Ivoryton Playhouse
Encyclopedia
The Ivoryton Playhouse is a small professional theater located in the village
of Ivoryton in the town of Essex, Connecticut
, USA. It produces shows year round, March through December. As Comstock-Cheney Hall, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
The theatre is believed to be the first self-supporting summer theatre in the United States. The listing is described in its NRHP nomination document.
The Ivoryton Playhouse was built in 1908 as an employee recreation
hall, and would probably have been demolished long ago, but for its chance encounter with a remarkable man named Milton Stiefel. Stiefel was an actor who eventually became the right hand and confidant of David Belasco, considered one of the greatest directors produced by the American Theatre. After Belasco's death, Stiefel continued as manager and stage director for many extravagant shows which traveled nationally, playing in every major American city. At the end of one of these tours, Stiefel came to Essex in order to rest, saw the unused recreation hall and knew it would be perfect for a resident stock company. Broken Dishes had just closed in New York (reportedly with Bette Davis in her first Broadway role), and Stiefel opened it in Ivoryton during the week of June 17, 1930. Thus the Ivoryton Playhouse came to be.
Ivoryton became the first, self supporting summer theatre in the nation. Although there were older theatres in Dennis, MA and Skowhegan, ME, they were endowed by foundations of wealthy families and not self-supporting. The Westport Country Playhouse
was actually established one year after the Ivoryton Playhouse.
The theatre gained in prestige to the point that invitations to work there were highly prized in the theatrical profession. Its reputation grew nationally and Paramount Pictures produced a film short showing its complete operation. Established actors like Henry Hull
and Norma Terris
signed on to perform at Ivoryton, and newcomers like Katharine Hepburn
and Cliff Robertson
came along to help mold the Ivoryton legend. Ivoryton's fame as one of America's leading summer showplaces continued to grow until the outbreak of World War II, when the theatre went dark for several seasons, mainly due to tire and gas rationing making it virtually impossible for audiences to get to the Playhouse. Stiefel went to Hollywood where he served as a director for Columbia Pictures, but he reopened the Playhouse after the war and presented a parade of stars such as Marlon Brando
, Ethel Waters
, Art Carney
, Tallulah Bankhead
, Helen Hayes
, Betty Grable
, Groucho Marx
, Myrna Loy
, Gloria Swanson
, Dorothy Lamour
, Maureen O'Sullivan
, and many others.
Stiefel's company, the New York Players, lived in private homes in Ivoryton, from which most of the sets and props were borrowed. The company did not break even until the last week of summer, but that was enough to convince Stiefel that the theatre could be a success. Throughout the ensuring years, he continued to produce and direct in Ivoryton, and in 1938 he bought the building. Stiefel continued at Ivoryton until his retirement in 1973, when he sold the theatre to Ken Krezel. Krezel decided to sell the property in 1979 and it was then, amid rumors that the historic theatre might be torn down to make way for a discount drug store, that the non-profit Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation was organized and negotiated a mortgage to buy the property. The Foundations' early years (1979–1986) however, were difficult as four different productions failed to put the summer season back on the road to lasting success. In 1987, River Rep, a professional acting group based in New York City, arrived on the scene and its productions were an artistic success from the start. The River Rep spent 19 years in Ivoryton, producing shows during the summer months only. The Foundation began producing shows during the fall and winter months. In 2005, the River Rep and the Foundation failed to come to terms on a new contract, and so the River Rep decided to leave the Playhouse. As a result, the Foundation expanded its productions from just the fall and winter to the spring and summer as well. Continuing this labor of love, the Foundation has also dramatically improved the physical plant, installing comfortable seating, state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems, air conditioning, etc. The Playhouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, as is indicated on the front of the building.
in Waterford, CT, travel to Essex to practice reviewing full productions.
March 16-April 3
by Frank McCourt
How the Other Half Loves
April 13– May 1
by Alan Ayckbourn
Barefoot in the park
June 8 – 26
by Neil Simon
The Producers
By Mel Brooks
July 6 – August 31
Ring of Fire
August 10 – September 4
Created and Directed by Richard Maltby Jr. Conceived by William Meade.
