About

About Chicago Street Theatre

Community Theatre Guild, Inc. (now d.b.a. Chicago Street Theatre) has been presenting live theatre to Valparaiso and the greater Northwest Indiana region since 1955. After over 4 decades in residence at Memorial Opera House, our award-winning theatre company began a new chapter of its history in 1997 when we purchased the Chicago Street Theatre, located at 154 West Chicago Street in Valparaiso, Indiana. The theatre underwent an extensive renovation completed February 1, 2008. The theatre lobby, auditorium, and bathrooms were re-designed by the Chicago firm Morris Architects, and construction was expertly managed by Winona Lake Restoration. The intimate 129-seat theatre features stadium seating that makes it an incredible space to enjoy live theatre. Take a look at the over 300 plays and musicals CST has produced by visiting our “Production History” tab below on the left.

  • 1955 – a group of PTA members at Valparaiso’s Ben Franklin Junior High School produce a play to raise money for band uniforms. The audience response induces them to start an amateur drama company, and in May of 1955 the Valparaiso Little Theatre Guild is formed. Their first production, “Papa Is All,” opens in August at Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso.
  • 1957 – the group realizes that their membership ranges beyond Valparaiso and so changes the name to Community Theatre Guild (CTG) and leases the Memorial Opera House, built as a Civil War Memorial in 1893, from the Porter County Commissioners. CTG’s mission is established: “to bring living, legitimate theatre to residents of the area and to provide opportunity for participation to those interested in the many activities and crafts associated with theatrical production,” and “the rehabilitation and preservation of the Memorial Opera House.” The season is set at four productions per year until 1957, when a children’s show is added.
  • 1964 – the first musical, “Once Upon A Mattress,” is presented and is such a success it is decided that one of the main-stage productions will always be a musical.
  • 1979 – Beginning with the first Valparaiso Popcorn Festival, CTG supports the event by producing a Popcorn Children’s Play each year.
  • 1981 – CTG begins participating in the Indiana Community Theatre League State Excerpt Festival
  • 1988 – Children at CTG experience “ownership” of their own production “Kids CTG,” which are shows cast with only children and run by junior technicians, beginning with the Winter Carnival.
  • 1991 – CTG wins international honors for Best Show and Best Actor in Glasgow International Theatre Festival
  • 1993 – CTG begins participating in the Northwest Indiana Excellence in Theatre Foundation and wins Best Actor and Best Director awards
  • 1995 – “Kids CTG” becomes an annual, scheduled event 1996 – at the end of CTG’s 40th year, Memorial Opera House is in need of fairly major renovation and CTG must move out of the building. Performances are held at various venues around the area: Machinists’ Hall, Valparaiso University, on location (Jimmy’s Cafe) and in a rented room dubbed “CTG’s Alley Studio.”
  • 1997 – for artistic and practical reasons, CTG purchases the former Assemblies of God Church and sets about turning it into the Chicago Street Theatre. The season is expanded to nine productions plus regularly-scheduled theatre classes for both children and adults. The productions chosen continue to offer a broad variety of award-winning theatre to enlighten and entertain theatre-goers throughout the region. CTG also begins doing business as: Chicago Street Theatre.
  • 2001 – Chicago Street Theatre hires a its first full time staff member
  • 2005 – Chicago Street Theatre hires a Box Office Manager
  • 2007 – Chicago Street Theatre begins a major renovation to its lobby, auditorium and bathrooms in the late fall and re-opens in February of 2008. The auditorium is renamed the Schilke Miller Mullen Auditorium in honor of generous contributions from Mr. and Mrs. Edward Mullen and Dr. and Mrs. Dane Miller.
  • 2008 – Chicago Street Theatre hires a Director of Education
  • 2010 – Chicago Street Theatre receives a donation to remodel the upstairs classroom and rehearsal space. The new Edith B. Wood Studio includes a small stage that will accommodate class showcases, members salons, and in the future, intimate studio productions. 
  • 2012 – Chicago Street Theatre presents Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer Night’s Dream offering 2 free performances for 2500 people in Valparaiso’s new Central Park Plaza. 
  • 2013 – Chicago Street Theatre co-produces with Genesius Guild A Picasso, the first full production in the Edith B. Wood Studio Theatre.  

Chicago Street Theatre continues to actively support artistic ambition, exploration, excellence and stability in our world. Membership at Chicago Street Theatre is open to anyone who wants the opportunity to participate in the activities and crafts associated with theatrical productions, be it onstage or behind-the-scenes.

