Nestled on a hill and commanding a superb view of downtown Cincinnati, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has been offering audiences the finest in professional theatre for more than 60 years. Nationally known for its excellence and commitment to new works and as an artistic home for America's best actors, directors and designers, the Playhouse always keeps its primary role at center stage. We are Cincinnati's national theatre – committed to bringing diverse, engaging works of great artistry to our community, and to putting Cincinnati's artistic excellence in the national spotlight.
Today's Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is the product of a rich history. It began in 1959 with the dream of a young college student, Gerald Covell, who combined his artistic vision for a professional theatre in Cincinnati with the commitment of several of the city's foremost arts, business and political leaders, including Emily Adler, Stanley Aronoff, A. Burton Closson and Morse Johnson, who became the Playhouse's first president and chairman of its board of trustees.
The original Playhouse was confined to the park shelterhouse that now houses the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre. Scheduled for demolition, the building offered the perfect setting: great theatre performed in the beautiful surroundings of Eden Park. The building was converted to a 166-seat theatre where, on Oct. 10, 1960, Meyer Levin's Compulsion celebrated the opening night of both play and Playhouse. It was directed by David Marlin Jones, the theatre's first artistic director, and was followed by 12 more plays, each running two and a half weeks.
In that first cast, and a veteran of several productions in the early years, was a young actor named John Hillerman, whose skill later took him into a successful film and television career. He is among the first of the thousands of actors who have appeared at the Playhouse. Many names are familiar: Scott Bakula, Roscoe Lee Browne, David Canary, Kristin Davis, Patty Duke, Raúl Esparza, Bonnie Franklin, Swoosie Kurtz, Cleavon Little, Donna McKechnie, Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Charlotte Rae, Lee Roy Reams, Lynn Redgrave, Mercedes Ruehl, Gary Sandy, Susan Stroman, Daniel J. Travanti, Kathleen Turner, Cicely Tyson, Sam Waterston and Henry Winkler. Yet, celebrity or not, all who perform at the Playhouse are among the country's most skilled professionals and, like Playhouse audiences, they come to let the play, not the personalities, capture the spotlight.
Within a very few years, as sold-out houses became the norm, it became apparent that the success of the Playhouse would cause it to outgrow the Shelterhouse. First the original theatre was expanded. Then in 1966, plans were announced for the construction of a new, larger space. On July 18, 1968, the Robert S. Marx Theatre, named after the well-known Cincinnati philanthropist, opened with Camino Real by Tennessee Williams. Designed by Hugh Hardy of the New York architectural firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, the Marx won awards for its innovative design and flexibility. It also began a new era for the Playhouse, which was, for the first time, able to produce two works simultaneously in two complementary theatre spaces.
As audiences steadily grew, so did the Playhouse's leadership in the new regional theatre movement nationwide. In 1965, the Playhouse was selected as the first regional theatre showcased on the television program, Esso Repertory Theatre, hosted by David Susskind.
As the Playhouse ended its first decade, it was already catching notice for its caliber of production and its belief that theatre can be innovative as well as entertaining. In the late 1960s, the National Theatre of the Deaf, the Barbwire Theatre and Judith Malina and Julian Beck's Living Theatre all came to the Playhouse. In 1970, the Playhouse mounted a pioneering production of Shaw's Pygmalion, acclaimed for its use of non-traditional casting. In 1973, Harold Scott joined the Playhouse as the first African-American artistic director in the history of American regional theatre.
Although productions have been presented first and foremost for the Tristate, the Playhouse always has contributed to the national stage. Ever since the U.S. premiere of Henry Livings' Eh? in 1966, which subsequently played to great success off-Broadway, the American theatre has benefited greatly from the vision and craftsmanship now synonymous with the Playhouse. Among its many other premieres are: Caravaggio in 1971, directed and produced by Word Baker; Sing Hallelujah!, which enjoyed huge acclaim when it moved to off-Broadway's Village Gate in 1987; Tapestry: The Music of Carole King (1988) which ran off-Broadway five years later; and The Notebook of Trigorin (1996), a work by Tennessee Williams that garnered international attention.
Among the non-premieres that have been presented elsewhere, the Playhouse's production of Thunder Knocking on the Door, the electrifying blues musical by Keith Glover, enjoyed subsequent runs in San Diego, Rochester, Cleveland and Stamford, Conn. Nixon's Nixon, Russell Lees' speculative eavesdrop on the conversation between Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon, has now played on four continents and was hailed as among the best at 1999's Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It enjoyed acclaimed runs in Ireland and Toronto, at the 2001 Hong Kong Theatre Festival, at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End and in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the East and West coasts of the United States.
