Walnut Street Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Walnut Street Theatre (or simply The Walnut), located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
at 825 Walnut Street
, is the oldest continuously operating theatre in the English-speaking world and the oldest in the United States. The venue has three stages: the Mainstage, for the company's primary and larger productions, the Independence Studio on 3, a studio located on the building's third floor for smaller productions, and the Studio 5 on the fifth floor, which is rented out for independent productions.
, which toured the United States from 1807 until 1815. Pepin and Breschard constructed numerous venues in cities along the East Coast of the United States
, which often featured, along with performances of their circus, classical plays as well as horse dramas
. The theatre was founded in 1809, going by the name of The New Circus. In 1811, the two partners commissioned architect William Strickland
to design and construct a stage and orchestra pit
for theatrical performances and the theatre's name was changed to The Olympic. The official website says that the name The Walnut Street Theatre was first used there in 1820, though the name was changed back to The Olympic in 1822 and to The Walnut again in 1828. A travel guidebook from 1849 indicates that in the mid 19th century, this building was called The American Theatre.
The Walnut was the first theatre to install gas footlights in 1837. In 1855 it was also the first theatre to feature air conditioning
. The theatre switched to electric chandeliers and footlights in 1892. The theatre has undergone many renovations since its opening.
The first theatrical production at the theatre was The Rivals
in 1812 (President Thomas Jefferson
and the Marquis de Lafayette were in attendance). Edwin Booth
and John Sleeper Clarke
purchased the theatre in 1865, and then the theatre became part of The Shubert Organization
in 1941. While part of the Shubert chain, the theatre housed many pre-Broadway
tryouts of soon-to-be classics, including:
On October 15, 1966, The Walnut Street Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark
and in 1969, the theatre was purchased by a non-profit organization and turned over to the new Walnut Street Theatre Corporation. On September 23, 1976, it was the site of the first presidential debate between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter
. The Walnut Street Theatre Company was formed in 1983, a non-profit regional producing company. In 1984, the Walnut Street Theatre School was established and over 1,200 students enroll annually, and 1986 introduced the Independence Studio on 3 series.
To this day, the company produces five productions a season on the theatre's main stage and is the most subscribed theatre company in the world. In Fall 2008, the theater celebrated its 200th season of live entertainment.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
at 825 Walnut Street
Walnut Street (Philadelphia)
Walnut Street is located in downtown Philadelphia and extends from the city's Delaware River waterfront through Center City and West Philadelphia. Walnut Street has been characterized as "the city's premier shopping district"...
, is the oldest continuously operating theatre in the English-speaking world and the oldest in the United States. The venue has three stages: the Mainstage, for the company's primary and larger productions, the Independence Studio on 3, a studio located on the building's third floor for smaller productions, and the Studio 5 on the fifth floor, which is rented out for independent productions.
History
The Walnut Street Theatre was built by the Circus of Pepin and BreschardCircus of Pepin and Breschard
The equestrian theatre company of Pépin and Breschard, American Victor Pépin and Frenchman Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard, arrived in the United States of America from Madrid, Spain , in November 1807. They toured that new country until 1815...
, which toured the United States from 1807 until 1815. Pepin and Breschard constructed numerous venues in cities along the East Coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which often featured, along with performances of their circus, classical plays as well as horse dramas
Hippodrama
Hippodrama, or horse drama, is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre. Evolving from earlier equestrian circus, pioneered by Philip Astley in the 1760s,, it relied on drama plays written specifically for the genre; trained horses were...
. The theatre was founded in 1809, going by the name of The New Circus. In 1811, the two partners commissioned architect William Strickland
William Strickland (architect)
William Strickland , was a noted architect in nineteenth-century Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Nashville, Tennessee.-Life and career:...
to design and construct a stage and orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
for theatrical performances and the theatre's name was changed to The Olympic. The official website says that the name The Walnut Street Theatre was first used there in 1820, though the name was changed back to The Olympic in 1822 and to The Walnut again in 1828. A travel guidebook from 1849 indicates that in the mid 19th century, this building was called The American Theatre.
The Walnut was the first theatre to install gas footlights in 1837. In 1855 it was also the first theatre to feature air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
. The theatre switched to electric chandeliers and footlights in 1892. The theatre has undergone many renovations since its opening.
The first theatrical production at the theatre was The Rivals
The Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
in 1812 (President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and the Marquis de Lafayette were in attendance). Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
and John Sleeper Clarke
John Sleeper Clarke
John Sleeper Clarke , 19th century American comedian and actor, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was educated for the law. In his boyhood he was a schoolmate of Edwin Booth who was born in the same year as he, and with whom he engaged in amateur dramatic readings as members of the Baltimore...
purchased the theatre in 1865, and then the theatre became part of The Shubert Organization
The Shubert Organization
The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of legitimate theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the Shubert brothers, Sam S. Shubert, Lee Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert of Syracuse, New York in the late 19th century in upstate New York,...
in 1941. While part of the Shubert chain, the theatre housed many pre-Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
tryouts of soon-to-be classics, including:
- A Streetcar Named DesireA Streetcar Named Desire (play)A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
with Marlon BrandoMarlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
(1947) - Mister RobertsMister Roberts (play)Mister Roberts is a 1948 play based on the 1946 Thomas Heggen novel of the same name.The novel began as a collection of short stories about Heggen's experiences aboard the USS Virgo in the South Pacific during World War II...
with Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
(1948) - GigiGigiGigi is a 1944 novella by French writer Colette. The plot focuses on a young Parisian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan and her relationship with the wealthy cultured man named Gaston who falls in love with her and eventually marries her....
with Audrey HepburnAudrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
(1951) - The Diary of Anne FrankThe Diary of Anne Frank (play)The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
with Susan StrasbergSusan StrasbergSusan Elizabeth Strasberg was an American film and stage actress.-Background and career:Strasberg was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of theatre director and drama coach Lee Strasberg of the Actors Studio and former actress Paula Strasberg...
(1955) - A Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes...
with Sidney PoitierSidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
(1959) - A Man For All SeasonsA Man for All SeasonsA Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
starring Paul ScofieldPaul ScofieldDavid Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
(1961)
On October 15, 1966, The Walnut Street Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and in 1969, the theatre was purchased by a non-profit organization and turned over to the new Walnut Street Theatre Corporation. On September 23, 1976, it was the site of the first presidential debate between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. The Walnut Street Theatre Company was formed in 1983, a non-profit regional producing company. In 1984, the Walnut Street Theatre School was established and over 1,200 students enroll annually, and 1986 introduced the Independence Studio on 3 series.
To this day, the company produces five productions a season on the theatre's main stage and is the most subscribed theatre company in the world. In Fall 2008, the theater celebrated its 200th season of live entertainment.
Further reading
- Webster, Richard J., Philadelphia Preserved. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1976.
- Teitelman, Edward, and Richard W. Longstreth, Architecture in Philadelphia: A Guide. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1974.
- Havard, Bernard and Sylvester, Mark D., Walnut Street Theatre. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2008
External links
- The 1849 book "A Hand-book for the Stranger in Philadelphia" - PDF scan at Archive.org (page 80 includes a brief history of this theater)
- Walnut Street Theatre Online - official website
- Listing and photographs at the Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
- Listing and photographs at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- National Historic Landmark Listing at the National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
- ExplorePAhistory.com