Victory Gardens Theater Revives Under Interim Leadership After Years of Turmoil
Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, which has been inactive since September 2022 due to staff layoffs and board conflicts, is set to make a comeback under the interim leadership of Edward Torres and Archana Vaidya. This historic theater has recently hosted a writers' workshop, a showcase with New Musical Chicago, and a reading of Andrei Kureichik's play An Ocean Away, which aimed to raise funds for Ukrainian support. Torres took on the role of interim artistic director in December 2025, while Vaidya was appointed interim executive director in the summer of 2025. The theater intends to stage two productions by early 2027, including one in the fall of 2026. Established in 1974, it received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2001 but has struggled financially, reporting negative net income from 2021 to 2024.
Key facts
- Victory Gardens Theater has been largely dormant since September 2022.
- Interim artistic director Edward Torres was hired in December 2025.
- Interim executive director Archana Vaidya joined in summer 2025.
- The theater hosted a staged reading of Andrei Kureichik's An Ocean Away to raise funds for Ukrainian aid.
- Victory Gardens won the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2001.
- The company moved to the renovated Biograph Theater in 2006 after a $12 million purchase.
- Financial deficits included nearly $1 million in net income loss in 2011.
- Current board has seven members, down from 20 in fiscal year 2022.
Entities
Artists
- Edward Torres
- Archana Vaidya
- Andrei Kureichik
- Warren Casey
- Cordis Fejer
- Stuart Gordon
- Roberta Maguire
- Mac McGinniss
- Cecil O'Neal
- June Pyskacek
- David Rasche
- Dennis Začek
- Marcelle McVay
- Douglas Post
- Charles Smith
- Chay Yew
- Ike Holter
- Marcus Gardley
- Luis Alfaro
- Naomi Iizuka
- Tanya Saracho
- Laura Schellhardt
- Philip Dawkins
- Samuel D. Hunter
- Sandy Shinner
- Ken-Matt Martin
- Ericka Dickerson-Despenza
- Kristoffer Diaz
- David Mamet
- Daniil Krimer
- John Dillinger
- Richard Christiansen
- Mark Larson
- Emily McClanathan
- Erica Daniels
Institutions
- Victory Gardens Theater
- American Theatre
- New Musical Chicago
- Protez Foundation
- Selfreliance Association
- Teatro Vista
- Roosevelt University
- Relentless Theatre Group
- Chicago Tribune
- Goodman Theatre
- Steppenwolf Theatre
- Body Politic Theater
- Greenhouse Theater Center
- Royal George Theatre
- Congo Square Theatre Company
- DePaul University
- TCG
- National Critics Institute
Locations
- Chicago
- United States
- Lincoln Park
- Southeast Side
- New York
- India
- Belarus
- Ukraine
- Pilsen
- Singapore
- London
- Lincoln Avenue