About the Mercury
History
The building that houses the Mercury opened in 1912 as a silent film nickelodeon called the Blaine Theater, named after former Senator and Secretary of State James G. Blaine. Around 1928 the popularity of “talkies” was on the rise, and the Blaine had become obsolete, so the much larger movie palace, the New Blaine Theater was built, which was shortly after named the Music Box Theater, still in operation today a few doors down from the Mercury.
For most of the 20th century the original Blaine building served many retail purposes, and for a while, operated as a carpet cleaning facility, using the rake of the seating area to lay rugs out and drain the water off. In 1994, veteran Chicago theater producer Michael Cullen organized the purchase and renovation of the building, re-dubbing it the Mercury Theater after Orson Welles’ famous troupe of War of the Worlds fame. The Mercury opened in 1996 with Pope Joan, and from 1996-2009 showcased many critically acclaimed productions, including The Irish and How they Got That Way, Over the Tavern, and His Way, a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Cullen also opened Cullen’s Bar & Grill, attached to the theater.
After suffering a stroke, Cullen and his business partners sold the building to the group which now operates it, lead by Executive Director L. Walter Stearns, a veteran theater director, and former Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre. Michael Cullen’s friends and family still operate Cullen’s Bar and Grill, where you can get a drink before, during, and after the show.
Though little of the Blaine still exists, you can see hints of what used to be inside, including decorative plaster pilaster busts flanking the house. The intimate theater now boasts warm exposed brick walls and 292 seats that were recovered and refurbished from a 1933 era Boston movie house.
