Helen Mirren in THE AUDIENCE Screens at Music Box Theatre Today

Chicagoans can experience the rare privilege of seeing Helen Mirren's acclaimed West End performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience, bowing today, July 3 at the Music Box Theatre.

The Music Box continues its partnership with the UK's National Theatre Live to exhibit captured live stage performances beamed to Chicago from the prestigious National Theatre in London. The Audience, starring Mirren and directed by Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours), shows tonight, July 3, 7:30pm at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue. Tickets to National Theatre Live events are $15 in advance at the Music Box Theatre box office and online at www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/NT-Live-The-Audience; $18 at the door.

In the captivating drama The Audience, a contract of silence is broken within the walls of Buckingham Palace. Hushed, classless politics are spilled out on stage when Elizabeth II (Mirren) privately meets with each of her 12 Prime Ministers in a weekly audience. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said. However unverified information begins to leak out as no minutes are taken and no officials are present in these intimate and sometimes explosive political meetings. Mirren reveals the secrets of Queen Elizabeth II through this witty, affectionate and humorous performance in The Audience.

National Theatre Live at Music Box Theatre presents

The Audience (Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including 20 minute intermission)

TONIGHT, July 3, 7:30 pm

$15 in advance at the Music Box Theatre box office and online at www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/NT-Live-The-Audience; $18 at the door.

Northwestern University alum David Sabel is the executive producer of NT Live. He explains the live theater broadcast concept:

"It's a bit like filming a live sports event. We're not making a movie. It's a live, multi-camera shoot. We're taking the audience's eye where the action is, which is what a theater director does," he told The Washington Post. "What you lose by not being there in the flesh, I think there are things you gain.... The camera can take you places and give you an intimacy you sometimes struggle to get in the theater, especially if you sat at the back of the balcony."

The 2013 NTLive season at Music Box continues in the fall with Shakespeare's Othello directed by Nicholas Hytner. . Olivier Award-winning actor Adrian Lester takes the title role in Shakespeare's tale of the destructive power of jealousy. Fellow Olivier Award-winner Rory Kinnear plays opposite as his duplicitous ensign Iago.

Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. For additional information please visitwww.musicboxtheatre.com . Download the entire Music Box Theatre Summer Calendar here: www.musicboxtheatre.com/assets/calendars/Music_Box_Calendar_Summer_2013v2.pdf

National Theatre Live is an initiative by the UK's National Theatre to broadcast live performances onto cinema screens around the world. Since its first season, which began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production ofPhédre starring Helen Mirren, more than 750,000 people have now experienced the National's work on movie screens worldwide.