2009 Theatre Tours

*Current 6/2/09. Subject to change*

REGISTER NOW •
Sponsorship Info •

PRE-CONFERENCE RAMBLE: Historic Theatres of Ohio, 7/14/09
The Cleveland Play House, Cleveland •
Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland •
Valentine Theatre, Toledo •
Sandusky State Theatre, Sandusky •
Lorain Palace Theatre, Lorain •
Akron Civic Theatre, Akron •

DURING THE CONFERENCE
PlayhouseSquare •
Palace Theatre, Playhouse Square, 7/15/09 •
Allen Theatre, Playhouse Square, 7/15/09 •
State Theatre, Playhouse Square, 7/15/09 •
Idea Center 7/16/09 •
Severance Hall, University Circle District, 7/17/09 •
Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square, 7/17/09 •
Hanna Theatre, Playhouse Square, 7/18/09 •

The Cleveland Play House
Cleveland, OH

Courtesy of www.positivelycleveland.com

The Cleveland Play House is America's first regional theatre. It was founded in 1915 by a group of eight prominent Clevelanders, among them Charles and Minerva Brooks, who sought to bring plays of substance to the people of Cleveland in an era dominated by vaudeville. From these beginnings, The Cleveland Play House became, and remains, an artist-driven theatre that serves the Greater Cleveland community through its superb productions and outstanding theatre education programs.

The original Play House facility was built in 1927 on farmland donated by industrialist Francis Drury, and housed two theatres that remain in use today. To accommodate substantial growth in the years just after World War II, The Play House opened the 77th Street Theatre from 1949-83 in a converted church a few blocks away. That venue featured America's first open stage - the forerunner of the thrust stage that we popularized in the 1950s and '60s. In 1983, a Philip-Johnson-designed addition to the original facility opened, annexing a Depression-era Sears building to the original Drury Theatre building, making The Cleveland Play House the largest regional theatre complex in the U.S.

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Masonic Auditorium
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite
Valley of Cleveland, OH

Masonic
Courtesy of Cleveland Masonic Auditorium

Information coming soon.

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Valentine Theatre
Toledo Cultural Arts Center
Toledo, OH

From valentinetheatre.com

The Valentine Theatre is a 108-year-old 901-seat facility operated by the Toledo Cultural Arts Center, Inc. After a 21-year effort by the Board of Trustees and the community, the $28 million renovation was unveiled on October 9, 1999. Since the Gala re-opening, more than 400,000 people have attended 400 international, national and area presentations. In our five and a half years of operation, the theatre has been used by more than 32 community groups including the Toledo Symphony, Toledo Opera, Toledo Ballet, Toledo Jazz Society, Masterworks Chorale, University of Toledo, Central Catholic High School and St. John's High School.

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Sandusky State Theatre
Sandusky, OH

Courtesy of Sandusky State Theatre

Since 1928, The Sandusky State Theatre has been an area landmark and continues to serve as a top entertainment destination for the Erie County region. The Sandusky State Theatre has been in operation for 80 years and has served the community in many entertainment capacities functioning as a top Vaudeville theatre, movie palace, and world-class performing arts center.

Founded in 1988, The Sandusky State Theatre is an historic, 1500 seat theatre that originally opened as a vaudeville and movie house. In 1992, the Theatre underwent a major renovation project and has since that time become Erie County's largest not-for-profit arts organization. By presenting and producing programming of artistic, social, and educational merit, The Sandusky State Theatre is committed to serving the diverse needs of the community and as a catalyst to the revitalization of Sandusky's historic downtown district.

Billed as "The Million Dollar Entertainment Center" - the Theatre was privately operated as a touring road house and movie theatre for six decades. It was placed on the National Registry of Historical Places in 1982 in an effort to preserve the structure as movie audiences had migrated to mall cinemas.

The Sandusky State Theatre now reigns as a showplace for the live performing arts and film, and is dedicated to helping create and preserve the cultural heritage of the community well into the 21st century.

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Lorain Palace Theatre
Lorain, OH

From lorainpalace.com

When the Palace first opened its doors in 1928, it was the first motion picture theater in Ohio to have talking pictures. During the 1970's with the threatened demolition of the Palace Theater, numerous civic groups and individuals formed a committee to save the historic building and make it the focal point for the renovation of downtown Lorain. The building was structurally sound as it had been designed and constructed with every effort toward making it tornado proof. It had steel re-enforced concrete walls and a sturdy roof. Skillfully molded ceilings and interior walls displayed a craftsmanship seldom found at that time. Much of the original equipment was still usable. The crystal chandelier, Wurlitzer pipe organ (one of only four remaining in theaters across Ohio), and two spacious loges are just some of the features which made this building worthy of being preserved.

