New performing arts venue in downtown Elgin aims to be ‘cornerstone’ of regional arts scene

A new performing arts space in Elgin hopes to become a “cornerstone” of the regional arts scene.

The Lodge Performing Arts Center recently held a gala and grand opening performance to welcome the public to the former Elks Lodge at 18 Villa St.

The venue will be the permanent home for Students on Stage, a subsidiary of Schaumburg On Stage, and point2point productions. In addition, it will be available to other theater companies to rent throughout the year.

Mary Alice and Michael Benoit of Bartlett purchased the building in 2023. It had most recently served as office space but has undergone a massive renovation.

“It is really our desire for this place to become a cornerstone of the performing arts community,” Mary Alice Benoit said.

When the couple first toured the building just before the pandemic hit, it was occupied but had fallen into disrepair.

“There was considerable mold damage, water damage, the exterior had not been addressed in years,” she said. “But it had great bones. It was a beautiful property.”

The couple tabled the idea during the pandemic. In the ensuing few years, offers by other groups to purchase the building fell through. The couple put in an offer in June 2023 that was later accepted.

By then, the building was “even further distressed,” Benoit recalled.

“We got a pretty good deal on the building,” she said. “But it needed a lot of work, a lot of work.”

So far, the acquisition and renovation has cost over $2.6 million, roughly $600,000 of which came from tax increment financing funding from the city.

“We’re definitely losing money on this deal, but that’s not the purpose,” Benoit said. “The purpose is to support the northwest suburban art scene. A big, big obstacle to performing arts companies is the inaccessibility to affordable performing arts spaces.”

Students on Stage and point2point productions will have about six productions a year in the space. Their schedule for the rest of 2025 includes youth performances of “The Lion King Jr.” and “Hadestown” and adult productions of “Spring Awakening” and “Next to Normal.”

Other theater groups will be able to rent out the venue during the rest of the year.

“Already there’s a lot of excitement,” she said. “Our goal is that this space is just happening all the time with community-based projects.”

The performance area, which was having seating installed this week on retractable risers to make the space more versatile, features new lighting and sound equipment and will seat 135 people.

The theater will be run by the nonprofit The Lodge Foundation, which will raise money for further enhancements to the performance space.

Once the foundation secures funding, the next phase of the renovation plan will happen. That will include expanding the performance area on the first floor and increasing the seating capacity to roughly 300.

“We want to do everything we can to enhance the livability and productivity of the groups renting here,” Benoit said. “I’ve rented a lot of properties over the years, and this would be a dream for almost any community-based theater to be able to perform in a totally renovated, state-of-the-art, designed-for-them type of building.”

The lower level, which is still under renovation, will eventually be either a black box theater seating 70 to 90 or become the new home of the Elgin Art Showcase, a city-run performance and visual art space.

Benoit said she performed in theater in high school and college, then started volunteering at Schaumburg on Stage when her children enrolled there. She eventually joined the staff and now serves as executive director.

She transitioned the group to be a nonprofit, and it acquired a couple of properties in Schaumburg for educational and workshop space. But the group didn’t have a performance space.

“We needed a venue, and we just fell in love with this place,” she said. “It’s a historic space, and it has been an honor to revitalize it.”

Benoit said they look forward to the venue becoming an integral part of the arts scene in Elgin and the surrounding communities.

“We want there to be a comfort level so that every group that comes in here feels like it’s their home,” she said. “That’s our dream, our legacy.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250605/performing-arts/new-performing-arts-venue-in-downtown-elgin-aims-to-be-cornerstone-of-regional-arts-scene/