The Society Hill Playhouse has been pioneering force in Philadelphia's theatre community since its inception in 1959. The theatre is housed in the historic David Garrick Hall. As Philadelphia's first professional operated theater to bring premiere productions of plays, both American and European to the area, Society Hill Playhouse programming is seminal and has laid the groundwork and influenced the design of younger theatres throughout the Delaware Valley. During its forty-one year history, Society Hill Playhouse has produced hundreds of area premieres on its Main Stage (from Brecht/Weill's Threepenny Opera in 1962 to Jean Genet's The Blacks in 1965 to Brian Friel's Volunteers in 1978 and Freedom of the City in 1979 to Eduardo Manet's The Day Mary Shelley Met Charlotte Bronte in 1992 to Rachel Wyatt's Crackpot in 1996. The cabaret theatre (also known as the Red Room) opened in 1986 with William Gibson's Handy Dandy and counts among its premieres the Manual Pruez drama The Kiss Of The Spider Woman in 1987, Christopher Durang's Laughing Wild in 1988, and the commissioned work, Lafferty's Wake by Susan Turlish, which played 6 years in the Cabaret. Long-running "popular theatre" pieces include Nunsense and Menopause the Musical.
Society Hill Playhouse
Organization Description
The mission of the Playhouse perfectly mirrors its history: to present theatre as a social and communicative art, encompassing artistic quality and professional excellence; to provide a place where the artist can develop and grow; to serve all segments of the community, both on a participant level and spectator level; to lay the foundation for individual and community involvement both on a participant and spectator level. The Society Hill Playhouse is Philadelphia's original public theatre and after forty-one years, continues to function as such - making theatre and the theatre experience, as a social, educational, and entertaining event, available to all.
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