The Playhouse's 2003 production of The Syringa Tree was presented in 2004 at the English Theatre in Vienna, the longest operating English language theatre in continental Europe, and in 2006 at The English Theatre Frankfurt in Germany. In November 2006, the Playhouse's production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's landmark musical Company, directed by John Doyle, opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it ran until July 2007. The Playhouse's production of Around the World in 80 Days transferred to the off-Broadway Irish Repertory Theatre for an eight-week run. Due to popular demand, the run was extended.
For the past 20 years, the Playhouse has produced at least one world premiere production each season. Several recent Playhouse premieres also have gone on to subsequent production or publication. The 1997 production of In Walks Ed by Keith Glover was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Angus MacLachlan's The Dead Eye Boy (2000) was nominated for the American Theatre Critics' Association's New Play Award and enjoyed a critically acclaimed run at off-Broadway's MCC Theatre in 2001 and at the Hampstead Theatre in London in 2002. The Playhouse's 1998 premiere of Coyote on a Fence by Bruce Graham enjoyed a 2004 run at the Duchess Theatre in London's West End. The 2003 Playhouse production of The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Carson Kreitzer was honored with the citation as the runner-up for the 2004 American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award.
The Playhouse's premiere productions of High (2010) by Matthew Lombardo and Dead Accounts by Theresa Rebeck (2012) both enjoyed subsequent productions on Broadway. The 2013-14 world premiere of Seven Spots on the Sun by Martín Zimmerman was one of three finalists for the American Theatre Critics' Association's Steinberg New Play Award. Since our 2015-16 world premiere of Native Gardens, the show has been included in seasons at 10 regional theatres across the country. Playhouse Artistic Director Blake Robison directed the world premiere at the Playhouse, and he returned to the show to direct subsequent productions at Guthrie Theater and Arena Stage. The 2018-19 season included three world premieres — Cincinnati King by KJ Sanchez, The Last Wide Open by Audrey Cefaly and Tiny Houses by Chelsea Marcantel. The 2021-22 season includes three world premieres as well —
The West End by Keith Josef Adkins, Need Your Love by
KJ Sanchez and Rooted by Deborah Zoe Laufer.
Motivated by expanding programming and record attendance, the Playhouse launched a $7.5 million capital campaign in 1994 to modernize and expand both public and backstage spaces. It raised more than $8.4 million, making possible the most extensive renovation of the Playhouse since the building of the Marx Theatre.
In 2004, the Playhouse was honored with the Regional Theatre Tony Award®. One of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry, it honors a nonprofit professional regional theatre company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally. The award has been given to one theatre annually since 1976, and it places the Playhouse in the company of the nation's finest regional theatres. In 2007, the Playhouse was honored with its second Tony Award® in three years when Company was named that year's Best Revival of a Musical.
From 1992-2012, the Playhouse was under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern and Executive Director Buzz Ward. After 20 years at the helm of the organization, Edward Stern left the Playhouse to follow his passions of directing and teaching. Blake Robison succeeded Stern in 2012 and Buzz Ward became Managing Director. Together, Robison and Ward continued a tradition of excellence that carried Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park well into its sixth decade.
In 2021, Blake Robison assumed the role of Producing Artistic Director where he continues to expand the Playhouse’s commitment to Greater Cincinnati and to the theatre field at large. He is joined by Managing Director Abby Marcus and a dedicated staff, board of trustees, and community of local and national artists.
In June of 2021, the Playhouse broke ground on its new mainstage theatre complex which will feature Moe and Jack's Place – The Rouse Theatre and support spaces including a new rehearsal room, education studio, dressing and green rooms, costume shop, and backstage areas. Our new spaces will allow us to support our artists, enhance the audience experience, partner with other theaters across the country and serve as a community gathering place for all of the diverse communities that make up our region.
Today, the Playhouse offers productions on its two stages from September to June, conducts summer camps for K-12, produces three family touring shows each season and serves Cincinnati’s many neighborhoods through its Off the Hill and Off the Grid programming.
The West End, by Keith Josef Adkins
Need Your Love, by KJ Sanchez
First Financial Bank presents A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, by Katie Forgette
Rooted, by Deborah Zoe Laufer
Leading Ladies presents Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling
The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati presents Becoming Dr. Ruth, Mark St. Germain
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, by Jocelyn Bioh
Due to the pandemic, the originally planned 2020-21 mainstage productions did not occur. Off the Grid, Off the Hill, and other educational and community programming were the focus of the sixty-first season, with virtual and in-person opportunities. In winter 2020, Bruce Cromer performed a one-man A Christmas Carol Radio Play with WVXU. In 2021, we hosted a Special Event Series, which included the following socially distanced, in-person performances:
Schueler Group presents Higher and Higher: A Rock 'N Soul Party with Chester Gregory, presented by Artists Lounge Live
Schueler Group presents The Skivvies: Live and Literally In-Person!
