Drury Lane Theater founder Tony DeSantis died last night at the age of 93. DeSantis worked in Chicago theater for more than fifty years. Jim Jensen works at Drury Lane Theater at Water Tower Place. He says he first met DeSantis twenty-five years ago.
JENSEN: I walked in the lobby, and I said to the gentleman who was vacuuming the rugs, ‘excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Mr. DeSantis?’ And he looked up and said, ‘I’m Tony.’ And that was my introduction to him. When you work at Drury Lane everybody pitches in and does what needs to be done, and he set that example for all of us.
DeSantis opened five Drury Lane theaters around Chicago, two of which are still open. His funeral mass will take place on Monday, June 11th, at Holy Name Cathedral.