At a press event Tuesday morning, the Goodman Theatre announced plans to expand its facility into a new 7,800 square-foot space adjoined to the theater's second-floor lobby, above Petterino's restaurant. Named for a late board member, the Alice B. Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement will be a new home for established Goodman programs including the teen workshop PlayBuild Youth Intensive (formerly known as General Theater Studies), the senior-focused GeNarrations, and the Cindy Bandle Young Critics, which connects young women with writing mentors from the Association for Women Journalists.
The theater said it's raised $11 million of a projected $15 million for the annex, which the Goodman is branding as "the Alice," including selling naming rights for a number of positions, rooms and sections of rooms. In conjunction with the expansion announcement, Goodman execs announced the completion of the $15 million "Endowing Excellence" campaign it began in 2011. Speaking at the announcement Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel joked that he's not used to being able to use the adjective "exciting" next to the words "fiscal news."