Today, the Palace serves as a community Civic Center, meeting place and entertainment facility. Offering movies, live theatre and concerts, the Lorain Palace Theatre has something for everyone. Combining turn-of-the-century charm with a state of the art sound and movie projection system, the Palace offers a rich and exciting environment for all ages.

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Akron Civic Theatre
Akron, OH

From akroncivic.com

Designed by John Eberson, the Akron Civic Theatre was built in 1929 by Marcus Loew. The interior structure was fashioned after a Moorish castle featuring Mediterranean decor, including medieval carvings, authentic European antiques and Italian alabaster sculptures. Among facilities of its size, the Civic is one of only five remaining atmospheric theaters in the country where patrons experience a twinkling star-lit sky and intermittent clouds moving across the horizon, all while sitting inside the auditorium.

In June 2001, the Akron Civic Theatre closed its doors for the most comprehensive restoration and expansion project in its history. Over the course of the next sixteen months, just over $19 million was spent bringing the theater up to modern performance and patron standards, and to restoring its failing 70-year old infrastructure. Following its re-opening in November 2002, the New Civic, along with its partner The University of Akron's E. J. Thomas Hall, continued to play a significant leadership role in downtown revitalization.

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DURING THE CONFERENCE

Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

Between February 1921 and November 1922, five opulent theaters opened along the stretch of Euclid Avenue between E. 14th and E. 17th streets. Four of the new theaters - the Allen, Ohio, State and Palace - were contiguous on the north side of Euclid; across the street, the Hanna was lodged in the Hanna Building. The theaters presented silent movies, legitimate theater and vaudeville.

When the Depression ensued and demand grew for cheaper entertainment, movies predominated. But the post-World War II flight to the suburbs and the rise of television sent the downtown theaters into a death spiral that accelerated throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While the Allen, Ohio, State and Palace had opened in a 19-month span, it took just 14 months (from May 1968 to July 1969) for all four to close. The Hanna limped along for almost two more decades.

The grand old theaters that closed fell prey to neglect and vandalism. No one foresaw their renovation and reopening, especially when suburban cinemas consigned downtown movie palaces to the ash heap. But gradually, a bold plan evolved to rescue the four shuttered theaters and meld them into a fine arts and entertainment center.

The planners formed a group known as the PlayhouseSquare Association, which gained formal nonprofit status in 1970. Led by a dynamic visionary named Raymond K. Shepardson, the association launched a vigorous grass-roots campaign to save the theaters.

The threatened razing of the Ohio and State in 1972 galvanized community leaders, who obtained a stay of execution. In succeeding years, limited repair and renovation allowed for sporadic staging of productions as money was raised for complete restoration. The musical revue Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris opened in the State Theatre lobby in 1973 with expectations of a three-week run. It played for two years.

Bolstered by such artistic successes, the preservationists continued to stave off demolition, assembled a professional management team and raised $40 million in a spirit of public/private partnership, with half the funds coming from each sector.

Restoration began in earnest, and culminated with the July 1982 reopening of the Ohio Theatre. By the end of the 1980s, the curtain had risen again in both the State and Palace. The Allen remained on the endangered list until 1993, when PlayhouseSquare, the nonprofit organization that operates the Center, rented the theater with an agreement to purchase it. The purchase was consummated in 1997, and the restored Allen reopened the following year with a weekend-long celebration.

In 1999, an investment group led by PlayhouseSquare agreed to acquire the historic Hanna Building, a move that brought control of the Hanna Theatre as well as significant street-level retail opportunities. In a newspaper poll, civic leaders hailed "the saving of Playhouse Square"" as the leading triumph on a list of the top 10 successes in Cleveland history.

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Palace Theatre, Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

Courtesy of www.positivelycleveland.com

The Palace Theatre in downtown Cleveland was originally named "Keith's Palace Theater" after the business partner of its original owner, Edward Albee. Designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp in the French Renaissance style, it originally housed various vaudeville shows.

The $2 million theatre opened in the Keith Building on November 6, 1922, seating 3,100. The interior was clad with Carrara marble and 154 crystal chandeliers, and the main lobby, dubbed the "Great Hall," was decorated with over 30 paintings.

