Catlow Theater fundraiser will ring in new year as restoration progresses toward reopening in 2027

The Catlow 1927 Foundation will celebrate the new year while raising funds for the restoration of the historic Barrington theater.

The goal is to reopen the Catlow, 116 W. Main St., by 2027, in time for its 100th anniversary.

Champagne will flow as Chicago Cubs anthem announcer John Vincent performs classic covers, beginning at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 31 and ending at 1 a.m. Jan. 1, at the Catlow East, 107 E. Main St.

“It's Chicago-caliber entertainment right here in Barrington, and that's what the Catlow is going to be down the road,” said the foundation's president, Brian Long.

Tickets, available at catloweast.com, are $250 per person, with proceeds benefiting the restoration project. The night includes drinks, filet mignon, beef tenderloin hors d'oeuvres, an elaborate charcuterie spread, shrimp cocktail, desserts and a champagne toast featuring a six-liter Methuselah of Taittinger champagne.

Following a tradition started last year, all attendees will toast from the same bottle at midnight. After the champagne is poured, the bottle is cleaned and everyone at the party signs it, creating a memento of the evening.

The foundation has raised about $2.2 million toward its $6 million goal, and restoration work is well underway. So is the promotional effort — a team of juniors from Barrington High School is helping to promote the effort through videos and a TikTok channel.

Deb Nestrud Gallagher, the foundation's director of development, said the work involves restoration of hand-painted molded plaster, including an ornate proscenium arch hidden behind a permanent movie screen for seven decades.

The third generation of seats, which had become moldy, have been removed and will be replaced. However, “Fountain Girl,” a statue created in 1927 by sculptor Alfonso Iannelli, who collaborated with architect Frank Lloyd Wright on the Midway Gardens dance hall, is still there in all her glory.

The upper floor will offer suites with restored 1920s windows with a green room for visiting artists. The Catlow will also have spaces that can accommodate weddings and special events.

One distinctive feature will be the Chimney Swift Observation Deck, which will shelter federally protected birds that have nested at the Catlow's chimney for more than 50 years.

“It's making the Catlow not just about art and culture,” Gallagher said. “Here you have a natural phenomenon happening in the center of town.”