O'Reilly Theater
Encyclopedia
The O'Reilly Theater is a 650-seat theater
building, opened on December 11, 1999, in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
. Located at 621 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District
, the O'Reilly Theater is actually a three-part building: The 65000 square feet (6,038.7 m²) theater (with a 150-seat rehearsal hall), a large parking garage called Theater Square, and the adjacent 23000 square feet (2,136.8 m²) Agnes R. Katz Plaza.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
built the new theater, designed by architect Michael Graves
P.A., to create a downtown home for the Pittsburgh Public Theater
theatrical company, as well as to create additional venues for theater, music, and other art performances. The O’Reilly venue features a thrust stage surrounded by the audience on three sides.
To pay for the $25 million cost of construction, gifts to the project included a naming gift in honor of Dr. Anthony O'Reilly from Mrs. Chryss O'Reilly and several current and past senior executives of the H.J. Heinz Company.
The building site of the Penn Avenue theater's history began in 1866 with the construction Mercantile Library Hall, a multipurpose library, lecture, and music hall. It evolved into the Bijou, Lyceum, Academy, and Variety, Pittsburgh's vaudeville houses, and then was razed and paved into a parking lot after the 1936 St. Patrick's Day flood.
The O’Reilly was built by Turner Construction Company, opened on December 11, 1999, with the world premiere of King Hedley II
, by the Pulitzer Prize
winning playwright August Wilson
.
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
building, opened on December 11, 1999, in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Located at 621 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District
Cultural District, Pittsburgh
The Cultural District is a fourteen-square block area in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA bordered by the Allegheny River on the north, Tenth Street on the east, Stanwix Street on the west, and Liberty Avenue on the south....
, the O'Reilly Theater is actually a three-part building: The 65000 square feet (6,038.7 m²) theater (with a 150-seat rehearsal hall), a large parking garage called Theater Square, and the adjacent 23000 square feet (2,136.8 m²) Agnes R. Katz Plaza.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, a nonprofit arts organization, is a driving catalyst behind the ongoing development of the Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District, Pittsburgh...
built the new theater, designed by architect Michael Graves
Michael Graves
Michael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....
P.A., to create a downtown home for the Pittsburgh Public Theater
Pittsburgh Public Theater
Pittsburgh Public Theater is a professional theater company based in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Cultural District.Established in 1974, it was housed in the Hazlett Theatre at the Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall on Pittsburgh’s North Side...
theatrical company, as well as to create additional venues for theater, music, and other art performances. The O’Reilly venue features a thrust stage surrounded by the audience on three sides.
To pay for the $25 million cost of construction, gifts to the project included a naming gift in honor of Dr. Anthony O'Reilly from Mrs. Chryss O'Reilly and several current and past senior executives of the H.J. Heinz Company.
The building site of the Penn Avenue theater's history began in 1866 with the construction Mercantile Library Hall, a multipurpose library, lecture, and music hall. It evolved into the Bijou, Lyceum, Academy, and Variety, Pittsburgh's vaudeville houses, and then was razed and paved into a parking lot after the 1936 St. Patrick's Day flood.
The O’Reilly was built by Turner Construction Company, opened on December 11, 1999, with the world premiere of King Hedley II
King Hedley II
King Hedley II is a play by American playwright August Wilson, the ninth in his ten-part series, The Pittsburgh Cycle. This is the ninth of the plays in Wilson's ten-play cycle, each from a different era...
, by the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning playwright August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
.