The advent of the motion-picture age led to the gradual replacement of the vaudeville acts with movies, although vaudeville maintained a presence at the theater until the 1950s. The Palace was subsequently transformed into a Cinerama, which required the removal of 1,800 seats. On July 20, 1969, the theater shut down because of air-conditioning trouble, and remained closed because of financial difficulty. In November 1973, the PlayhouseSquare Foundation obtained the lease for the Palace, and began producing cabaret shows in the partially-reopened theater in order to attract attention to its efforts to restore Playhouse Square. In 1978, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places, along with the rest of the Playhouse Square group.

After a $36.4 million renovation project, the Palace Theater completely reopened in 1988 with 2,714 seats, making it the second-largest theater on Playhouse Square.

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Allen Theatre, Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

Courtesy of PlayhouseSquare

Designed in Renaissance Revival style by C. Howard Crane, the Allen Theatre opened in 1921. With approximately 3,000 seats, it was Cleveland's largest movie theater at that time. For several decades, the Allen served as one of the grandest palaces in the city to see a motion picture, before falling into decline during the 1950s and '60s. The Allen was finally shuttered in 1968 and was saved at the last minute from being bulldozed for a parking lot. Workers had already begun dismantling the interior when the word came to halt the demolition.

Today, fully restored to its '20s splendor, the 2,500-seat Allen Theatre is primarily a venue for touring Broadway shows and other productions requiring a large stage.

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State Theatre, Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

Courtesy of PlayhouseSquare

Designed by architect Thomas Lamb as the flagship of Marcus Loew's Ohio Theaters group, the State Theatre was intended to show vaudeville shows and movies. The Italian Renaissance style State opened on February 5, 1921, seating 3,400. Because of the desirability of having the theater's marquee on Euclid Avenue, the State Theater was built at the back of the lot it shares with the Ohio Theater, but with a 320-foot long series of three lobbies. This was the world's longest lobby serving a single theater, and it contained four huge murals by James Daugherty, entitled The Spirit of PageantryóAfrica, The Spirit of DramaóvEurope, The Spirit of CinemaóAmerica, and The Spirit of FantasyóAsia. The theater became a Cinerama in 1967, but, due to financial trouble, closed in early February 1969, along with the rest of the Playhouse Square theaters.

The cover of the February 27, 1970 issue of Life was a two-page pull-out featuring The Spirit of Cinema America, which inspired the creation of the PlayhouseSquare Association. During the early '70s, both the State and Ohio Theaters were threatened with razing in order to build a parking lot, but they were saved through public outcry.

In 1973, the newly-formed PlayhouseSquare Foundation obtained a long-term lease for the Stat, along with the Palace and Ohio theaters. In 1978, the State was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Restoration of the theater begun in 1979 was completed in the summer of 1984 after the addition of a $7 million stage house. The State Theater reopened on June 4 of that year with 3,200 seats, becoming the home of the Cleveland Ballet and Cleveland Opera.

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Idea Center, Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

Courtesy of Playhouse Square

The Idea Center at Playhouse Square is the result of a model partnership between WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN ideastream and PlayhouseSquare. The headquarters for ideastream and home for PlayhouseSquare's arts education programs, Idea Center is much more than a building. It is a place for creativity and education. It is a place for the arts and technology to come together in new ways. It is a place for learning, rehearsing, performing and broadcasting where arts, education, technology and ideas serve the public.

Built in 1912, the building was originally designed by Walker & Weeks and features seven stories totaling 240,000 square feet. The Idea Center occupies the three lower floors of the building, including:

The Westfield Insurance Studio Theatre accommodates both radio and television production and live theatrical performances utilizing specially designed flooring and a mechanized lighting grid.
Two street-front studios - the Smith Studio, primarily used for television production and the Gund Foundation Dance Studio.
The Education Center features multiple, transformable classrooms that are saturated with technology for instruction and distance learning activities.
The ideastream offices have been designed to inspire collaboration among production staff and administrative personnel.
The Bruening Foundation PB&J Lounge provides welcoming space for breakout sessions, lunches and snacks.

