Seattle Rep (Seattle Repertory Theatre) is a major regional theater located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, at the

Seattle Center The Seattle Center is an entertainment, education, tourism and performing arts center located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Constructed for the Century 21 Exposition, 1962 W ...

. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Dámaso Rodríguez and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann.TPS Member Companies
Theatre Puget Sound; accessible via dropdown, site is not designed for "deep linking". Accessed online 2009-11-06.

History

Seattle Rep's first home was the Seattle Playhouse, built as part of the fair grounds for the 1962

Century 21 Exposition The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

.Paula Becker
Intiman Theatre inaugurates its new home, the Playhouse Theatre, at the Seattle Center, on June 10, 1987
HistoryLink, September 21, 2006. Accessed online 2009-11-06. The building, extant as of 2009, was renovated in 1987 as a home for the Intiman Theatre. Actor

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' while studying at Denison University. H ...

had appeared at the Playhouse during the fair, and is believed to be the person who suggested it as a home for a repertory theater company. Seattle businessman and arts patron

Bagley Wright Bagley Wright (April 13, 1924 – July 18, 2011) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. He was president of Bagley Wright Investments, was a developer of Seattle's landmark Space Needle and chair of Physio Control Corp. from 1 ...

and others raised money and recruited artistic leadership to found what became Seattle Repertory Theater ("Seattle Rep" or formerly "The Rep"). Stuart Vaughan was the founding

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

It received the 1990

Regional Theatre Tony Award The Regional Theatre Tony Award is a special recognition Tony Award given annually to a regional theater company in the United States. The winner is recommended by a committee of drama critics. Background Initially presented in 1948 to Robert ...

Seattle Repertory Theatre Education Program

Stages

Bagley Wright Theater

The Bagley Wright Theater, named in honor of the president of Seattle Rep's first board of trustees, opened on October 13, 1983 with the world premiere of Michael Weller's ''The Ballad of Soapy Smith'', directed by Robert Egan, and featuring a cast of Seattle actors including Dennis Arndt (in the title role), John Aylward, Frank Corrado, Paul Hostetler,

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. A prolific performer, he has appeared in over four hundred films, television shows and other projects, making him one of the most-credited live action performers. Life and career ...

, Michael Santo, Marjorie Nelson, Ted D'Arms, Kurt Beattie, Clayton Corzatte, and William Ontiveros. Also in the cast were

Kevin Tighe Kevin Tighe (; born Jon Kevin Fishburn; August 13, 1944) is an American actor who has worked in television, film, and theater since the late 1960s. He is best known for portraying firefighter-paramedic Roy DeSoto, on the 1972–1977 NBC series ' ...

and Kate Mulgrew. The Bagley Wright Theater is a city-owned facility. The theater has a proscenium stage and a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 678 seats.
Seattle Repertory Theatre. Accessed online 2023-09-20. The stage is approximately to the last row of the house.Bagley Wright Theatre Seating chart
Seattle Repertory Theatre. Accessed online 2009-11-06.

Leo K. Theater

The Leo Kreielsheimer Theater ("Leo K.") opened in December 1996 as Seattle Rep's "second stage." The Leo K. was made possible in great part to a US$2 million gift from The Kreielsheimer Foundation, a US$1 million gift from then board chair Marsha S. Glazer, and the leadership of Capital Campaign chairs Ann Ramsay-Jenkins and Stanley Savage. There are 282 seats total: 192 on the orchestra level (including Box (theatre), loge), plus 90 balcony and box seats. It is approximately from the stage to the rear wall.Leo K. Theatre Seating chart
Seattle Repertory Theatre. Accessed online 2009-11-06. There are 5 wheelchair locations. The orchestra seating consists of 139 seats in 9 rows, with 8–20 seats per row; the loge adds 51 seats, in 2 rows of 27 and 24 seats, respectively. The balcony provides an additional 88 seats, in 3 rows, with 29–30 seats per row; additionally, there are 4 box seats at balcony level.

PONCHO Forum

The PONCHO Forum has a capacity of 133 seats and is set up for general admission, with

stadium seating Stadium seating or theater seating is a seating arrangement where most or all seats are placed higher than the seats immediately in front of them so that the occupants of further-back seats have less of their views blocked by those ahead of them. ...

.Seattle Rep PONCHO Forum Renovation 2018
Fisher Dachs Associates. Accessed online 2020-02-12.

References

External links

Seattle Repertory Theatre official website
*Douglas Q. Barnett
The Seattle Repertory Theatre Affair by Douglas Q. Barnett
HistoryLink, June 25, 2009. * {{authority control 1963 establishments in Washington (state) Culture of Seattle Seattle Center Theatres in Washington (state) Theatre companies in Washington (state) Tony Award winners Regional theatre in the United States Tourist attractions in Seattle World's fair architecture in Seattle Century 21 Exposition