The building at 7924 N. Lincoln Ave. in downtown Skokie has hosted performances continuously since 1912, and it's about to get a new chapter. New owners who bought the former Skokie Theatre from Wendy Kaplan on June 29 are rebranding it simply as The Skokie and preparing to reopen the space in December with a lineup that spans music, jazz, comedy, improv, storytelling, and film.
The purchase brings together four owners with very different résumés. Chris Matsakis, a Chicago-area entrepreneur who built and ran e-commerce company Deal Genius for about 20 years before selling it in 2025, owns the venue alongside his wife Monica Matsakis, a storyteller, actor and educator who has performed at The Moth, First Person Live, and This Much Is True. Rounding out the ownership group are actor-producer José Pablo Cantillo, whose screen credits include Elysium, Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, Chappie, and Mayor of Kingston, and his wife Kristi Cantillo, who curated and taught ceramics programs in two Los Angeles County high schools. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chris Matsakis and José Pablo Cantillo first met nearly three decades ago as college freshmen in the Kelley School of Business Honors Program at Indiana University.
A Building That Has Reinvented Itself Before
The theater's roots run deep in Skokie's own history. It opened in 1915 as the 425-seat Niles Center Theatre, built by Samuel Meyer, and wasn't renamed the Skokie Theatre until 1940, when the village itself changed its name to eliminate mail and rail mix-ups with neighboring Niles, Illinois, according to Cinema Treasures. A major 1942 renovation stripped away the original front steps and balcony, expanded the auditorium, and gave the building the Streamline Moderne Art Deco façade that still faces Lincoln Avenue today.
The venue has weathered closures before. After shutting down in 2004 amid declining movie attendance, it was acquired in 2005 and reopened in 2006 following a $1.2 million to $1.5 million restoration that converted it from a movie house into a 148-seat live performance venue, Cinema Treasures reports. That 2005 purchase was spearheaded by the Skokie Valley Music Foundation to save the decaying structure. From February 2014 until this year's sale, Wendy Kaplan and director Wayne Mell ran the space through MadKap Productions, staging annual five-play subscription seasons and local events like the Skokie Idol competition.
Live Entertainment, Bigger Screens, and a New Lobby
Under the new ownership, the roughly 150-seat theater plans to broaden well beyond its recent stage-focused format. The Skokie intends to present music, jazz, theater, comedy, improv, and storytelling, host live podcasts and film festivals, and show more feature films than it has in recent years, per the Chicago Tribune's reporting. Cantillo told the paper he's also weighing standup comedy nights and one-person shows, and said he's been considering a return to live performance himself after noticing that younger audiences are increasingly seeking out live experiences.
The new owners also plan to update the building's décor, refresh the lobby, and add a bar and lounge. That tracks with renovation plans reported by The Record, which described converting the front lobby into a bar, concessions, and lounge space, plus an upstairs private screening room and members-only lounge intended to keep patrons on-site before and after shows. The Record also reported that Hollywood writer-director Joe Carnahan plans to develop stage material specifically for the venue, part of a strategy of using short-run plays to draw working screen actors to Skokie; Cantillo previously acted in Carnahan's action thriller The Rip before the purchase.
Municipal Grant Meets Community Crowdfunding
The reopening is being funded through a mix of public and private money. The Skokie Village Board approved a $50,000 Storefront Enhancement Program matching grant for the theater's restoration on July 20, according to the Village of Skokie, a program structured to reimburse 60% of eligible renovation costs while owners cover the remaining 40%. That municipal support outside a tax-increment financing district is meant to encourage private investment along the corridor.
Separately, the owners set an online fundraising goal of $25,000 to help pay for upgraded film equipment and a new large-format screen; as of the Tribune's reporting, the campaign had raised $30,365. Founding Member sponsorship packages, offered starting at $250 through the campaign, come with opening night tickets, exclusive event access, and permanent name recognition inside the building. Matsakis told the Tribune the campaign would close in a few weeks.
Matsakis said the four owners share a love of live entertainment and of teaching and working with kids, and that they wanted to create a place for the community to perform. He added that variety of programming will be what sets The Skokie apart. The theater has not yet posted its performance calendar, and exactly when in December it will reopen, along with how it will balance local community programming against national talent bookings, remains unresolved for now.
