League of Chicago Theatres and Choose Chicago Announce Theatre Week Success

The League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago, celebrates a successful first-ever Chicago Theatre Week. Throughout the week of February 12-17, 2013, Chicago celebrated the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago with residents and visitors attending theatres in neighborhoods and suburbs throughout Chicagoland.

With over 97 participating productions, over 6,200 tickets were sold to over 300 performances. During the course of the week special events were also held at participating theatres, including enrichment activities such as talk backs with artists and added-value activities such as drink specials, as well as hotel and restaurant discounts.

"The goals of Theatre Week were to celebrate Chicago theatre by offering patrons special incentives and encouraging participation throughout all Chicago neighborhoods. The strategy included communication with visitors and residents, and with the support of Choose Chicago, Theatre Week had a digital reach of 1.6 million through email, facebook and Twitter; over 51,000 unique website visitors; and almost 7,000 Theater Week email subscribers, reports Deb Clapp, Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres. "The remarkable results show a heightened visibility for the theatre industry as people all over Chicago experienced a new theatre or revisited an old favorite."
Local press was extremely supportive of Theatre Week, resulting in news stories that reached over a million readers of newspapers and magazines. Television and radio segments reached over 200,000 homes and included WGN, WBEZ, WIND, WLS-TV (Windy City Live and 190 North), WBBM-TV and WFLD-TV.

Eileen LaCario, Vice President of Broadway In Chicago and Chair of the League of Chicago Theatres comments, "Theatre Week was a smashing success, and was well-received by the theatre community. We applaud the City of Chicago and Choose Chicago for embracing this new initiative as part of the new Chicago Cultural Plan and with absolute certainty, expectations were met for ticket sales, heightened the visibility and all around enthusiasm for Chicago's great theatre scene. Looking forward to next year - with even greater results!"

"Theatre Week supported the effort to expand the visibility of theatre as a vital industry in Chicago. Theatre is an important part of what attracts visitors to this city and Choose Chicago was honored to participate in the development and promotion of the week-long event," says Melissa Cherry, Choose Chicago's Vice President for Cultural Tourism and Neighborhoods.

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