Ravinia unveils the first of its renovated venues ahead of grand reopening in 2026
The $75 million multi-year renovation of Ravinia's 36-acre music park in north suburban Highland Park is underway ahead of its grand reopening in 2026, but one of the indoor venues is already open to the public.
The Audrey, formerly known as the Ravinia MusicBox, was revealed at a press event on Thursday. Inside The Audrey, in the north corner of the park, is the newly renovated Sandra K. Crown Theater. With approximately 100 seats, it’s an indoor live performance venue meant for intimate, immersive audio and visual experiences.
Inside the theater Thursday evening, students in Ravinia's Reach Teach Play program, which aims to increase the quality of music education in Chicago Public Schools, showcased their original work.
The night culminated with a performance from the iconic band Earth, Wind & Fire — fresh off a guest performance Sunday with Sabrina Carpenter at Lollapalooza — on the historic pavilion.
Adjacent to the railroad, Ravinia first opened in 1904 as a summertime “high-end amusement park” and music-venue escape from the congestion of the city. But ahead of the 125th anniversary in 2029, the operators of the renowned music park wanted to give the space a much-needed face-lift.
“We realized that all of our stages are actually getting older and out of date,” said Ravinia CEO Jeffrey P. Haydon, adding that the wide variety of music played at Ravinia requires a deeper range of technology and production equipment.
The transformed pavilion won’t be unveiled until 2026, but a few performances are scheduled to take place this year in the theater at the newly renovated Audrey, which was completed this spring.
Some of the new amenities include wider, cushioned seats, and the Audrey is the first venue on-site to have cupholders, according to Haydon.
One of the biggest changes is that the holographic performances it was once known for are probably a thing of the past. It's now best suited for live performances.
“We took the opportunity to update the theater so that it could be a cutting-edge black box theater,” Haydon added.
It also features a proscenium stage, which allows the audience to view the performance through a "picture frame" opening. There's also a large screen with multimedia capabilities, enhancing jazz and classical music performances in the Audrey with visuals.
Haydon said Ravinia will have a lot of flexibility to change the seating in the theater depending on the event, because the seats aren’t affixed to the ground. From cabaret to board meetings and movie screenings and live concerts, the versatile theater even has room for bean bag chairs.
Adjacent to the theater, an elaborate archival exhibition on display details Ravinia's rich history. One moment captured in the exhibit is when the pavilion burned down in 1949 and was later reconstructed. (Like many old structures in the Chicago area, it was originally built entirely of a notoriously flammable material: wood.)
Also under renovation is the pavilion, which is being renamed to the Hunter Pavilion. It currently has 3,350 seats, but Haydon says he expects that number to decrease once renovations are complete.
Some of the acts performing recently at Ravinia have taken advantage of the new improvements to the pavilion's backstage area and sound system.
At a show earlier this season, singer-songwriter James Taylor told Ravinia staff after his soundcheck that it was the "best sound system" he'd experienced in a long time, according to an anecdote from Haydon.
And for Earth, Wind & Fire's performance, the band with Chicago roots were able to bring in all of their semitrucks (filled with band equipment, props and more) with quick ease through the brand-new two-bay loading dock.
Haydon said he hopes that these improvements will help attract even more big artists to Ravinia.
Another major renovation to be completed is the Martin Theatre. It's the only building remaining from the original construction in 1904.
“That's the most historic site on the ground, and it's 121 years old,” Haydon said.
“Unfortunately, the foundation is failing, and we need to do some major work to upgrade the foundation and all the infrastructure," Haydon added. "It's a much bigger project than anyone ever anticipated.”
The Martin should be open by the time the Hunter Pavilion is ready next year. It's set to happen in mid-July 2026, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns for its annual residency.
These renovations are all about keeping up with the “competitive music environment in Chicago,” Haydon said.