Schueler Group presents An Evening with The Bengsons
Once on This Island, book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, based Upon the Novel, “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy
Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, adapted for the stage by Jennifer Blackmer
Moe & Jack Rouse and Randolph Wadsworth present The Lifespan of a Fact, Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell
2 Pianos, 4 Hands, Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt
First Financial Bank presents A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Alan Janes
americUS, UNIVERSES
Leading Ladies presents Destiny of Desire, Karen Zacarías (Closed early due to the pandemic.)
Actually, Anna Ziegler (Unable to open due to the pandemic.)
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig (Unable to open due to the pandemic.)
The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati presents Becoming Dr. Ruth, Mark St. Germain (Unable to open due to the pandemic.)
Misery, William Goldman, based on the novel by Stephen King
The Roommate, Jen Silverman
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Lauren
Gunderson and Margot Melcon
Cincinnati King,
KJ Sanchez
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by
Howard Dallin
The Second City — It's Not You, It's Me
In the Heights, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, book by
Quiara Alegría Hudes, conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Last Wide Open,
Audrey Cefaly
August Wilson's Two Trains Running
The Thanksgiving Play, Larissa FastHorse
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz; book, music and lyrics by Clark Gesner
Tiny Houses,
Chelsea Marcantel
Shakespeare in Love, based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard,
adapted for the stage by Lee Hall, music by Paddy Cunneen
Mr. Joy, Daniel Beaty
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,
Simon Stephens | Adapted from the novel by Mark Haddon
Frank Ferrante in An Evening with Groucho
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard
Dallin
Million Dollar Quartet, book by Colin Escott
and Floyd Mutrux
Be Here Now, Deborah Zoe Laufer
Marie and Rosetta, George Brant
Sooner/Later, Allyson Currin
Treasure Island, Ken Ludwig, adapted from the novel by Robert
Louis Stevenson
Murder for Two, book and music by Joe Kinosian,
book and lyrics by Kellen Blair
A Prayer for Owen Meany, a novel by John Irving, adapted by Simon Bent
Disgraced, Ayad Akhtar
Jitney, August Wilson
The Second City's Holidazed & Confused Revue
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Little Shop of Horrors, book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken, based on a film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffith
Summerland, Arlitia Jones
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, adapted by Polly Teale
All the Roads Home, Jen Silverman
Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End, Allison Engel and Margaret Engel
The Secret Garden, book and lyrics by Marsha Norman, music by Lucy Simon, based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sex with Strangers, Laura Eason
Mad River Rising, Dana Yeaton
Low Down Dirty Blues, Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Native Gardens, Karen Zacarías
The Revolutionists, Lauren Gunderson
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, adapted by Christopher Sergel
Mothers and Sons, Terrence McNally
Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing, Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan
Bad Dates, Theresa Rebeck
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, Jeffrey Hatcher, based on characters
created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and "The Suicide Club" by Robert Louis Stevenson
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, Jacques Lamarre from the novel by Giulia Melucci
Safe House, Keith Josef Adkins
Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, Richard Maltby Jr. and William Meade, adapted from
the Broadway production by Richard Maltby Jr. and Jason Edwards
Chapatti, Christian O'Reilly
Peter and the Starcatcher, Rick Elice, adapted from the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Buzzer, Tracey Scott Wilson
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Christopher Durang
Circle Mirror Transformation, Annie Baker
Fly, Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan
Seven Spots on the Sun, Martín Zimmerman
Cabaret, Joe Masteroff, Fred Ebb and John Kander
The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Clybourne Park, Bruce Norris
4000 Miles, Amy Herzog
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, adapted for the stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J. R. Sullivan
A Delicate Ship, Anna Ziegler
Venus in Fur, David Ives
The North Pool, Rajiv Joseph
The Three Musketeers, Ken Ludwig, adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas
Through the Night, Daniel Beaty
Brighton Beach Memoirs, Neil Simon
Hank Williams Lost Highway: The Music and Legend of Hank Williams, Randal Myler and Mark Harelik
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Abigail/1702, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Leveling Up, Deborah Zoe Laufer
The Trip to Bountiful, Horton Foote
The Book Club Play, Karen Zacarías
Double Indemnity, James M. Cain, adapted for the stage by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright
Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont As Told By Himself, Donald Margulies
God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton
As You Like It, William Shakespeare
Red, John Logan
Always ... Patsy Cline, Ted Swindley
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Dead Accounts, Theresa Rebeck
Speaking in Tongues, Andrew Bovell
Merrily We Roll Along, Stephen Sondheim & George Furth, based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart
Tigers Be Still, Kim Rosenstock
Thunder Knocking on the Door, Keith Glover, Keb' Mo' & Anderson Edwards
The Second City 2: Less Pride ... More Pork
High, Matthew Lombardo
The Understudy, Theresa Rebeck
You Can't Take It With You, George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart
The Second City Does Cincinnati: Pride and Porkopolis
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Over the Tavern, Tom Dudzick
The Piano Teacher, Julia Cho
Gee's Bend, Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
Behind the Eye, Carson Kreitzer
Beehive, Larry Gallagher
The Pavilion, Craig Wright
Fiftieth Season (2009-10)
Sleuth, Anthony Shaffer
Victoria Musica, Michele Lowe
Three Sisters, Anton Chekhov, a new version by Sarah Ruhl
Sanders Family Christmas: More Smoke on the Mountain, Connie Ray & Alan Bailey
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
The Fall of Heaven, Walter Mosley
How? How? Why? Why? Why?, Kevin Kling
Daddy Long Legs, John Caird & Paul Gordon, based on the novel by Jean Webster
The History of Invulnerability, David Bar Katz
Ain't Misbehavin', Richard Maltby Jr.
