The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in
Balboa Park in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collectively called the Simon
Edison Centre for the Performing Arts:
* ''Old Globe Theatre'' – 600-seat flagship theatre, fully enclosed, featuring the
Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage
* ''Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre'' – 250-seat intimate
theatre in the round
A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage.
Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...
(completed 2009)
* ''Lowell Davies Festival Theatre'' – 605-seat outdoor theatre
The Old Globe Theatre and the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre are part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. The White Theatre is located within the Karen and Donald Cohn Education Center.
History
1930s - 1950s
The Old Globe Theatre was built in 1935, designed by
Richard Requa
Richard Smith Requa (March 27, 1881 – June 10, 1941) was an American architect, largely known for his work in San Diego, California. Requa was the Master Architect for the California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park in 1935â ...
as part of the
California Pacific International Exposition
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large c ...
. The theatre was based on a copy of one built for the Chicago
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...
, which in turn was a copy of the
Globe Theatre in
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, where many of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's plays were performed during his lifetime. Like the original Globe, the theatre was open in the center with a roof over the seating on the sides.
During the exposition, it hosted 50-minute versions of Shakespeare plays. At the end of the exposition, the Globe had been received so well that a nonprofit organization called the San Diego Community Theatre was formed to save the temporary structure from demolition. The committee leased the structure from the city, produced full-length plays, and created a more permanent structure by roofing over the theatre and bringing it up to code. The Globe Players, founded by Thomas Wood Stevens, began by producing unabridged adaptations of Shakespeare plays in The Globe to attract tourists in the San Diego area, with most of the plays lasting less than an hour.
The first director of the Globe theater was Luther Kennett (1937), and on December 2, 1937, the remodeled Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of John Van Druten’s ''The Distaff Side''. In the cast was a young actor named
Craig Noel
Craig Noel (August 25, 1915 – April 3, 2010) was an American theatre producer. He was the founding director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California and led it for more than 60 years. He "helped transform it from an insular comm ...
, whose presence as an actor, director, and artistic leader would guide the theatre’s growth through more than five decades of continuous production. Noel would become the second director of the Globe and play a major role in its development. Under his direction, the Globe would win a Tony award and become the first professional Actors Equity theater on the West Coast. He is also responsible for the founding of the San Diego National Shakespeare Festival during his time at the Globe.
In 1939, Noel was hired as general director. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the U.S. Navy took over all buildings in Balboa Park, including the Globe. The Community Theatre group stayed together, producing one-act plays in various venues around San Diego. When the Globe was returned to civilian use in 1947, Noel returned as general director, and he remained in a leadership position until his death in 2010. In 1949 he launched the Globe's summer Shakespeare Festival in partnership with the drama department at
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...
. Since then the Shakespeare festival has been presented every summer except 1953, when Noel broke with tradition by producing the smash hit play ''
Mister Roberts'' instead. The Globe continued to produce a combination of modern plays along with Shakespeare and other classics.
Since 1949, the National Shakespeare Festival has taken place nearly every summer at the Globe in San Diego.
In 1951, the San Diego Junior Theater Wing of the Old Globe began to offer adventurous, youthful plays for children. Many of the students in the Junior Wing would become actors in the company. For example,
Victor Buono
Victor Charles Buono (February 3, 1938January 1, 1982) was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist. He was known for playing the villain King Tut in the television series ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' (1966–1968) and musician ...
, who went on to become a film star after his time at the Globe. In 1953, the Junior Theater became a part of the San Diego Park and Recreation Department, having outgrown the Globe.
From 1955-1978, Peggy Kellner designed over 200 shows at the Old Globe, including costuming and set design.
1960s - 1990s
The Cassius Carter Centre Stage, a theater in the round, was added in 1969 in what had been the Falstaff Tavern restaurant. It was rebuilt in 2009 as the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre.
In March 1978, the Globe Theatre was destroyed in an arson fire, and an outdoor festival stage was hastily constructed so that the 1978 season could still be produced. An outdoor stage was built just for the National Shakespeare Festival to continue. They performed modern spins on Shakespeare, including the 1987 when ''
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'' that featured an original jazz score. The Globe Theatre was rebuilt and reopened in 1981. In 1984, the festival stage in turn succumbed to arson. It was rebuilt and is now named the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. The entire three-theatre complex is called the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts.
In 1981
Jack O'Brien was hired as artistic director, while Noel became executive producer.
In 1982, Teatro Meta, a bilingual theatre company so-sponsored by the Old Globe,
University of California San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is th ...
, and
Southwestern College, had its first production. It was founded by Noel and
Jorge Huerta
Jorge Alfonso Huerta (born November 20, 1942 in Southern California) is a Chicano scholar, author, and theater director. He specializes in Chicano and United States Latinx Theatre. He has written and edited several books specializing in Chicano t ...
. It became independent in 1987.
1990s - present
In 2012, Barry Edelstein was named Artistic Director. The Globe has grown into an internationally known theatre complex, an "influential powerhouse among regional theatres."
In 1984 it received the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
for best regional theatre.
Notable productions
Shows which originated at the Old Globe have gone on to
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
to win nine
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
s and nearly 60 nominations.
[San Diego News Network, April 4, 2010](_blank)
References
External links
Old Globe official website*
{{TonyAward RegionalTheatre 1976-2000
1935 establishments in California
Arson in California
Balboa Park (San Diego)
Buildings and structures in San Diego
Buildings and structures in the United States destroyed by arson
Culture of San Diego
Fires in California
Landmarks in San Diego
Regional theatre in the United States
Shakespeare festivals in the United States
Theatre companies in San Diego
Theatres in California
Tony Award winners
Tourist attractions in San Diego
World's fair architecture in California
Performing arts centers in California
Theatre company production histories