History

• Opening in 1987, the Famous Door Theatre company began with eight members and eventually expanded to a 30-member ensemble. The non profit theatrical company was founded by Dan Rivkin and Marc Grapey. While the organization was considered a professional company, it was also a non-equity theater. The company started out humbly by transforming an Uptown laundromat into a theater that could seat 45. The company also mounted productions in several other Chicago venues such as the Victory Garden, the Theatre Building and the Jane Addams Center.
  
  

Features

• At the Jane Adams Center, the Famous Door Theatre began to offer master acting classes. The facilities also offered the opportunity to present up to six plays on the main stage per year. Honoring their ties to the city of Chicago, Famous Door also presented a yearly series called "Women at the Door." This showcase featured the work of female directors and playwrights in the Chicago area.
  
  

Identification

• The company borrowed its name from a tradition first noted by co-founder Marc Grapey at a South Side Chicago jazz club. Musicians at the club would carve their names into a wooden door. The acting company and crew took up a similar practice, giving the Famous Door Theatre Company its name.
  
  

Highlights and Honors

• Despite its small budget, the company mounted many significant productions over the years including "The Cider House Rules", "Hellcab", "Ghetto", "Conquest of the South Pole" and "Beautiful Things." Tributes included fifteen nominations and six wins from the Joseph Jefferson Awards, an organization that honors achievement in Chicago theater. Three Famous Door productions were listed on Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times "10 best plays of the year" lists.
  
  

Famous connections

• Marc Grapey, the artistic director and co-founder of the Famous Door Theatre company, has appeared on the television show "Sex and the City" playing JJ Mitchell. Grapey has also appeared in such films as "While You Were Sleeping", "A Piece of Eden" and "The Day Trippers."
  
  

Demise

• Budgets constraints and poor ticket sales for some productions put the company's future into question. Part of the problem was the uneven quality of the shows produced. While some shows such as "Hellcab" and "Ghetto" were met with critical acclaim and financial success, others such as "This Lime Tree Bower" and "A Going Concern" were seen as artistic and financial failures. The Famous Door Theatre Company came to an end in 2005.