The Marvelous Wonderettes
September 28 – October 16
by Roger Bean
The Women in Black
November 2 – 20
Adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt
Every main show is produced by the Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation, Inc., although shows not actually locally produced (but paid for) by the Foundation are occasionally brought in.
Tickets are:
Special Event Pricing 2008
They also have a Christmas Musical, which for the 2009 season is The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson
Directed by Missy Waryas. December 3–13, 2008. Tickets and showtimes are: Performances are Friday & Saturday at 7:30pm; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $25 Adult; $20 Student; $15 Children 12 and under.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Ivoryton in the town of Essex, Connecticut
Essex, Connecticut
Essex is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,505 at the 2000 census. It is made up of three villages: Essex Village, Centerbrook, and Ivoryton.- History :- The Great Attack :...
, USA. It produces shows year round, March through December. As Comstock-Cheney Hall, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
It was built in 1910 and became a theater in 1938. It includes Classical Revival architecture. When listed the property included three contributing buildings on an area of 0.6 acre (0.2428116 ha).The theatre is believed to be the first self-supporting summer theatre in the United States. The listing is described in its NRHP nomination document.
The Ivoryton Playhouse was built in 1908 as an employee recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
hall, and would probably have been demolished long ago, but for its chance encounter with a remarkable man named Milton Stiefel. Stiefel was an actor who eventually became the right hand and confidant of David Belasco, considered one of the greatest directors produced by the American Theatre. After Belasco's death, Stiefel continued as manager and stage director for many extravagant shows which traveled nationally, playing in every major American city. At the end of one of these tours, Stiefel came to Essex in order to rest, saw the unused recreation hall and knew it would be perfect for a resident stock company. Broken Dishes had just closed in New York (reportedly with Bette Davis in her first Broadway role), and Stiefel opened it in Ivoryton during the week of June 17, 1930. Thus the Ivoryton Playhouse came to be.
Ivoryton became the first, self supporting summer theatre in the nation. Although there were older theatres in Dennis, MA and Skowhegan, ME, they were endowed by foundations of wealthy families and not self-supporting. The Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit theater in Westport, Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos the Playhouse produces new and classic plays for the public....
was actually established one year after the Ivoryton Playhouse.
The theatre gained in prestige to the point that invitations to work there were highly prized in the theatrical profession. Its reputation grew nationally and Paramount Pictures produced a film short showing its complete operation. Established actors like Henry Hull
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull was an American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's Werewolf of London .-Life and career:Hull was born in Louisville, Kentucky...
and Norma Terris
Norma Terris
Norma Terris was an American musical theatre star. Her mother, a singer, named her after the heroine of Bellini's opera, Norma....
signed on to perform at Ivoryton, and newcomers like Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Cliff Robertson
Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly...
came along to help mold the Ivoryton legend. Ivoryton's fame as one of America's leading summer showplaces continued to grow until the outbreak of World War II, when the theatre went dark for several seasons, mainly due to tire and gas rationing making it virtually impossible for audiences to get to the Playhouse. Stiefel went to Hollywood where he served as a director for Columbia Pictures, but he reopened the Playhouse after the war and presented a parade of stars such as Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
, Art Carney
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
, Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
, Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
, Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
, Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
, Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
, Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
, and many others.
