Fire Destroys Shady Lane

Northwest Herald

The Shady Lane theater opened in 1941, introducing the East Coast’s summer stock theater to the area.Nancy Fike, administrator for the McHenry County Historical Society, thumbed through a collection of old comedy playbills Monday afternoon.Frank Bryan founded what has been known by many names – from Shady Lane Farm to Shady Lane Centre – to build onto the restaurant he established in 1937.In 1966, Fike added, the summer theater celebrated its 25th year as the oldest one in the Midwest.“I was there probably in the ‘60s, myself,” Fike said. “It was really a wonderful place to go. It was a nice drive, and you were entertained. It was nothing real serious. It was usually lighthearted.”The restaurant side was well-known for its fried chicken dinners, which originally were sold for $1. Ham dinners were 75 cents.The theater was renovated in 1991, with occasional performances through the 1990s.Popular productions at Shady Lane included “The Philadelphia Story,” plus its last known 1998-99 season of titles such as “1776,” “Oliver!,” “Guys and Dolls,” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”Some famous actors who appeared at the playhouse include Jeff Chandler, Celeste Holm, Geraldine Page, and David Hasselhoff. Fike added that comedian Jerry Stiller also lost his first job there – when he was fired after one performance at Shady Lane.

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