George Van Dusen Theatre, North Shore Center

History

The George Van Dusen Theatre is the main hall of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, at 9501 Skokie Boulevard. Graham Gund designed the center, which opened in 1996 as a purpose-built home for the presenting work Dorothy Litwin’s Centre East had done since 1979 in the former Niles East High School auditorium. That larger theatre was long called the Center Theatre, and on March 20, 2025, the village renamed it for Mayor George Van Dusen. It books musicals, concerts, comedy, dance, and symphony programs, while Northlight Theatre uses the center’s smaller stage.