Stiefel's company, the New York Players, lived in private homes in Ivoryton, from which most of the sets and props were borrowed. The company did not break even until the last week of summer, but that was enough to convince Stiefel that the theatre could be a success. Throughout the ensuring years, he continued to produce and direct in Ivoryton, and in 1938 he bought the building. Stiefel continued at Ivoryton until his retirement in 1973, when he sold the theatre to Ken Krezel. Krezel decided to sell the property in 1979 and it was then, amid rumors that the historic theatre might be torn down to make way for a discount drug store, that the non-profit Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation was organized and negotiated a mortgage to buy the property. The Foundations' early years (1979–1986) however, were difficult as four different productions failed to put the summer season back on the road to lasting success. In 1987, River Rep, a professional acting group based in New York City, arrived on the scene and its productions were an artistic success from the start. The River Rep spent 19 years in Ivoryton, producing shows during the summer months only. The Foundation began producing shows during the fall and winter months. In 2005, the River Rep and the Foundation failed to come to terms on a new contract, and so the River Rep decided to leave the Playhouse. As a result, the Foundation expanded its productions from just the fall and winter to the spring and summer as well. Continuing this labor of love, the Foundation has also dramatically improved the physical plant, installing comfortable seating, state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems, air conditioning, etc. The Playhouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, as is indicated on the front of the building.
Shows
The Playhouse produces both main shows and other shows, such as children's shows or comedy nights. Critic fellows from the Eugene O'Neill Theater CenterEugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
in Waterford, CT, travel to Essex to practice reviewing full productions.
2011 season
The Irish...And How They Got That WayMarch 16-April 3
by Frank McCourt
How the Other Half Loves
April 13– May 1
by Alan Ayckbourn
Barefoot in the park
June 8 – 26
by Neil Simon
The Producers
By Mel Brooks
July 6 – August 31
Ring of Fire
August 10 – September 4
Created and Directed by Richard Maltby Jr. Conceived by William Meade.
The Marvelous Wonderettes
September 28 – October 16
by Roger Bean
The Women in Black
November 2 – 20
Adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt
Main shows
The Ivoryton Playhouse season runs from early spring (March) through December. A typical season has three or four plays and two or three musicals. Nearly every show runs for three weeks and the current performance schedule is as follows:- Wednesdays at 2 and 7:30
- Thursdays at 7:30
- Fridays at 8
- Saturdays at 8
- Sundays at 2
Every main show is produced by the Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation, Inc., although shows not actually locally produced (but paid for) by the Foundation are occasionally brought in.
Tickets are:
- $35 for adults (with the exception of preview performances, see below)
- $30 for preview adult performances and seniors (65 years old and older)
- Students $20.00
- Child (12 and under) $15.00
- 6 Tix are available the 2nd and 3rd Thursday of each show in which unsold tickets are sold for half price at the window after 6pm
Special Event Pricing 2008
- Comedy Nights $30.00
- Vagina Monologues $40.00
- A Night At the Opera $40.00
Other shows
During the summer months the Playhouse has children's shows, which occur Fridays at 11 am and run for about an hour. Tickets for children's shows cost $10. In addition, Carmela's Comedy Nights feature top of the line stand-up comedy every few months in the evenings. Tickets for the Comedy Nights cost $30.They also have a Christmas Musical, which for the 2009 season is The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson
Directed by Missy Waryas. December 3–13, 2008. Tickets and showtimes are: Performances are Friday & Saturday at 7:30pm; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $25 Adult; $20 Student; $15 Children 12 and under.
Theatre and buildings
The Playhouse itself is located in the center of Ivoryton on the corner of Main Street and Summit Street (at 103 Main Street). The Playhouse has a small lobby, where the box office is housed, and then the theatre itself, which seats 284 people in both an orchestra and a balcony section. Behind the balcony is the control booth. Below the theatre are the dressing rooms and storage areas. Behind the Playhouse is a small barn-like structure where much set construction occurs. The Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation has its main offices in the Essex Industrial Park in Centerbrook, where the main rehearsal studio is also housed. The Foundation offices can be reached at (860) 767-9520. However, when the offices are closed, all calls are re-routed to the box office.External links
- http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.com/index.htm[Ivoryton Playhouse Official website]
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ivoryton-CT/The-Ivoryton-Playhouse-Foundation/6553109986?ref=ts [Ivoryton Playhouse Facebook Fan Page]
- http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupid=101164805&Mytoken=DE77D5EC-BDD2-428A-9C7AE48CF4B20E4194537104 [Ivoryton Playhouse Myspace group]