Chicago Center for the Performing Arts reportedly done; fall tenants scrambling for space

According to multiple sources, the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, the multitheater venue operated by the former Chicago producers of Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding, is likely ceasing operations as a rental house. Contracted tenants for the upcoming season, including Bailiwick Chicago, UrbanTheater Company and Congo Square Theatre Company, are left hunting for new venues for shows scheduled to open as soon as September 16, in the case of Bailiwick's Violet.

In an email blast late Tuesday night, comedy producer Dave Odd, whose Edge Comedy Club stand-up showcase has been in residence at CCPA since 2007, announced that this week's shows would be his last at the venue. "As of September 1st 2011, The Chicago Center for the Performing Arts will become a megachurch," Odd's email stated. Other sources suggest that City Church Chicago, which holds services at CCPA, had made an offer on the building. CCPA president Anthony Tomaska didn't respond Thursday to a voicemail left at his office; an email to the address listed on CCPA's website for rental inquiries also yielded no reply.

Representatives of Bailiwick, UrbanTheater and Congo Square confirmed they were searching for new homes for the productions they'd scheduled at CCPA for the coming season: Bailiwick's Violet and The North/South Plays, a coproduction with Teatro Luna slated to open in October; Congo Square's Festival on the Square (February 2012) and Bulrusher (May); and UrbanTheater's productions of Nilo Cruz's Beauty of the Father (October) and Suzan-Lori Parks's Fucking A (March).

Update 11am Friday: Bailiwick's Violet has found a new home at the Mercury Theater, where it will run September 16–October 16.