Lake Zurich Playhouse Was Summer Home To Actors

This week's "Bringing Back the Past" feature is on the old Lake Zurich Playhouse.

According to the Ela Historical Society, "the Playhouse was a summer home-away-form-home for several well-known actors and actresses between the late 1930s and early 1950s." The Playhouse was located where the Water's Edge Apartments stand today, across from the lake.

Three cottages that were once located on the site were converted into the Lake Zurich Playhouse, which seated about 200 people. The Playhouse was founded by Bella Itkin, who served as the director of Chicago's Goodman Theater.

In Ela Historical Society documents, a Lake Zurich resident described her experiences working at the Playhouse. She and her friends helped clean the Playhouse and paint scenery in exchange for free attendance at the dress rehearsals.

"The memories of the theater for her were quite exciting because at the time, there were only 350 people in Lake Zurich and people came from all over to see the shows," the writer states in the historical documents. "She said the actors and actresses lived upstairs at the Playhouse. They would make cookies and sell lemonade to make extra money, too."

Here's your question this week: Can you name the famous actress who starred in more than 100 different plays at the Lake Zurich Playhouse after World War II? Here's a hint: Her performance opposite John Wayne in one film resulted in an Academy Award nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category.