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt
Forty-Ninth Season (2008-09)
Jane Austen's Emma, Paul Gordon, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
Durango, Julia Cho
Love Song, John Kolvenbach
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Joe DiPietro & Jimmy Roberts
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Travels of Angelica, Joseph McDonough
Blackbird, David Harrower
The Foreigner, Larry Shue
Last Train to Nibroc, Arlene Hutton
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jeffrey Hatcher from the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson
Marry Me a Little, Stephen Sondheim, Craig Lucas and Norman René
Forty-Eighth Season (2007-08)
Dracula, Hamilton Deane & John Balderston
Othello, William Shakespeare
Altar Boyz, Kevin Del Aguila, Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker, conceived by Marc Kessler & Ken Davenport
The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Eric Rockwell & Joanne Bogart
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead, Robert Hewett
Crime and Punishment, Marilyn Campbell & Curt Columbus, based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Doubt, John Patrick Shanley
A Sleeping Country, Melanie Marnich
Ella, Jeffrey Hatcher, Rob Ruggiero, Dyke Garrison & Danny Holgate
Around the World in 80 Days, Mark Brown, from the novel by Jules Verne
Forty-Seventh Season (2006-07)
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
In the Continuum, Danai Gurira & Nikkole Salter
Ace, Richard Oberacker & Robert Taylor
This Wonderful Life, Steve Murray, conceived by Mark Setlock
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Low, Rha Goddess
The Catholic Girl's Guide to Losing Your Virginity, Annie Hendy
Pure Confidence, Carlyle Brown
1:23, Carson Kreitzer
Reckless, Craig Lucas
Murderers, Jeffrey Hatcher
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Steven Dietz, based on the play by William Gillette & Arthur Conan Doyle
Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming, Connie Ray & Alan Bailey
Forty-Sixth Season (2005-06)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart & Stephen Sondheim
Love, Janis, Randal Myler
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams
The Complete History of America (abridged), Adam Long, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor
All the Great Books (abridged), Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
The Clean House, Sarah Ruhl
Yellowman, Dael Orlandersmith
Company, Stephen Sondheim & George Furth
Stone My Heart, Joseph McDonough
Witness for the Prosecution, Agatha Christie
Squeeze Box, Ann Randolph
Forty-Fifth Season (2004-05)
Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
A Picasso, Jeffrey Hatcher
The Crucible, Arthur Miller
Plaid Tidings, Stuart Ross
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Bad Dates, Theresa Rebeck
Leap, John Yearley
The Retreat From Moscow, William Nicholson
The Underpants, Steve Martin, adapted from the play by Carl Sternheim
Crowns, Regina Taylor, based on the book by Michael Cunningham & Craig Marberry
The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown
Forty-Fourth Season (2003-04)
My Fair Lady, Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe
One, Joseph McDonough
Metamorphoses, based on the myths of Ovid, written by Mary Zimmerman
Always ... Patsy Cline, Ted Swindley
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Going Gone, Karen Hartman
The Drawer Boy, Michael Healey
Blue, Charles Randolph Wright & Nona Hendryx
Hiding Behind Comets, Brian Dykstra
Mister Roberts, Thomas Heggen & Joshua Logan
Sing Hallelujah!, Worth Gardner & Donald Lawrence
Forty-Third Season (2002-03)
Ah, Wilderness!, Eugene O'Neill
Havana Is Waiting, Eduardo Machado
A Flea in Her Ear, Georges Feydeau
The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), Adam Long, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Proof, David Auburn
An Infinite Ache, David Schulner
Pacific Overtures, Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman
The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Carson Kreitzer
The Smell of the Kill, Michele Lowe
The Syringa Tree, Pamela Gien
Forty-Second Season (2001-02)
King Lear, William Shakespeare
God's Man in Texas, David Rambo
Gypsy, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim
Beehive, created by Larry Gallagher
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Blues for an Alabama Sky, Pearl Cleage
Men on the Take, Carter W. Lewis
Ten Little Indians, Agatha Christie
Barbara's Blue Kitchen, Lori Fischer
King o' the Moon, Tom Dudzick
Dirty Blonde, Claudia Shear
Wingfield Unbound, Dan Needles
The Reducers: All the Great Books (abridged), Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor
The Honky Tonk Angels, Ted Swindley
