Erie Playhouse
Encyclopedia
Erie Playhouse is a historic theatre located in Erie, Pennsylvania
.
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
. The company occupied the Penn Movie House in Wesleyville, Pennsylvania
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
theatre with capacity for 433 patrons; renovations in 2007 reduced capacity from the original 1983 layout of 520 seats. The theatre experienced a US $1 million renovation in 1993.
The company's first production in the 1983 season was Annie
. Its 1,000th performance at its current home was The Sound of Music
in 2000.
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
.
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
Gannon University is a private, co-educational Catholic university offering associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees, certificates and doctoral degrees and is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has an alumni base numbering around 31,500. Current enrollment is 4,238.Gannon's...
. The company occupied the Penn Movie House in Wesleyville, Pennsylvania
Wesleyville, Pennsylvania
Wesleyville is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,617 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wesleyville is located at ....
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
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
theatre with capacity for 433 patrons; renovations in 2007 reduced capacity from the original 1983 layout of 520 seats. The theatre experienced a US $1 million renovation in 1993.
The company's first production in the 1983 season was Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
. Its 1,000th performance at its current home was The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
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)
- Almitra Clerkin (2006– )
Awards
- Recognized by the American Theatre Association in 1985 as one of the Ten Best Community Theatres in the United States