Actor and Bronzeville native Harry Lennix is one step closer to realizing his dream of a “Black Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts” in his hometown.
The 2023 state budget has granted $26 million to build the Lillian Marcie Center for the Performing Arts, Block Club Chicago reported.
A 22,500-square-foot, old Marshall Field warehouse, which was built in 1915, at 4343 South Cottage Grove Avenue will be the home of the new center. Construction of the facility is expected to cost $25 million and the state funding is coming from the Build Illinois Bond Fund.
The two-story space will have a 350-seat, multi-level auditorium and a smaller 100-seat space for “more intimate” performances. There will also be rehearsal space, dressing rooms, offices and an outdoor gathering area.
The center will also include the African American Museum of Performing Arts, as well as studio space, a restaurant and a jazz club. A groundbreaking has been scheduled for September.
Local developer Keith Giles will oversee the construction along with investor Mike Wordlaw.
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Lennix says the center will serve as a love letter to Bronzeville and is named for two important women in his life: his mother Lillian and his high school principal Marcella “Marcie” Gillie.
“Where [the] government has fallen short, and where the church has failed, that’s where culture can come in,” Lennix said. “I believe it’s an excellent third way, but we need both the church and the state in order to support the culture.”
TaRon Patton, who currently serves as a Congo Square Theatre ensemble member will take on a leadership role at the new Lillian Marcie Center, which, according to the center’s website, will be a “functioning time machine that preserves the sanctity of both the past and present to propel the legacy of Black excellence into the future.”
[BCC] — Victoria Pruitt