| |
| | Steppenwolf Theatre |
 | | In its rise from a humble hometown start to international fame, Steppenwolf became a Chicago cultural icon, symbolic of the heights of high-profile achievement to which a locally based theater could climb. |
 | | Founded in 1975 and originally housed in the 88-seat basement auditorium of a Roman Catholic church and school in north suburban Highland Park, the scrappy, ambitious ensemble of young actors, including several alumni of Illinois State University, made their first, sensational impression with intense, highly physical interpretations of gritty contemporary drama. |
 | | In 1991, Steppenwolf moved into a new $8 million, 500-seat theater at 1650 N. Halsted Street, and in 1998, in a first for a theater organization, it received a National Medal of Arts, which cited its outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States. |
| www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org /pages/1197.html (237 words) |
|