CST Guiding Principles

Mission Statement: To connect with the creative spirit of the community through the experience of live theatre.

Vision Statement: A community that embraces the performing arts as a defining and treasured expression of life.

Belief Statement: We believe in the power of theatre.  We believe in the talent and commitment of volunteers.  We believe in the nurturing relationship between audience and artists.  We believe in the unique experience of live art.

Contact Information

Address:
154 West Chicago Street
Valparaiso, IN 46383

Box Office:
(219) 464-1636
[email protected]

Volunteer

Chicago Streeet was founded on the dedication of a strong volunteer membership. We are always looking for people to join us in our effort to make outstanding art. Just a few of the volunteer positions available include:

  • Backstage Crew
  • Box Office
  • Committees
  • Lighting Crew
  • Rehearsal Assistants
  • Set Builders
  • Set Decorators
  • Sound Crew
  • Stage Managers
  • Ushers

Box Office & Ushering: We are looking for people who are interested in working in our Box Office or ushering for our productions. No experience is necessary and we will train you! If you enjoy talking to people, this might be the job for you. Please contact the Volunteer Manager Dona Henry to volunteer.

Direct a Play or Musical: Chicago Street Theatre welcomes submissions from directors. While we select our upcoming season each year in late winter, season selection is a year-around process, and we are always excited to have the opportunity to read a new script. We produce a wide variety of plays, including Shakespeare, classics, comedies, cutting-edge drama, family productions, and musicals. We want to hear from you about the scripts that “light your fire!”

Members Studio and New Works Series
We are pleased to offer a series of special events for Chicago Street Theatre artists and members. Artistic & Education Director Lisa Formosa-Parmigiano has launched a Members Studio and New Works series. We also offer classes for kids, teens, and adults. Visit the Education page for information.

If you would like more information about any volunteer opportunity, please email us!

Pay CST Membership Here.

Production History

1955 to the Present
We are celebrating our 64th season of producing live theatre for Valparaiso and the greater Northwest Indiana region. From 1955 through 1995, productions were staged at Memorial Opera House. In between, CST performed in The Alley Studio, before moving to our current home, Chicago Street Theatre, in 1998.

Season 1: 1955-56
Papa is All
Blithe Spirit
The Heiress

Season 2: 1956-57
Southern Exposure
Ladies in Retirement

Season 3: 1957-58
Stalag 17
The Silver Whistle
Dial M for Murder
You Can’t Take it With You

Season 4: 1958-59
My Three Angels
Death Takes A Holiday
Night of January 16
The Philadelphia Story

Season 5: 1959-60
The Women
Separate Tables
The Seven Year Itch
State of the Union

Season 6: 1960-61
Three Men on a Horse
Come Back Little Sheba
Voice of the Turtle
Arsenic and Old Lace

Season 7: 1961-62
A Shred of Evidence
George Washington Slept Here
Diary of Anne Frank
Ten Night in a Barroom

Season 8: 1962-63
Born Yesterday
The Deadly Game
A Solid Gold Cadillac
The Pleasure of His Company

Season 9: 1963-64
Picnic
The Girls in 509
Once Upon A Mattress
The Little Foxes

Season 10: 1964-65
The Bad Seed
Little Mary Sunshine
A Streetcar Named Desire
Harvey

Season 11: 1965-66
Mary, Mary
Take Me Along
The Mouse Trap
Teahouse of the August Moon

Season 12: 1966-67
Where’s Charley
The Glass Menagerie
A Thousand Clowns
Mr. Roberts

Season 13: 1967-68
Papa Is all
A Critic’s Choice
Guys & Dolls
A Miracle Worker

Season 14: 1968-69
South Pacific
The Man Who Came to Dinner
A Case of Libel
Never Too Late

Season 15: 1969-70
Barefoot in the Park
Paint Your Wagon
Skin of Our Teeth
A Lion in Winter
A Visit to a Small Planet

Season 16: 1970-71
Cactus Flower
Wait Until Dark
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Mame
Light Up the Sky

Season 17: 1971-72
Life With Father
Bell, Book, and Candle
Johnny Belinda
Fiddler on the Roof

Season 18: 1972-73
The Match Maker
The Rainmaker
A Man for All Seasons
Finian’s Rainbow

