A breath of air has been blown into a historic theater in Rogers Park. The newly opened Rhapsody Theater opened Tuesday at 1328 W Morse Avenue. The theater originally opened in 1912 as the Morse Theatre which operated as a vaudeville and movie house. According to Cinema Treasures, the original theater sat 650 audience members. In 1938 the theater was remodeled in an Art Deco style, reopened, and was dubbed the Co-Ed Theatre.
The Co-Ed Theatre later closed in 1954 and operated as a synagogue from 1956 until 1977. The space was renovated and reopened once again as the Morse Theatre in 2008, and then once more as the Mayne Stage beginning in 2010. The Mayne Stage operated as a concert venue before transitioning into hosting special events.
The new owner is Dr. Ricardo T. Rosenkranz who is a Chicago neonatologist and assistant professor in clinical pediatrics at Northwestern University. Rosenkranz purchased the theater for $2.5 million from Col. Jennifer Pritzker’s Tawani Enterprises.
Rosenkranz is also an illusionist known for starring in “The Rosenkranz Mysteries,” and plans to make the Rhapsody Theater into “a new destination for magic, music, and more.”
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Congratulations, Ricardo! What an incredible venue!
Doc Grimes