Merle Reskin Theatre

DePaul's historic Merle Reskin Theatre is located at 60 E. Balbo Drive and has been a neighborhood landmark in Chicago’s South Loop since 1910. The stage has served as a foundation for the training of hundreds of artists.

Since its opening, the theatre has changed owners, names, audiences, and has seen the city of Chicago grow and change around it. Read below to learn more about this Chicago treasure!

DePaul and the Theatre

By the fall of 1988 The Theatre School had invested $1,000,000 in renovations to the Blackstone Theatre and began its production schedule of more than 200 performances annually.

In March of 1989, Moliere's The Misanthrope directed by David William marked "the opening of the Blackstone Theatre for the second time." Of the event, Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "Having physically saved and improved the Blackstone ... DePaul also has made sure that the theatre's artistic content is at a high level for the reopening."

Members of the theatre community in Chicago are delighted that this use by DePaul enables Chicago to save an important theatre. Since DePaul's purchase of the Blackstone Theatre, it has generously shared the theatre with many prominent Chicago performing arts organizations, as well as companies from around the world. The following list includes those who have utilized the Blackstone Theatre in the past: American Institute of Architects, American Players Theatre, Ballet Chicago, Boitsov Ballet, Chamber Music Chicago, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Public Schools, City Musik, Encyclopedia Britannica, International Theatre Festival (Renaissance Theatre Company, Le Cirque Imaginaire, Katona Jozsef Theatre, Theatre an der Ruhr, State Theatre of Lithuania, English Shakespeare Company, Gate Theatre, Circus Oz), Joel Hall Dancers, The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee, Lyric Opera of Chicago, McDonald's Corporation, Old Town School of Folk Music, 20th Century Fox and NVBEZ Radio.

In 1991, the DePaul Blackstone Theatre celebrated its 80th birthday. Rev. John T. Richardson C.M., president of DePaul University, said, "It gives me great pleasure to say that during its 80th anniversary year, the Blackstone Theatre is alive and well and busier than ever!" Later that year Fr. Richardson was presented a Joseph Jefferson Award for his outstanding leadership and efforts in the rescue, nurturing and refurbishing of both The Theatre School and the Blackstone Theatre. Chicago's first lady Maggie Daley presented the award saying, "As if they were two abandoned or orphaned children, the Goodman School in 1978 and the Blackstone Theatre in 1988 were adopted and given homes by DePaul University. As if they were long-lost siblings meant for each other, the now-66-year-old theatre school and the 80-year-old theatre have since been able to enjoy prolonged and productive lives."

More Information

If you are interested in learning more about the Goodman School of Drama and The Theatre School at DePaul University, additional archives are located at:

Goodman School of Drama Archive
Special Collections and Preservation Division
Chicago Public Library
Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. State St., 9th floor
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (312) 747-4875

DePaul University Archive
Special Collections and Archives
John T. Richardson Library
2350 N. Kenmore Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: (773) 325-7864 ​