The Hanna Theatre is a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

at Playhouse Square in downtown

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. It is one of the original five venues built in the district, opening on March 28, 1921. The Hanna Theatre reopened in 2008 as the new home of

Great Lakes Theater Festival Great Lakes Theater, originally known as the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, is a professional classic theater company in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1962, Great Lakes is the second-largest Regional theater in the United States, ...

after a major renovation by the classic theater company.

Original structure

The Hanna Theatre was envisioned by industrialist and publisher Daniel Rhodes Hanna as part of a larger complex in memorial to his father, late U.S. Senator Mark A. Hanna, and was designed by architect

Charles A. Platt Charles Adams Platt (October 16, 1861 – September 12, 1933) was a prominent American architect, garden designer, and artist of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture. Early career Pai ...

. Faustinno Sampietro was responsible for most of the interior decorations, which included green and gold carpets, dark green seats, frescoed walls, a fireplace, and

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

gilt furniture; the ceiling was coffered and was made up of circular and octagonal medallions, each of which contained gilded classical figures (including Cupid,

Psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

, and Pegasus). The orchestra level consisted of 827 seats arranged in 24 rows, and the upper deck held 570 seats. Four rows in the mezzanine, ten rows in the upper balcony, and the box seats brought the theatre's full capacity to 1,421. The stage was forty feet in width and forty feet in depth, equipped with a thirty-six foot proscenium arch. Some idiosyncrasies exist in the layout: Dan Hanna insisted he wanted more room in between the fourth and fifth rows when he tested out a seat he meant to reserve for himself, and as a result there remained thirty-five inches in between these two rows instead of the standard thirty-one inches.

Opening

On March 28, 1921, 1,500 people ventured out into the freezing cold temperatures to witness the new theatre's first production,

William Faversham William FavershamBlum, Daniel (c. 1954). ''Great Stars of the American Stage''. "Profile No. 46". 2nd ed. (12 February 1868 – 7 April 1940) was an English stage and film actor, manager, and producer. Biography He was born in London. As a t ...

's adaptation of ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547 ...

'' by Mark Twain. The lobby measured a little over twenty feet in each direction and was nothing in the way of spectacle compared to the State and Ohio Theatres, both of which had opened the previous month. At exactly 8:15 Cleveland orchestra director Max Faetkenheuer opened the show with the " Star-Spangled Banner" and the play began. During intermission, playwright Faversham gave an impromptu speech at the request of the theatre patrons.

Hanna Theatre's first season

The following is a list of productions that ran at the Hanna Theatre beginning in the spring of 1921: *''The Prince and the Pauper'' adaptation by

*'' The Passing Show of 1919'' by the

Shubert Brothers The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...

*'' Smilin' Through'' by Allan Langdon Martin *''Jim Jam'' by the Shubert Brothers *''Pitter Patter'' by the Shubert Brothers *'' The Masquerader'' by

John Hunter Booth John Hunter Booth (November 27, 1886 – November 23, 1971) was an American playwright. He wrote seven films between 1922 and 1933. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,James Avery Hopwood *''Fools Errant'' by Louis Evan Shipman The most expensive seats cost three dollars.

Theatre rivalry

When Dan R. Hanna died three months into the Hanna Theatre's first full season, the Shubert brothers (Sam, Lee, and J.J. Shubert) remained as lessees under the management of John S. Hale. Around the corner, the brother's biggest rival,

Abraham Lincoln Erlanger Abraham Lincoln Erlanger (May 4, 1859 – March 7, 1930) was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theater owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate. Biography Erlanger was born to a Jewish family

, continued to lease the Hanna's largest competition, the Ohio Theatre. Under the management of Robert H. McLaughlin, a former newspaperman and press agent, the Ohio Theatre had already built a distinguished repertoire of high class theatre. The Hanna Theatre could not always stand up to such an impressive lineup (including plays such as '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'', '' Lady, Be Good'', and ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

'') and often suffered for it.

Ray Shepardson's vision

The Hanna Theatre closed in 1989, and soon after, Ray Shepardson left his job in the Cleveland public school system to launch a campaign to prevent the closed theater of Playhouse Square from being destroyed. His new vision for the Hanna was based on the concept of a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

theatre, which proved successful enough to generate funding by the

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

and the

Cleveland Foundation The Cleveland Foundation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world's first community foundation and one of the largest today, with assets of $2.5 billion and annual grants of more than $100 million. Established in 1914 by banker Frederick Harris Gof ...

. By 1993 Ray Shepardson was nationally recognized as a theatre restoration expert, although he was not able to revive interest in the Hanna. The $38 million restoration drive he led mainly helped the larger Playhouse Square theatres, such as the State Theatre, thrive. For the brief time the Hanna did run as a cabaret theater, the interior was refurbished to meet the new needs. Tables and chairs replaced the usual theatre rows, although Shepardson insisted on preserving the theater's original, ornate décor.

Restoration

Chatting after - Washington Week taping - Hanna Theatre (28375386491) (cropped1)

The Hanna Theatre was fully restored and reopened in 2008 with the following changes: # Six styles of seating: regular house seating, private box, banquette, club, lounge, and bar; reduction to 550 person capacity # Multiple ticket-price points for each performance ($20 for lounge area and up to $60 for premium seats) # A three-part hydraulic thrust stage that can lower to create a traditional

proscenium stage 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 ...

with a full orchestra pit # A computer controlled mechanical

fly system A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of rope lines, blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components suc ...

structurally independent of the building to handle more weight, intended to raise and lower scenery # Renovated street-level entrance with a door from the balcony level to an elevator lobby in the Hanna Annex building to allow patrons covered access to a parking garage, and balcony access for disabled patrons # Registration with the

U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, in pursuit of a Silver rating, the third-highest rank The $14.7 million renovation was meant to rejuvenate the house space and create a comfortable atmosphere for theatre patrons. The Hanna Theatre was the last Playhouse Square theater renovated, a process that began in 1981. Great Lakes Theater producing artistic director Charles Fee and director Bob Taylor were behind the designs for the new theater. The renovated Hanna Theatre opened on September 20, 2008.

References

{{Coord, 41, 30, 1, N, 81, 40, 52, W, display=title Theatres in Cleveland Theatres completed in 1921 1913 establishments in Ohio Downtown Cleveland