Does Chicago need more downtown theaters?

Chicago Tribune: "Imagine it's December 2007. 'Wicked' is still playing to packed houses at the Oriental Theatre -- with no closing date in sight. Buoyed by the support of Chicago's large African-American community and the constant sightings of producer Oprah Winfrey, the dedicated Chicago production of 'The Color Purple' is selling tickets at the Cadillac Palace Theatre through 2009. And at the spiffy La Salle Bank Theatre -- the most desirable venue in the Chicago theater district -- the Chicago production of 'Jersey Boys' is a standing-room-only hit with new 'premium' seats going for $300 a pop. Now booking through 2010. But there's a problem. The Broadway in Chicago subscription series now has no place to go. Disney wants to bring back 'The Lion King,' but someone locked the mouse out of its favorite house. Chicago's leading role as a center of pre-Broadway tryouts is under siege -- for a lack of real estate. Just as it re-establishes itself as the Broadway of the Midwest and a major destination for showbiz tourism, Chicago is suddenly running out of theaters."