Alley Theatre

Alley Theatre (Houston). Founded as an amateur group in 1947 by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Altfeld and by Nina Vance, who rapidly assumed sole leadership, the company began producing plays a year later in a former dance studio located at the end of an alley. In 1949 it moved to an abandoned fan factory and began using professional actors. To overcome continuing financial problems, the company became fully professional in 1954 and started hiring stars to bolster receipts. With increasing recognition and substantial grants, in 1968 it constructed a new complex of two theatres, one with an 824‐seat thrust stage and an arena‐style space with 310 seats. Repertory leaned heavily toward popular modern plays but later began to emphasize classics and original musicals. The company also enjoys a unique exchange program with British theatres, presenting American premieres of new English works. Among the notable productions to transfer to New York were Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, Tennessee Williams's “lost” drama Not About Nightingales, and the musicals The Civil War and Jekyll and Hyde. One of the pioneers in the regional theatre movement, the Alley won a special Tony Award in 1996.