Taking a leap of faith more than 20 years ago, Waukegan sold $20 million in bonds to renovate and reopen the Genesee Theatre to spur the growth of the city’s downtown. Since then, the showplace has navigated some lean times and now is helping the city reinvigorate its central business district.
Owned by the city but professionally managed, Mayor Ann Taylor said the theater’s rebirth since 2004 has made a difference in the growth of the downtown area as it brings top-flight entertainment to the city. The new businesses and full storefronts across the street are a result.
“That whole block is rebounding because of the Genesee Theatre,” Taylor said. “The theater has really kept downtown going. People come here, and you have that beautiful gem of a theater.”
The Genesee Theatre marked the 20th anniversary of its reopening Tuesday in downtown Waukegan as it gets ready for a variety of holiday performances in the next few weeks, as well as six concerts and a comedy show in January.
Larry Frievalt, the theater’s ticketing and patron services manager, joined the organization a few weeks before it reopened. He said the Genesee originally opened on Dec. 25, 1927, primarily as a movie theater. It closed in 1989, and reopened in 2004.
“It’s put Waukegan on the map,” Frievalt said. “People come here for a show, and our records show they come back approximately three times a year. They get to see top-name entertainment without the congestion of a big-city arena.
Within six months, Frievalt said Beatle Ringo Starr recorded an album at the theater as part of the PBS Soundstage concert series. Since then, some of the name talent has included Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin and Martin Short, Peter Frampton, Judas Priest and Morrisey.
Talking about reopening the theater around 25 years ago, the Waukegan City Council approved a $20 million bond issue in 2001 to go with $3.5 million secured by a private group to get the project started, according to a Chicago Tribune report at the time.
Though the project went over budget, Taylor, who was not part of city government at the time, said the renovation was forward-thinking. It created modern amenities, which were rarely present in renovated older theaters.
“It’s a historic building, but the (renovation) architecture was modern,” Taylor said. “They designed modern bathrooms and lounges. No one else was doing that then. It was way ahead of its time.”
Initial growth was slow at first. In 2011, the city entered into a deal with Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin-based Uline, which brought annual cash infusions in exchange for professional oversight, according to a News-Sun story at the time.
Since it reopened, Frievalt said 90% of the productions have been live Entertainment, including concerts ranging from classic rock, to heavy metal, to jazz, as well as standup comedy and Broadway-style shows have been featured.
Colleen Rogalski, the theater’s marketing and booking manager, said bringing talent to the theater is a matter of developing relationships and treating the entertainers and their staff well.
“It starts with a relationship with their agent,” she said. “You want everyone to have a good experience. You want the entertainer’s staff to have a good experience with us, and you want the performer to have a good experience with the theater and the patrons. If they like it, they’ll tell their friends.”
When Morrisey came to the Genesee on Nov. 23, Rogalski said she was nervous because he has a reputation for canceling shows. Everyone went out of their way to make the experience a good one. It worked.
“We made sure everything they needed was accommodated,” she said. “When his staff said, ‘The boss is pleased,’ we knew we did our job.”
Just to the north of the main theater is the home of Three Brothers Theatre, a local company that produces several plays a year. Frievalt said when the Genesee was built, the space was intended for a black box theater, which could be refitted from performance to performance.
Now, Three Brothers has a good professional space creating a theater district in the 200 block of North Genesee. Taylor said the Three Brothers Theatre is another example of how the Genesee has helped downtown Waukegan grow.
Along with well-known entertainers, Frievalt said the Genesee makes an effort to accommodate community organizations as it has done for the public schools, local filmmakers trying to get a start, Bravo Waukegan and more.
A not-for-profit organization that teachers Waukegan public school children how to play instruments, Bravo Waukegan holds shows on the Genesee’s well-fitted stage in an auditorium holding 2,400 people.
“It gives them the chance to perform with a professional conductor on a great stage,” Frievalt said.