Season 19: 1973-74
Forty Carats
Advise and Consent
Morning’s At Seven
Man of LaMancha
The King’s Rabbits

Season 20: 1974-75
Butterflies Are Free
Death & Life of Sneaky Fitch
The Crucible
Carnival
The Pied Piper

Season 21: 1975-76
Finishing Touches
The Fantastiks
Design for Murder
Looking Glass Land
Gramercy Ghost

Season 22: 1976-77
The Sunshine Boys
Under Papa’s Picture
Marmalade Gumdrops
I Never Sang for My Father
Carousel

Season 23: 1977-78
6 Rms Riv Vu
Goldilocks
Night Must Fall
The Drunkard

Season 24: 1978-79
Any Wednesday
A Thurber Carnival
Camelot
Accommodations

Season 25: 1979-80
The Incredible Jungle Journey of Fenda Maria
Sleuth
You Can’t Take It With You
Godspell
Play It Again, Sam

Season 26: 1980-81
Treasure Island
Damn Yankees
A Christmas Carol (Scrooge & Marley)
Dracula
Night of January 16
The Curious Savage

Season 27: 1981-82
The Invisible Dragon
Vanities
A Christmas Carol (Dickens)
Little Mary Sunshine
God’s Favorite
Catch Me If You Can

Season 28: 1982-83
Three Fairy Godmothers
Chapter Two
Babes in Toyland
Of Mice and Men
Hotel Paradiso
Death Trap

Season 29: 1983-84
The Enchanted Journey
They’re Playing Our Song
A Christmas Carol (Scrooge & Marley)
Sly Fox
Summer and Smoke
Murder at Howard Johnson’s

Season 30: 1984-85
Androcles and the Lion
Romantic Comedy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Seven Keys to Baldpate
Gypsy
Arsenic and Old Lace
Spoon River Anthology

Season 31: 1985-86
The King’s Rabbits
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
California Suite
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Death of a Salesman
Whodunnit
Talking With…

Season 32: 1986-87
Cinderella
Heaven Can Wait
A Christmas Carol (Dickens)
King of the Ice Cream Mountain
Days of Wine and Roses
True West
Extremities
Odd Couple (Female)

Season 33: 1987-88
Vaudville and the Great Western Melodrama
Chicago
My Husband’s Wild Desires Almost Drove Me Mad
The Little Snow Girl
Fools
Look Homeward Angel
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

Season 34: 1988-89
Jack and the Giant
A Chorus Line
Harvey
The Snow Queen
The Children’s Hour
Time After Time
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Season 35: 1989-90
Aesop’s Falables
Sugar Babies
Something’s Under the Bed
The Nerd
Many Moons
The Dresser
1940’s Radio Hour
A Midsummer Nights Dream

Season 36: 1990-91
Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch
Steel Magnolias
The Boys Next Door
Oliver
Little Murders
Cabaret

Season 37: 1991-92
The Pied Piper
Children of a Lesser God
Kiss Me Kate
Working
Dylan
Other People’s Money

Season 38: 1992-93
Winnie the Pooh
The Elephant Man
Annie
The Art of Dining
Fiddler on the Roof
Shenandoa
Some Things You Need to Know Before the World Ends/A Final Evening with the Illuminati

Season 39: 1993-94
Beauty and the Beast
The Glass Menagerie
Animal Crackers
The Diviners
The Sound of Music
Charley’s Aunt

Season 40: 1994-95
Alice in Wonderland
Dangerous Liasons
Fortinbras
Death and the Maiden
Guys and Dolls
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A Streetcar Named Desire
40-year Reunion 

Season 41: 1995-96
Snow White
Macbeth
Revenge of the Space Pandas
Will Rogers Follies
Vacated Opera House for Renovation
Dancing at Lughnasa (at Machinists’ Hall)
The Wizard of Oz (at Machinists’ Hall)
Marvin’s Room (at Valparaiso University)
Emperor’s New Clothes (at Lakewood Park)
The Invention (at Lakewood Park)

Season 42: 1996-97
Love Letters (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Orphans (CTG’s Alley Studio)
The Angels of Lemnos (staged reading) (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Orphans (CTG’s Alley Studio)
A Christmas Carol (Dickens) (Valparaiso University)
The Dining Room (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Not for Profit by Kevin Murphy (staged reading) (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Bob Craig’s America (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Something Bright and Alien by Kevin Murphy (staged reading) (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Wally’s Café (Jimmy’s Cafe, Valparaiso)
Roxanne’s Kiss (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Eleemosynary (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Laundry and Bourbon / Lonestar (LCTG) (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Revolution (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Educating Rita (Footlight Players) (CTG’s Alley Studio)

