The Vic Theatre is a music venue located in Chicago, Illinois. Vic Theatre can easily accommodate 1,400 people or with a seated capacity of 1,000.
History
Vic Theatre, designed by architect John Eberson, opened in 1912 as the Victoria Theatre. It took three years to build the luxurious five-story Vaudeville house. The theatre was owned and built by Robert E. Ricksen and Frank Gazzolo. Ricksen and Gazzolo operated the Crown and Imperial theaters as well. Costing $300,000 to construct it was equipped with every luxury. (Source: September 14, 1912 Billboard publication)
In 1983 The Vic was purchased by Walt Klein who spent several million restoring it. Opening with the 20th Anniversary of Second City and recorded for broadcast by HBO The Vic was originally programmed by Lou Valpano and Celebration Flipside. Within a year programming was handled by Dave Frey, who brought in Holiday Star Theater as a partner.
In 1986 Walt and his team brought in Thunderdome Enterprises to handle day to day operations and bring the popular ClubLand nightclub to extend the venue's operating hours. During this period concert booking and promotions were moved to Jam Productions. In 1988 Michael Butler produced the 20th anniversary revival of "Hair" at the Vic. In 1990 ClubLand closed, and Thunderdome Enterprises reconcepted the nightclub into the short-lived Catwalk. In the mid-1990's, Brew & View was established at the Vic, offering movies and drinks on non-concert nights. Later, Walt sold The Vic to Jam Productions.
In November 1988, Michael Butler produced the musical Hair at the Vic Theater to celebrate the shows' 20th anniversary. The production ran until February 1989.[1]
Cage the Elephant recorded a live album, Cage the Elephant Live at the Vic in Chicago in 2012.
King Crimson played in a line-up featuring among others guitarist Robert Fripp and three previous line-ups' drummers performing simultaneously, for 4 consecutive nights in autumn 2014, one of only nine city stops for this incarnation of the band.
Todd Rundgren performed two nights March 2-3, 1990, with the second show being broadcast live on WXRT.
Pete Correale's stand-up special "Let Me Tell Ya" for Showtime was recorded at the Vic in May 2015.
Iliza Shlesinger's stand-up Netflix special Confirmed Kills was recorded at the Vic on April 23, 2016.
Pete Holmes’s stand-up HBO Special “Faces and Sounds” was recorded at the Vic in 2016.
Midnight Oil played here on May 18, 2017, on The Great Circle World Tour, their first tour since 2002.
Ariana Grande played here on August 22, 2018, for her "Sweetener Sessions" mini tour to celebrate her new album "Sweetener".
Sabaton played here on October 26, 2019, for their Great Tour, opened by fellow Swedish band HammerFall.
