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Southwark Theatre
Southwark Theatre, the first permanent play-house to be erected in Philadelphia, and possibly the first in America. A rough brick and wood structure painted red, its stage lit by oil lamps, it was built in 1766 by David Douglass, manager of the American Company, and opened on 12 Nov. with Vanbrugh's The Provoked Wife and Isaac Bickerstaffe's Thomas and Sally. Early in 1767 it saw the production for one night of Godfrey's The Prince of Parthia, the first American play to be staged professionally. During the War of Independence the building, which from its position was sometimes known as the South Street Theatre, was closed, but after the departure of the British it reopened for a short time in the autumn of 1778. In 1784 the younger Hallam and John Henry, who had assumed the management of the American Company, stopped in Philadelphia on their way back to New York from the West Indies, and reopened the theatre for a while. It continued to be used for plays after their departure until in 1821 it was partly destroyed by fire. It was finally demolished in 1912.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Southwark Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Southwark Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-SouthwarkTheatre.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Southwark Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-SouthwarkTheatre.html |
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Southwark Theatre
Southwark Theatre (Philadelphia). Sometimes called the South Street Theatre, it was the first permanent playhouse erected in America. Because of prejudices against theatricals it was built just outside what was then the center of the city. The structure, largely of brick, was painted red and was lit by oil. Opened in 1766 by Douglass and his American Company and later managed by his successors, Lewis Hallam Jr. and John Henry, it housed the first performance of a professionally produced American play, The Prince of Parthia, in 1767. It remained in use as a playhouse until 1821. The building had served for many years as a distillery before it was demolished in 1912.
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Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Southwark Theatre." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Southwark Theatre." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-SouthwarkTheatre.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Southwark Theatre." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-SouthwarkTheatre.html |
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