Season 43: 1997-98
Graceland/Parked
An Evening with Eve (CTG’s Alley Studio)
6 Rms Riv Vu (Way Off Broadway) (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Here’s Looking at You Kid (Mary Wilde) (CTG’s Alley Studio)
Miracle on 34th Street (Valparaiso University)
Vacated Alley Studio 12/20/97
CTG Encores: Saluting 43 Years of Musical Memories (Strongbow Inn)
Casino Night (Court Restaurant)
Took Possession of Chicago Street Theatre
Greater Tuna
The Fantastics
Beyond Therapy
As You Like It
The Angels of Lemnos by CST member Jim Henry (World Premiere)

Season 44: 1998-99
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Little Shop of Horrors
The Diary of Anne Frank
It’s a Wonderful Life
CTG Encores: An Evening with Gershwin
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds
Agnes of God
Nunsense
Once Upon a Clothesline
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
The Sea Horse

Season 45: 1999-00
Hansel and Gretel
Biloxi Blues
Mean Eugene: A Christmas Tail
It’s a Wonderful Life
Romeo and Juliet
CTG Encores: An Evening with Cole Porter (Strongbow Inn)
The Secret Garden
Buried Child
Charlotte’s Web
Solid Gold Cadillac

Season 46: 2000-01
The Wind in the Willows
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A Christmas Story (World Premiere)
Never the Sinner
CTG Encores: The Best of Broadway (Strongbow Inn)
Macbeth the Rock Opera Staged Reading
She Loves Me
African-American Weekend: Eddie Chappell Sextet & “Standing on the Shoulders of our Ancestors”
The Seventh Monarch
The Memory of Water

Season 47: 2001-02
East of the Sun
Three Penny Opera
(One Night Jam concert)Michael McDermott
Chamber Music / The 15 Minute Hamlet
A Christmas Story
The Curse of the Starving Class
CTG Encores: Red, White & Broadway (Strongbow Inn)
The Hot L Baltimore
Glengarry Glen Ross
Communicating Doors
Why are We Americans? 4th of July Slide Presentation
Jungle Book
New Tech Booth Constructed

Season 48: 2002-03
Tom Sawyer
Company
Annie
A Few Good Men
African Hertage: Sunday Morning / Black Souls
CTG Encores: An Evening at the Cabaret (Strongbow Inn)
The Dining Room
The Giver by Valpo Reads a Book Program
Balm in Gilead
A Lie of the Mind

Season 49: 2003-04
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
A Flea in Her Ear
A Christmas Story
Julius Ceasar
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Princess and the Pea
CTG Encores Celebrates LUV (Strongbow Inn)
Dinner with Friends
Working
Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations

Season 50: 2004-05
Alice in Wonderland
The Boys Next Door
Annie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Pied Piper
Little Murders
CTG Encores: Greatest Hits (Strongbow Inn)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
When We Were Alive (World Premiere)
Go Dog, Go!

Season 51: 2005-06
The Little Mermaid
The Underpants
A Christmas Story
The Birthday Party
Cheaper By The Dozen
CTG Encores: Hooray for Hollywood (Strongbow Inn)
We Bombed In New Haven
Woman In Mind
Monsters Under the Bed
Murder In Green Meadows

Season 52: 2006-07
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Rumors
It’s a Wonderful Life
The Violet Hour
Catherine Called Birdy
CTG Encores: Guys and Dolls (Duneland Falls)
Coyote on a Fence
Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party
The Chinese Cinderella
Fuddy Meers

Season 53: 2007/08
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Bedroom Farce
A Christmas Story (VU Center for the Arts)
Chicago Street Theatre auditorium renovated
Letters Home
James and the Giant Peach
CTG Encores: A Little Night Music (Duneland Falls)
Our Town
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Assassins

Season 54: 2008/09
The Jungle Book
Camping with Henry and Tom
A Christmas Carol (Schario)
Doubt
The Red Shoes
Encores: Decades, They’re Playing Our Song (Aberdeen Manor)
Moon Over the Brewery
Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me
Triumph of Love