Forty-First Season (2000-01)
Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee
Shakespeare's R&J, Joe Calarco
Everything's Ducky, Bill Russell, Jeffrey Hatcher & Henry Krieger
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Joe DiPietro & Jimmy Roberts
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Closer, Patrick Marber
Dark Paradise: The Legend of the Five-Pointed Star, Keith Glover
Avenue X, John Jiler & Ray Leslee
Art, Yasmina Reza
The Mystery of Irma Vep, Charles Ludlam
Talley's Folly, Lanford Wilson
Smoke on the Mountain, Connie Ray & Alan Bailey
Exceptions to Gravity, Avner the Eccentric
Fortieth Season (1999-2000)
Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare
Barrymore, William Luce
The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
Sanders Family Christmas: More Smoke on the Mountain, Connie Ray & Alan Bailey
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Alfred Uhry
Wit, Margaret Edson
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Martin McDonagh
The Dead-Eye Boy, Angus MacLachlan
A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler
Spunk, Zora Neale Hurston, adapted by George C. Wolfe
Always ... Patsy Cline, Ted Swindley
L'Universe, The Flying Karamazov Brothers
Thirty-Ninth Season (1998-99)
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Moises Kaufman
A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
The Woman in Black, Stephen Mallatratt
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Thunder Knocking on the Door, Keith Glover
Red Corners, Cecilia Fannon
How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel
Over the Tavern, Tom Dudzick
Ten Years Apart, Matthew Bennett & Sean McCourt
Appalachian Strings, Randal Myler & Dan Wheetman
Thirty-Eighth Season (1997-98)
Nixon's Nixon, Russell Lees
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler
A Brief History of White Music, DeeDee Thomas & David Tweedy
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Skylight, David Hare
Coyote on a Fence, Bruce Graham
Rough Crossing, Tom Stoppard
Old Wicked Songs, Jon Marans
The Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman
Willi, John Pielmeier
Chaps!, Jahnna Beecham & Malcolm Hillgartner
Thirty-Seventh Season (1996-97)
The Notebook of Trigorin, Tennessee Williams
Songplay: The Songs and Music of Kurt Weill, conceived & adapted by Jonathan Eaton
The Most Happy Fella, Frank Loesser
The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged), Jess Borgeson, Adam Long & Daniel Singer
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
The Turn of the Screw, Jeffrey Hatcher
Sylvia, A. R. Gurney
In Walks Ed, Keith Glover
Having Our Say, Emily Mann
Valley Song, Athol Fugard
Private Lives, Noel Coward
Thirty-Sixth Season (1995-96)
The Mousetrap, Agatha Christie
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Frank McGuinness
Miss Evers' Boys, David Feldshuh
A Tuna Christmas, Jaston Williams, Joe Sears & Ed Howard
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
An Asian Jockey in Our Midst, Carter W. Lewis
She Loves Me, Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick
Ghosts, Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Anthony Clarvoe
Arms and the Man, George Bernard Shaw
All in the Timing, David Ives
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Herman Wouk
Thirty-Fifth Season (1994-95)
A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
Keely & Du, Jane Martin
Inspecting Carol, Daniel Sullivan & The Seattle Repertory Theatre
Beehive, Larry Gallagher
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Jar The Floor, Cheryl L. West
The Caretaker, Harold Pinter
The Brothers Karamazov, adapted by Anthony Clarvoe
Hometown Heroes, Ed Graczyk
Dracula, Hamilton Deane & John L. Balderston
Banjo Dancing, Stephen Wade
Thirty-Fourth Season (1993-94)
Harvey, Mary Coyle Chase
Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman
To Kill a Mockingbird, Christopher Sergel
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living is Paris, Eric Blau, Mort Shuman & Jacques Brel
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
The Wingfield Trilogy, Dan Needles
The Sum of Us, David Stevens
Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel
Alchemy of Desire/Dead Man's Blues, Caridad Svich
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas, John L. Haber
The Voice of the Prairie, John Olive
Thirty-Third Season (1992-93)
"Master Harold" ... and the Boys, Athol Fugard
The House of Blue Leaves, John Guare
Shirley Valentine, Willy Russell
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Our Country's Good, Timberlake Wertenbaker
Scotland Road, Jeffrey Hatcher
The Immigrant, Mark Harelik
Separation, Tom Kempinski
A Moon for the Misbegotten, Eugene O'Neill
