History Cleveland Play House

frederic mcconnell, director of cleveland play house (1938)

in 1900s cleveland theatre featured vaudeville, melodrama, burlesque , light entertainment. in 1915 select group of ten clevelanders met in home of charles s. , minerva brooks discuss formation of art theatre. present in addition brooks walter , julia mccune flory, raymond o neil, ernest , katherine angell, henry , anna hohnhorst, george clisbee, grace treat, , marthena barrie. together, formed cleveland play house , named raymond o neil director. initial productions performed in home donated cleveland industrialist francis drury located @ east 85th , euclid avenue. o neil devotee of artistic ideals of edward gordon craig, , play house s earliest productions reflect this. founders of play house bohemians , suffragists, , outsiders in conservative cleveland society. result, play house in years performed select group of individuals interested in avant-garde art, rather larger community of cleveland.

the play house founded midway through decade of cultural renaissance in cleveland. through partnership of idealistic vision , philanthropic largess, many of cleveland’s major cultural organizations formed between 1910 , 1920—cleveland music school settlement, karamu house, cleveland museum of art, cleveland orchestra, cleveland institute of music , cleveland museum of natural history.

after moving through several facilities in first 2 years, play house purchased , renovated church @ cedar avenue , east 73rd street, , opened cedar avenue theatre in december 1917. new facility seated 160 , marked turn toward professionalism. after this, play house began struggle financially, , board of directors became increasingly dissatisfied raymond o neil s leadership. resulting arguments led o neil s resignation in 1921. board subsequently hired frederic mcconnell next director, along associates k. elmo lowe , max eisenstat assistants. 3 transformed cph popular regional theatre, ushering in long era of growth , prosperity.

a new cleveland play house facility, built in 1927, housed brooks theatre , drury theatre. accommodate growth, cph in 1949 opened 77th street theatre in converted church, featured america’s first open stage – forerunner of thrust stage popularized in 1950s , 1960s. in 1980s, 77th street theatre closed, cleveland play house purchased sears building , world-renowned architect philip johnson designed significant additions complex, including bolton theatre. 1927 buildings, sears building , johnson buildings taken together, complex cph became largest regional theatre complex in country.

recent history

in 2009, through collaboration called “the power of three,” cph partnered playhouse square , cleveland state university create new allen theatre complex in downtown cleveland. in july 2009, cph sold building @ 86th street , euclid avenue cleveland clinic. in september 2011, cph kicked off 96th consecutive season in transformed allen theatre @ playhouse square. 2 new venues adjacent allen theatre came on board in january 2012, second stage (renamed outcalt theatre in 2014) , helen rosenfeld lewis bialosky lab theatre. new production center located along lakeshore in cleveland, , administrative offices , education center on east 13th street.

the list of plays , playwrights have had premiers @ cleveland play house impressive, notable being tennessee williams’ touched me, , bertolt brecht’s mother courage. other notable premiers include pleasure of honesty luigi pirandello, simone ben hecht, translations brian friel, decent birth william saroyan, command william wister haines, ten times table alan ayckbourn, march on russia david storey, archbishop s ceiling arthur miller, first monday in october jerome lawrence , robert e. lee, lillian william luce, cemetery club ivan menchell, effect of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds paul zindel, jerusalem seth greenland, smell of kill michele lowe, , bright ideas eric coble. cleveland play house continues have strong commitment new works, written ohio playwrights. current policy submission of new plays permits unsolicited works submitted playwrights reside in state of ohio.

at least 1 mainstage production in each season new play.