An important part of the revitalization of Euclid Avenue's streetscape, the Idea Center is attracting new companies and their employees to downtown Cleveland, increasing tax revenues in the city and discretionary spending in the Theater District. The Idea Center makes it possible for arts education programming to reach new audiences via broadcast and distance learning technology. Additionally, ideastream is able to expand its teacher training programs in a facility specially designed to accommodate its leading-edge distance learning programs. Plus, ideastream and PlayhouseSquare are collaborating to present the KeyBank Small Non-profit Series, designed to provide individuals and organizations with the tools necessary to successfully execute the missions of not-for-profit organizations and remain financially sound.

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Severance Hall
The Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland, OH

From (c) Roger Mastroianni /Courtesy of www.positivelycleveland.com

Hailed among the world's most beautiful concert halls for more than half a century, Severance Hall has now undergone a two-year, $36-million restoration and expansion. This landmark building was one of the most modern, up-to-date concert facilities in America when it opened in 1931 as The Cleveland Orchestra's permanent home. Intended as a gift from John Long Severance, whose father had served as treasurer of Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and his wife, Elisabeth Severance, the building as a whole reflected Severance's determination to create an elegant structure of the finest materials, incorporating the most advanced features available at the time of its construction. The Georgian exterior was chosen to harmonize with the classical architecture of the Cleveland Museum of Art and with the graceful gardens and pond in front of the museum. Ohio sandstone was used in the terrace and base of the building, while upper sections were built of Indiana limestone.

The interior rooms and areas reflected a planned and harmonious eclecticism. Certain design elements used throughout the hall helped to unify and tie together the diverse styles of Art Deco, French Nouveau, Classicism, Egyptian Revival, and Modernism found in various interior areas. One unifying design motif was the lotus blossom, said to have been the favorite flower of Mrs. Severance. Lotus flowers and papyrus leaf patterns appeared in many shapes, formats, and sizes in nearly every public area of the hall.

Now, with the renovation and expansion complete, Severance Hall reopened January 8, 2000, as a state-of-the art concert hall with new and updated amenities to benefit both patrons and musicians.

The architectural significance of Severance Hall has been recognized by local and national preservation societies, including the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and the National Register of Historic Places.

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Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

The Ohio Theater, designed by Thomas W. Lamb in the Italian Renaissance style, was built by Marcus Loew's Ohio Theaters group to show serious theatrical works. The theater opened on February 14, 1921, with 1,338 seats. The foyer featured three murals depicting the story of Venus, and the balcony contained paintings of Arcadia. Throughout the 1920s, the Ohio had a stock company and hosted traveling Broadway plays.

In 1935, the theater was redecorated in an Art Deco style and transformed into a supper club, the Mayfair Casino. The owners hoped to turn the establishment into an actual casino, but since gambling was not allowed in Ohio, the Mayfair closed in 1936. The Loews Theaters group acquired the building, and in 1943 the Ohio reopened as a movie theater. A 1964 lobby fire damaged the interior, which was then painted red to hide smoke damage. Decreasing patronage caused the theater to close in early February 1969, along with the rest of the Playhouse Square theaters. Twice the Ohio and State Theaters were threatened with razing in order to build a parking lot; in 1972, when the buildings were saved by public outcry, and again in 1977. The PlayhouseSquare Foundation responded by obtaining a long-term lease for the theaters. In 1978, the Ohio was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Because of the extent of the building's fire damage, the Ohio was originally slated to be the last of the group to undergo renovation, but plans were accelerated so that the theater could become the home of the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival. The $4 million restoration took less than nine months, and on July 9, 1982, the Ohio Theater became the first Playhouse Square theatre to reopen, showing Shakespeare's As You Like It.

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Hanna Theatre, Playhouse Square
Cleveland, OH

The historic Hanna Theatre, built in 1921 and located in Cleveland's Playhouse Square recently underwent a $20 million renovation. Designed by the architectural firm of Westlake Reed Leskosky, the Hanna Theatre reopened in the Fall of 2008 as the home of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival.

Originally designed in the Greek Revival style by Charles Pratt, the Hanna Theatre was part of the Hanna Office Building named for the prominent Cleveland Senator Mark Hanna. The 1,535-seat Hanna hosted a number of touring Broadway shows and an occasional Broadway tryout. Weathering the Depression, the Hanna became the only road house in the country that had been in operation for more than 50 years. It went dark in 1989.

In 1993, the Hanna was acquired by Ray Shepardson, who founded PlayhouseSquare in the 1970s. Following a $2 million renovation, the theatre was converted into a multi-tiered, cabaret-style showplace and re-opened in 1996 on the Hanna's 75th anniversary.

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