Santa Fe Playhouse is a non-profit professional theater based in Santa Fe New Mexico. Founded in 1919 by American novelist and essayist

Mary Hunter Austin Mary Hunter Austin (September 9, 1868 – August 13, 1934) was an American writer. One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her classic '' The Land of Little Rain'' (1903) describes the fauna, flora, and people – as well as e ...

as The Santa Fe Little Theatre and incorporated in 1922, it is “the oldest continuously running theatre west of the Mississippi.” The theater found a permanent home in 1962 located at 142 East De Vargas Street in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

in the heart of the

Barrio De Analco Historic District The Barrio de Analco Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District centered at the junction of East De Vargas Street and Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The seven buildings of the district represent one of the oldest clu ...

. Santa Fe Playhouse is currently led by Artistic Director Robyn Rikoon and Executive Director Colin Hovde.

History

The Santa Fe Little Theatre was founded by writer and social activist

(1868-1934). Originally called the Santa Fe Players, it held its first performances in 1919 and incorporated in 1922. Austin took her cue from the national

Little Theater movement Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, which provided homes for intimate, progressive, and experimental works outside of the profit-driven corporate theater world. The first production, on February 14 and May 13, 1919 were in the St. Francis Auditorium at the newly constructed

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located at 107 West Palace Avenue, one block off the ...

. The Santa Fe Players performed in temporary venues around Santa Fe, including tents at the rodeo grounds and makeshift shelters on the Plaza. Some early melodramas — still an annual tradition — were presented at an outdoor market that’s now a hotel parking lot on

Old Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, ...

. In 1962 the Santa Fe Players signed a lease and renovated an old livery stable in Barrio de Analco into a theater space which is the current venue at 142 E. De Vargas St. Over the years, the venue has been called many things, including Santa Fe Little Theater and Santa Fe Community Theater. In 1997, it became the Santa Fe Playhouse.

Centennial Season (2022)

THE EFFECT written by

Lucy Prebble Lucy Prebble (born 1981) is a British playwright. She is the author of the plays ''The Sugar Syndrome'', '' The Effect'', ''ENRON'' and '' A Very Expensive Poison''. For television she adapted ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' and co-created ''I H ...

, directed by Robyn Rikoon ''March 12–Sunday, April 3''

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

’s A DELICATE BALANCE directed by L. Zane Jones ''April 23–Sunday, May 15'' EVERYBODY written by

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. He won the 2014 Obie Award for Best New American Play for his plays '' Appropriate'' and '' An Octoroon''. His plays '' Gloria'' and '' Everybody'' were finalists for the 2016 and 2018 Pulitzer ...

(director TBD) ''June 18–Sunday, July 10'' SKELETAL SERIES ''July 20–Saturday, Aug. 13'' – exact dates TBA SANTA FE FIESTA MELODRAMA written by courageous, anonymous locals, directed by Andrew Primm and Eliot Fisher ''Aug. 27–Sunday, Sept. 4'': Santa Fe Playhouse ''Sept 8–Sunday, Sept 18'': local tour, TBA THE MOUNTAINTOP written by

Katori Hall Katori Hall (born May 10, 1981) is an American playwright, screenwriter, producer, actress, and director from Memphis, Tennessee. Hall's best known works include the hit television series ''P-Valley'', the Tony-nominated '' Tina: The Tina Turner M ...

, director TBD ''Sept. 24–Sunday, Oct. 16'' AN ILIAD written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, performed by Patrick Osteen ''Oct. 27–Saturday, Nov. 12'': local bar tour TBA A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD written by Robert and

Willie Reale Willie Reale is an American lyricist who has received Academy Award nominations for best song category for his work as a lyricist on the movie ''Dreamgirls'' and has won 3 Emmy awards (in 2010, 2011) as one of the writer/producers for ''The Electri ...

, directed by Rob Lutfy and Robyn Rikoon ''Dec. 3–Sunday, Dec. 25'' SWAIA PERFORMANCES

References Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''name'' ...

{{Coord, 35, 41, 2, N, 105, 56, 20, W, type:landmark_scale:1000, display=title Culture of Santa Fe, New Mexico Performing arts centers in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Santa Fe, New Mexico Tourist attractions in Santa Fe, New Mexico