Smoke on the Mountain, Connie Ray & Alan Bailey
Ain't Misbehavin', the music of Fats Waller
Thirty-Second Season (1991-92)
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Speed-the-Plow, David Mamet
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, adapted by Howard Dallin
Japango, Richard Epp
From the Mississippi Delta, Endesha Ida Mae Holland
Billy Bishop Goes to War, John Gray & Eric Peterson
The Cocktail Hour, A. R. Gurney
Pickle Family Circus, conceived by Larry Pisoni
Perfect for You, Doll, Steven Sater
Hot 'N Cole, Cole Porter
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grille, Lanie Robertson
Thirty-First Season (1990-91)
Loot, Joe Orton
Burn This, Lanford Wilson
The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, adapted by Frank Gabrielson
Educating Rita, Willy Russell
A Shayna Maidel, Barbara Lebow
Stand-Up Tragedy, Bill Cain
Other People's Money, Jerry Sterner
Lost Electra, Bruce E. Rodgers
The Mesmerist, Ara Watson
The Mystery of Irma Vep, Charles Ludlam
Thirtieth Season (1989-90)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Christopher Hampton
Pump Boys and Dinettes, John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel & Jim Wann
Treasure Island, adapted by Ara Watson
¿De Donde?, Mary Gallagher
Fences, August Wilson
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Terrence McNally
St. Mark's Gospel, featuring Alec McCowen
The Boys Next Door, Tom Griffin
Fanshen, David Hare
How the Other Half Loves, Alan Ayckbourn
Club!, The Flying Karamazov Brothers
Twenty-Ninth Season (1988-89)
I'm Not Rappaport, Herb Gardner
Long Day's Journey Into Night, Eugene O’Neill
Candide, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler
Equus, Peter Shaffer
Cloud Nine, Caryl Churchill
Steel Magnolias, Robert Harling
Invention for Fathers and Sons, Alan Brody
Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare
The Colored Museum, George C. Wolfe
The Rocky Horror Show, Richard O’Brien
Miss Margarida's Way, Roberto Athayde
Twenty-Eighth Season (1987-88)
Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, David Richmond & Bob Hall
Max and Maxie, James McLure
Juggle and Hyde, The Flying Karamazov Brothers
Clear Liquor and Coal Black Nights, Thomas M. Atkinson
Burkie, Bruce Graham
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, August Wilson
American Buffalo, David Mamet
On The Verge, Eric Overmyer
The Blood Knot, Athol Fugard
Stepping Out, Richard Harris
Tapestry: The Music of Carole King, Worth Gardner, John Kroner & Scot Woolley
Twenty-Seventh Season (1986-87)
K2, Patrick Meyers
As Is, William M. Hoffman
Little Shop of Horrors, Howard Ashman & Alan Menken
The Real Thing, Tom Stoppard
Orphans, Lyle Kessler
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, William Inge
The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Christopher Durang
The Foreigner, Larry Shue
Greater Tuna, Jaston Williams, Joe Sears & Ed Howard
She Stoops to Conquer, Oliver Goldsmith
Sing Hallelujah!, Worth Gardner & Donald Lawrence
Twenty-Sixth Season (1985-86)
The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
Painting Churches, Tina Howe
Carnival!, Bob Merrill & Michael Stewart
Two Can Play, Trevor Rhone
Marry Me a Little, Stephen Sondheim
Top Girls, Caryl Churchill
Traveler in the Dark, Marsha Norman
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard
And A Nightingale Sang ..., C. P. Taylor
Sing Hallelujah!, Worth Gardner & Donald Lawrence
Twenty-Fifth Season (1984-85)
Empress of China, Ruth Wolff
Shades of Brown, Michael Picardie
The Big Holiday Broadcast, Arne Zaslove, Mary-Claire Burke & the Bathhouse Theatre Company
The Seagull, Anton Chekhov
Amateurs, Winnie Holzman & David Evans
Paradise, Robert Forrest & George C. Wolfe
Have, Julius Hay
Amadeus, Peter Schaffer
Sleuth, Anthony Shaffer
The Miss Firecracker Contest, Beth Henley
Twenty-Fourth Season (1983-84)
True West, Sam Shepard
Sweet Bird of Youth, Tennessee Williams
They Dance to the Sun, Leigh Podgorski
Godspell, John-Michael Tebelak & Stephen Schwartz
A Soldier's Play, Charles Fuller
Monday After the Miracle, William Gibson
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
Translations, Brian Friel
Hay Fever, Noel Coward
Loves and Hours, Stephen Metcalfe
The Dining Room, A. R. Gurney
Maybe I'm Doing it Wrong: Randy Newman's America, Randy Newman
Twenty-Third Season (1982-83)
Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee
Mass Appeal, Bill C. Davis
The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, adapted by Frank Gabrielson
The Dresser, Ronald Harwood
Fifth of July, Lanford Wilson
Medea, Euripides
Sweet Basil, Lloyd Gold
The Price, Arthur Miller
Strange Snow, Stephen Metcalfe
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road, Gretchen Cryer & Nancy Ford
Twenty-Second Season (1981-82)