Season 55: 2009/10
How to Eat Like a Child
Is He Dead?
Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka (musical)
A Tuna Christmas
The Pillowman
Ascension Day
Encores: Decades, As Time Goes By (Strongbow Inn)
And Then There Were None
The Heidi Chronicles
Chess

Season 56: 2010/11
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Annie
A Tuna Christmas
The Drawer Boy
Life with Mother Superior
14th Encores: Decades, Serenade the Moon (Strongbow Inn)
The Clean House
Frost/Nixon
Fools

Season 57: 2011/12
The Fabulous Fable Factory
What the Butler Saw
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
The Goat, Or Who is Sylvia?
Red Licorice
15th Encores: Vegas, Baby! (Strongbow Inn)
The Cherry Orchard
Brother of All (World Premiere)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CST/Central Park Plaza)

Season 58: 2012/13
Snow White
Dracula
The Sound of Music
American Rex (World Premiere)
The Less Than Human Club
16th Encores: Vegas, Baby! (Strongbow Inn)
The Graduate
A Picasso (Co-produced with The Genesius Guild) (Edith B. Wood Studio Theatre)
A View From the Bridge
The Comedy of Errors CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 59: 2013/14
The World’s Worst Fairy Godmother
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!  In rotating rep with Santaland
The Santaland Diaries
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
CST 17th Encores: Vegas, Baby!
Play it Again, Sam
Snow Angel (Teen Ensemble) (Wood Studio)
Rabbit Hole
Romeo and Juliet CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 60: 2014/15
Beauty and the Beast
Frankenstein
Scary Godmother (Wood Studio)
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Tammy: A Coming of Age Story About a Girl Who is Part T-Rex
18th Encores: Diamond Jubilee! (VU Center for the Arts)
Henry and Ramona
The Angels of Lemnos
A Little Bit Not Normal
Cobb
Hamlet CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 61: 2015/16
Cinderella
The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein (Co-produced with ETC)
Junie B. Jones The Musical
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Nancy Drew: Girl Detective
Let’s Misbehave: Roaring 20’s Speakeasy Fundraiser (The Spa Events Center)
Orson’s Shadow
Teen Fest: Hoodie and Chicken Road (Wood Studio)
Wash, Dry, Fold (AACT Play Fest Winner)
The Tempest CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 62: 2016/17
Harriet The Spy
Night of the Living Dead
A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail
The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical
Pale Dream
Betrayal (Wood Studio)
A Year with Frog and Toad
The Rose Tatoo
Incorruptible
The Taming of the Shrew CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 63: 2017/18
How to Eat Like a Child
Hair
It’s a Wonderful Life
Hurlyburly
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Moonlight and Magnolias
Fool For Love
Much Ado About Nothing CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 64: 2018/19
The Actor’s Nightmare/Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You
Evil Dead The Musical
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Keely and Du
Bedtime Stories (As Told by Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up)
Boeing Boeing
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea
Macbeth CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 65: 2019/20
A Wrinkle In Time
The Toxic Avenger: The Musical
Santaland Diaries
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Black Comedy – Canceled mid-run due to COVID
God Of Carnage – Canceled, performed as virtual staged reading
Heathers: The Musical – Postponed
TeenFest – Livestreamed
Othello CST/Central Park Plaza – Canceled

Season 66: 2020/21
Italian American Reconciliation – Postponed, performed as virtual staged reading
The Woman In Black – Canceled
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon (Virtual)
It’s A Wonderful Life – The Radio Play (Virtual)
A Christmas Carol – Canceled
James And The Giant Peach
TeenFest
Heathers: The Musical
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – CST/Central Park Plaza

Season 67: 2021/22
Coraline, The Musical
A Christmas Carol
Doing Durang
Junie B. Jones Is Not A Crook
TeenFest
Stop Kiss (Studio)
As You Like It

Season 68: 2022/23
Misery
Ken Ludwig’s ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas
The Play That Goes Wrong
Rosemary With Ginger (Studio)
Rent
TeenFest
Julius Caesar – CST/Central Park Plaza

Board & Staff

BOARD

  • Dona Henry, Chair
  • Kelly Hite, First Vice Chair
  • Jeff Schultz, Secretary
  • jamie grace, Treasurer
  • Trustees:
    • Amber Shambo
    • Kari-Anne Innes
    • Patricia Schulz

STAFF

  • sheri nash-braun, Business manager
  • Lisa Formosa-Parmigiano, Artistic & Education Director
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