In Aurora ‘the sky’s the limit’ for new Stolp Island Theatre

At a time when some Chicago area theaters are contracting — suspending operations, laying off staff and producing fewer shows with smaller casts and shorter runs — Paramount Theatre is expanding.

Last week, the Aurora theater broke ground on its third performance space, the 98-seat Stolp Island Theatre at 5 W. Downer Place.

Located along the banks of the Fox River, the experiential/immersive venue is set to open in July with a revival of “Million Dollar Quartet,” a roof-rattling, fictionalized account of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley’s impromptu, December 1956 jam session at Memphis’ Sun Studio.

“This is one more piece of (Aurora’s) theater and entertainment district puzzle we’re putting together,” Paramount president and CEO Tim Rater said of the joint partnership between the theater, the City of Aurora and Verano Holdings Corp., which operates Zen Leaf cannabis dispensary in the city.

“We’re beginning to look like what we hoped to become: a theater/entertainment district,” he added.

Theatergoers entering Stolp Island Theatre will encounter a streetscape that includes Taylor’s Good Food diner and the adjacent Sun Studio, whose doors open to the performance space which can be re-imagined for subsequent shows, Rater said.

“The next production is likely to be completely different,” he said.

But that production may be a long time coming, as Rater expects “Million Dollar Quartet” will run a year or longer.

That optimism is warranted according to Rater, who says Paramount’s 2017 “MDQ” revival was among its highest-grossing shows. The popular jukebox tuner opened in October 2008 at the Goodman Theatre then transferred to the Apollo Theater, where it ran almost eight years.

“We’re doing ‘MDQ’ because it’s a show people want to see,” Rater said.

Options for the new space are unlimited, according to artistic director Jim Corti. He anticipates Paramount’s creative team will develop new shows not just for the Stolp but for other Paramount venues as well.

“The sky’s the limit like always,” Corti said. “It’s all about the power of possibilities and what the audience wants.”

With more than 400 performances annually, Rater estimates Stolp Theater will generate $3.3 million, boosting the combined contribution of the Paramount, Copley, Stolp and RiverEdge Park venues to the local economy to about $30 million annually.

Rater and Corti considered launching a third venue six years ago when they, along with city officials including Mayor Richard Irvin and the Aurora Civic Center Authority, announced an expansion that included a remodel of the 165-seat Copley Theatre and the establishment of a performing arts school.

The COVID-19 pandemic stalled those plans, said Rater, but Paramount’s post-pandemic rebound put them back on track.

Single-ticket sales have since recouped to pre-pandemic levels or better, he said. Meanwhile last year’s season subscriptions totaled 37,000, only 4,000 shy of the pre-pandemic high of 41,000.

“Our audience not only came back from COVID, it’s growing and they’re clamoring for more,” Corti said.

Rater attributes much of Paramount’s success to the City of Aurora.

“We’re very aware of how lucky we are to have the city as a partner,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have a relationship that allows us to keep our foot on the gas.”

Corti credits the theater’s existence to Aurora, which preserved the 1,834-seat theater and gave it landmark status prior to his and Rater’s arrival nearly 14 years ago.

“They say follow your dream. I never dreamt this. I could never have dreamed this,” Corti said. “It feels like this was always meant to be.”