balcony (May 30-June 11).

Even in its unfinished state, it’s clear that the public will get a lot of bang for the combination of LaSalle Bank bucks (naming rights), Tax Increment Financing (TIF) public money, and dollars from the coffers of the Nederlander Organization, owners of the theatre. Indeed, the Nederlander Organization is picking up the entire additional cost of $6 million, said Raizin; a financial investment of a size the company has not made previously in its Chicago properties.

The house will shine under a new, bright decorative scheme reminiscent of the original one (although inspired by the turn-of-the-last century interiors of the New York University Club): rich red walls, elaborate decorative plaster work in shades of cream and gold with gold leaf highlights, dark red carpeting with flecks of gold. There will be 2,016 new seats (80 fewer than before), rest rooms triple the former capacity, an internal elevator, double the former amount of lobby space and a new box office that won’t create lines blocking entrance to the inner lobby. The false roof of the outer lobby will be stripped away to reveal a two-story atrium with classical columns and pediments. New marble floors will be laid, and old mosaic floors restored.

“We’re starting to put jewelry on this beautiful lady,” Raizin said quietly but proudly, describing the old decor as “shades of mud.”

Unseen by the audience will be electrical and mechanical systems that are 90 percent new, according to Halik, and without hazardous materials. He said that replacing the old asbestos-insulated electrical wiring and removing old lead-based paint were two of the most time-consuming jobs and not cheap. Before renovation began, there was no certain way of knowing how extensive the tasks would be. Visible to the audience will be a new fire sprinkler system throughout the house. Previously, only the backstage areas had a sprinkler system.

While most of the renovations will benefit the audience, the work includes a complete overhaul of the backstage areas, too, although the dimensions of the stage will remain the same. During the hard hat tour, the stage floor had been completely removed in preparation for laying a new one. Rigging and electrical systems all will be new, and the wing and basement dressing rooms all will be freshly dry-walled, painted and plumbed.

At 100 years old, the LaSalle Bank Theatre (originally the Majestic before it was renamed the Shubert in 1945) is a full generation older than the Cadillac Palace, the Ford Center/Oriental, the Chicago Theatre and the Civic Opera House (all from the 1920s). Only the Auditorium Theatre (1889) predates it as an historic theatre still in use. (The older Studebaker Theatre in the 1890s Fine Arts Building has not been used as a legit house for several decades.) As such, it is of both architectural and cultural interest. For instance, Raizin pointed out a drab, multi-floor staircase that ran from the alley (not the lobby) directly up to the second balcony and once was utilized exclusively by People of Color before they could purchase tickets for the lower levels.

The staircase will become part of a new 135-room Hampton Inn hotel being retrofitted into the top 17 floors of the 20-story Majestic Building, within which the theatre sits. The entire building is owned by the Nederlander Organization, a half-partner (with Clear Channel Entertainment) in Broadway in Chicago. The Nederlanders have contracted with Rosemont-based First Hospitality Group Inc. and Northern Realty Group of Northbrook, IL to develop and operate the hotel. The Nederlanders will retain ownership of the theatre and will be part owner of the hotel. A spring 2006 opening is anticipated, although full hotel details are being reserved for an early-March press announcement.

In response to a question, Raizin said that the familiar photo portrait of Sam S. Shubert will remain in the lobby. More than a century ago, Sam Shubert along with his brothers Lee and J. J. founded the powerful producing and theatrical real estate dynasty with which the Nederlanders later became rivals. The kid brother of the trio, he died young. All Shubert Theatres (New York, Boston, New Haven, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.) were named after Sam in memoriam, one of the few sentimental gestures of which the tough-as-nails Brothers Shubert ever were accused.