Apple Tree Theatre Closes Its Doors

The Apple Tree Theatre in Highland Park, IL has closed its doors, according to a report in The Chicago Tribune. The theater’s 2009-2010 season has been canceled, as have the company’s arts-education programs.

The theater was founded as the Eileen Boevers Performing Arts Workshop in 1970. In 1983, she expanded operations to include a professional theater company, which she dubbed the Apple Tree Theatre. The company started in the same Highland Park church basement that launched the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. By the early 1990s, it was one of the leading theaters in the Chicago area, fostering the careers of Gary Griffin and Felicia P. Fields.