Erie Playhouse is a historic theatre located in
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
.
History
The Erie Playhouse was established as the "Peoples Theatre" by 1882, and was incorporated as the Erie Civic Theatre Association in 1916.
The troupe performed at the H.V. Claus Block building on State Street between 10th Street and 12th Street in 1882. Productions were performed from 1915 to 1919 at the Reed Hotel near North Park Row. In 1919, the theatre relocated to the Keystone Brass Foundry, where performances were held until 1927. The theatre built its own facility in 1929 on West 7th Street between Sassafras Street and Peach Street. It operated at this site, except for a three-year period during World War II, until 1965, when the site was sold to
Gannon University
Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA Di ...
. The company occupied the Penn Movie House in
Wesleyville, Pennsylvania
Wesleyville is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,229 at the 2020 census, down from 3,341 in 2010. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Wesleyville is located at (42.137056, ...
from 1965 to 1975, when fire regulations forced the closing of the building, at which time performances of the "Brave Little Theatre Without A Home" were held at an assortment of local venues.
In 1983, the company purchased and renovated the Strand Theatre at 13 West 10th Street in downtown Erie, which is its present home. It is a
proscenium
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
theatre with capacity for 433 patrons; renovations in 2007 reduced capacity from the original 1983 layout of 520 seats.
[Playhouse to Open With 'Thoroughly Modern' Seats, Erie Times-News, September 15, 2007, pg 6B] The theatre experienced a US $1 million renovation in 1993.
The company's first production in the 1983 season was
Annie
Annie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress
* Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer
The ...
. Its 1,000th performance at its current home was
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
in 2000.
Directors
*
Henry B. Vincent (1916–1941) died in 1941
* L. Newell Tarrant (1946–1962) died in 2000
* Bill Cohen (circa 1962–1972)
* David Matthews (1972–2006) died in 2021
* Almitra Clerkin (2006–2017)
* Kate Lechner (2017- )
Awards
* Recognized by the American Theatre Association in 1985 as one of the Ten Best Community Theatres in the United States
* The Erie Playhouse received the 2015 Reader's Choice Award from the PA Theatre Guide as the Best Community Theatre in Pennsylvania
Affiliated programs
Erie Playhouse hosts Youtheatre, an opportunity for students to learn about the stage behind the scenes, in classes, and in a long-running summer camp.
References
External links
Erie PlayhouseHistory of the PlayhouseMillennium Theatres contains full playlist since 1916
{{coord, 42.1249, -80.0831, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title
Theatres in Pennsylvania
Culture of Erie, Pennsylvania
Tourist attractions in Erie, Pennsylvania
Buildings and structures in Erie, Pennsylvania