Fire code violations bring curtain down on Elgin Art Showcase

Elgin officials are optimistic that the show will soon go on at the Elgin Art Showcase.

The venue, for which the city leases the eighth floor in the Professional Building on Division Street, was shut down last week by the city after building owners failed to comply with life safety requirements, city spokeswoman Susan Olafson said.

Among those requirements, she said, the building did not provide for a fire alarm system.

For more than a year, Olafson said, firefighters have been stationed throughout the theater during performances as a fire watch.

"There was a temporary solution provided for, but it was always meant to be temporary," she said. "When the requirements were not met, we decided to pull the lease."

The building is owned by Chicago-based firm 164 Division LLC.

So far, the venue's closure has affected three productions in the Showcase's lineup.

Two shows, Elgin Theater Company's "A Comedy Spectacular,"and Northern Illinois University's "I Killed My Mother," were canceled, Showcase coordinator Sylvia Grady said.

Grady does not expect to have to reschedule venues for any of the Showcase's other shows.

"I'm optimistic that the issues can be resolved and they will be resolved quickly," she said. "We've been working with the owners and these aren't insurmountable things. They just take a little bit of time to do."

Grady said she hopes to see the curtain will rise again by mid-August.