Born Yesterday, Garson Kanin
Home, Samm-Art Williams
Peter Pan, James M. Barrie, Mark Charlap & Carolyn Leigh
A Life in the Theatre, David Mamet
Betrayal, Harold Pinter
A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking, John Ford Noonan
Macbeth, William Shakespeare
A Lesson from Aloes, Athol Fugard
Ten Little Indians, Agatha Christie
Talley's Folly, Lanford Wilson
Twenty-First Season (1980-81)
Compulsion, Meyer Levin
Buried Child, Sam Shepard
The Man Who Came to Dinner, Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman
Loose Ends, Michael Weller
Serenading Louie, Lanford Wilson
The School for Scandal, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
A View from the Bridge, Arthur Miller
The Gin Game, D. L. Coburn
Tintypes, Mary Kyte, Mel Marvin & Gary Pearle
I Love My Wife, Michael Stewart, Cy Coleman & Luis Rego
Palmer Cody's Tick-Tock Ballroom, Dorian Barth, Tony Clark & Trisha Long
2 by 5 (by 3), John Kander & Fred Ebb
Magic To Do, Stephen Schwartz
The Diary of Anne Frank, Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett
Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
Ashes, David Rudkin
The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov, translated by Michael Henry Heim
The Downstairs Boys, Murray Schisgal
The Baker's Wife, Joseph Stein & Stephen Schwartz
Juggling and Cheap Theatrics, The Flying Karamazov Brothers
Nineteenth Season (1978-79)
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
Otherwise Engaged, Simon Gray
The Big Apple Circus, Paul Binder
Room Service, John Murray & Allen Boretz
Hedda Gabbler, Henrik Ibsen
The Buddy System, Jonathan Marc Feldman
Man of La Mancha, Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh & Joe Darion
Dylan Thomas Growing Up, Emlyn Williams
Eighteenth Season (1977-78)
What's a Nice Country Like Us Doing in a State Like This?, Ira Gasman & Cary Hoffman
The Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill
Sizwe Bansi is Dead, Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona
The Imaginary Invalid, Moliere
Benefit of a Doubt, Edward Clinton
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
The House of Bernarda Alba, Federico Garcia Lorca
The Royal Family, George S. Kaufman & Edna Ferber
Starting Here, Starting Now, Richard Maltby, Jr. & David Shire
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Eric Blau, Mort Shuman & Jacques Brel
Seventeenth Season (1976-77)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams
Oliver!, Lionel Bart
A Month in the Country, Ivan Turgenev
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, Mark Medoff
Heartbreak House, George Bernard Shaw
The Hostage, Brendan Behan
Vanities, Jack Heifner
Sixteenth Season (1975-76)
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
Relatively Speaking, Alan Ayckbourn
The Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman
What the Butler Saw, Joe Orton
The Contrast, Royall Tyler
Where's Charley?, George Abbott & Frank Loesser
Fifteenth Season (1974-75)
Tartuffe, Moliere
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee
Arsenic and Old Lace, Joseph Kesselring
That Championship Season, Jason Miller
The Hot L Baltimore, Lanford Wilson
Oh, Coward!, Noel Coward
Fourteenth Season (1973-74)
The Tempest, William Shakespeare
Old Times, Harold Pinter
Harvey, Mary Coyle Chase
Monkey Monkey Bottle of Beer, How Many Monkeys Have We Here?, Marsha Sheiness
Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett
Travellers, Corinne Jacker & Jonathan Tunick
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey L. Schmidt
The Apple Tree, Sheldon Harnick & Jerry Bock
Thirteenth Season (1973)
A Delicate Balance, Edward Albee
Long Day's Journey Into Night, Eugene O'Neill
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
Incident at Vichy, Arthur Miller
A Memory of Two Mondays, Arthur Miller
The Sea Plays, Eugene O’Neill
A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter, Bella Spewack & Samuel Spewack
Twelfth Season (1972)
The School for Wives, Moliere
Dear Liar, Jerome Kilty
The Innocents, William Archibald
Shelter, Gretchen Cryer & Nancy Ford
The Play's the Thing, Ferenc Molnar
Sensations of the Bitten Partner, Milburn Smith
The Rivals, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The Crucible, Arthur Miller
Baboon!!!, conceived by Word Baker
Eleventh Season (1971)
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Eric Blau, Mort Shuman & Jacques Brel
Angel Street, Patrick Hamilton
Slow Dance on the Killing Ground, William Hanley
The Last Sweet Days of Isaac, Gretchen Cryer & Nancy Ford
Caravaggio, Michael Straight
Rain, John Colton & Clemence Randolph
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down, Tom Eyen
Life With Father, Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
Tenth Season (1970)
Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
Ardele, Jean Anouilh
Many Happy Returns, Howard Dietz & Arthur Schwartz
Come Back Little Sheba, William Inge
He Who Gets Slapped, Leonid Andreyev
Tobacco Road, Jack Kirkland
As You Like It, William Shakespeare
The Blacks, Jean Genet
Off-Off Broadway Season
Oldenberg, Barry Bermange
A Slight Ache, Harold Pinter
Wandering, Lanford Wilson
Play, Bonnie Jacob
Tour, Terrence McNally
Camera Obscura, Robert Patrick
Honesty is the Best Policy, Barry Litvack
Drive-In, David Kranes
Muzeeka, John Guare
Krapp's Last Tape and Eh, Joe?, Samuel Beckett
Matter and Machines: An Event for Films and Appliances, created by Brooks Jones
Ninth Season (1969)
Volpone, Ben Jonson
The Balcony, Jean Genet
Three Men on a Horse, John C. Holm & George Abbott
The Dutchman, Leroi Jones
The Good Woman of Setzuan, Bertolt Brecht
Lady Audley's Secret, Douglas Seale
Six Characters in Search of an Author, Luigi Pirandello
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Henry IV, William Shakespeare
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey L. Schmidt
Eighth Season (1968)
Misalliance, George Bernard Shaw
Endgame, Samuel Beckett
The Miser, Moliere
Camino Real, Tennessee Williams
Crime on Goat Island, Ugo Betti
End of the World, Keith Neilson
The Mad Woman of Chaillot, Jean Giraudoux, adapted by Maurice Valency
Saint Joan, George Bernard Shaw
The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare
Honor and Offer, Henry Livings
Four Men and a Monster, Maryat Lee
Alice, Lewis Carroll
Seventh Season (1967)
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
The Birthday Party, Harold Pinter
The Cavern, Jean Anouilh
Escurial, Michel De Ghelderode
The Lesson, Eugene Ionesco
Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov
Anatol, Tom Jones
Sixth Season (1966)
Man and Superman, George Bernard Shaw
The American Dream, Edward Albee
Benito Cereno, Robert Lowell
Sodom and Gomorrah, Jean Giraudoux, translation by Herma Briffault
Charley's Aunt, Brandon Thomas
Eh?, Henry Livings
The Skin of our Teeth, Thornton Wilder
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey L. Schmidt
Fifth Season (1965)
Ghosts, Henrik Ibsen & Eva LeGallienne
The Collection and The Lover, Harold Pinter
Major Barbara, George Bernard Shaw
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Ray Lawler
She Stoops To Conquer, Oliver Goldsmith
The Blood Knot, Athol Fugard
The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey L. Schmidt
Fourth Season (1964)
The Love of Don Perlimplin, Federico Garcia Lorca
The Zoo Story, Edward Albee
Arms and the Man, George Bernard Shaw
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, Arthur L. Kopit
The Burnt Flower Bed, Ugo Betti
The Forced Marriage, Moliere
The Doctor In Spite of Himself, Moliere
Rhinoceros, Eugene Ionesco
A Moon for the Misbegotten, Eugene O'Neill
The Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey L. Schmidt
Third Season (1963)
The Lady's Not for Burning, Christopher Fry
The Hostage, Brendan Behan
The Devil's Disciple, George Bernard Shaw
Calvary, William Butler Yeats
Act Without Words II, Samuel Beckett
The Zoo Story, Edward Albee
The Emperor, Luigi Pirandello
The Caretaker, Harold Pinter
Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
The Fantasticks, Tom Jones & Harvey L. Schmidt
Second Season (1961-62)
Hedda Gabbler, Henrik Ibsen
The Servant of Two Masters, Carlo Goldoni
Heartbreak House, George Bernard Shaw
No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre
Bed-Time Story, Sean O'Casey
The Lark, Jean Anouilh
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow!, Mel Shapiro
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
First Season (1960-61)
Compulsion, Meyer Levin
The Cave Dwellers, William Saroyan
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
Androcles and the Lion, George Bernard Shaw
Orpheus Descending, Tennessee Williams
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Caligula, Albert Camus
Volpone, Ben Jonson
A View from the Bridge, Arthur Miller
Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas
The Seagull, Anton Chekhov
La Ronde, Arthur Schnitzler
The Bald Soprano and The Chairs, Eugene Ionesco
The Playhouse is the proud recipient of the 2004 Regional Theatre Tony Award and the 2007 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for our production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical, Company. Learn more about the Playhouse's Tony Award-winning history!
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“When you have
the resources to invest in new playwrights and new stories – and we do –
then doing productions like this becomes your responsibility to the art
form.” Read about our commissions and the Jerome Fey Endowment for New
Plays.