CHICAGO TRIBUNE: The goal is in sight for Northlight Theatre as the theater company seeks $25 million for phase one of the construction of its new theater at 1012-16 Church Street in downtown Evanston.

EVANSTON ROUNDTABLE: The start date for the construction of the Northlight Theatre in Evanston got a boost with a recent $3 million donation by the Finnegan family. Talking about the gift, Paul Finnegan said, “It’s time to bring Northlight home.”

EVANSTON NOW: The gift brings funds raised for Northlight’s planned new theatre building at 1012-16 Church St. in downtown Evanston to over $20 million, within reach of its pre-construction goal of $24 million.

Northlight Theatre’s return to Evanston will take a few more years, Executive Director Tim Evans told the RoundTable, as construction on the new theatre is expected to finish in the third quarter of 2026.

Over 100 individuals representing a broad range of Evanston businesses attended Northlight Theatre’s community event at Five & Dime on March 13.

Northlight Theatre officials persuaded Evanston’s Land Use Commission Wednesday night to recommend approval of changes to the planned building’s front façade — citing soaring costs for building materials as the reason for the change.

The partnerships, the plays, the people – along with the purpose, passion and progress – were all part of the celebration Thursday, as hundreds of Evanstonians gathered at the Theater on the Lake in Chicago for its annual gala.

After five years in the works, plans seem to be falling together… But new construction is hardly the only building driving Northlight’s Evanston-based endeavors. The theater’s teaching artists and educators have spent years building connections with Evanston, tending the theater’s local roots even as its brick-and-mortar presence remained out of town.