The theater, which is largely underground due to Grant Park-related height restrictions, was named for its primary benefactors, Joan and Irving Harris.

It provides subsidized rental, technical expertise, and marketing support for the companies using it, and turned a profit in its fourth fiscal year.

The Harris Theater has hosted notable national and international performers, such as the New York City Ballet's first visit to Chicago in over 25 years (in 2006).

[10] The need for a new theater was identified by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in a 1990 study; the new venue had to be flexible, affordable, and technically and physically "state-of-the-art".

[9] Once the need was identified, the theater was the culmination of "years of planning by Chicago's philanthropic, arts, business and government leaders" including groups like Music of the Baroque, which now perform there regularly.

[11][12] The Harris Theater is in Grant Park, which lies between Lake Michigan to the east and the Loop to the west, and has been Chicago's front yard since the mid-19th century.

"[16] Grant Park has been "forever open, clear and free" since, protected by legislation that has been affirmed by four previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings.

[37] The Harris Theater is located beneath and directly north of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park's outdoor performance venue.

The theater and pavilion were built adjacent to each other at about the same time, with the benefit that they share a loading dock, rehearsal rooms and other backstage facilities.

[28] The theater's sightlines and acoustics provide "an unusually modern and stainless-steel bolstered environment" for experiencing performances according to the Centerstage City Guide.

[42] The initial construction leaked and did not protect some non-public spaces from water exposure; this cost Chicago taxpayers $1 million for repairs in 2008.

[43] The Harris Theater is a privately owned institution serving mostly local mid-size non-profit arts companies and projects, including those, like Old Town School of Folk Music, which sponsor touring artists.

[42][52][53] As of 2021, the Harris Theater Resident Companies comprises 25 organizations from the Apollo Chorus of Chicago to Roosevelt University's CCPA Symphony Orchestra.

[54] In the fall of the 2006–07 season, the Harris Theater hosted the New York City Ballet for five days of performances that marked the company's first visit to Chicago in over 25 years.

[7] This presentation grossed $2.3 million and enticed 600 new donors to support the theater, which netted $800,000 for operations and rental subsidies for its resident troupes.

[59] The theater has hosted several successful jazz performances, including Nicholas Payton's comeback and the first indoor Chicago show by the Portuguese fado singer Mariza.

[62] The Harris Theater has been the subject of numerous reviews, which are probably best summed up by the Chicago Tribune's architecture critic Blair Kamin, who describes it as a "solid, though not unqualified, success", while giving it a two star rating (out of a possible four).

[64] Another Tribune journalist, John von Rhein, describes the theater as a boon to the performing groups that it serves, and praises it for being state-of-the-art.

He also notes that because of the theater's success it is able "to present an increasing number of risky, sometimes boundary-busting events the likes of which audiences will hear nowhere else in the area".

[65] However, von Rhein notes that the theater's size poses a challenge to the performers attempting to fill its seats, and feels that it overemphasizes high-priced events.