The Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in downtown

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. It has housed the

Virginia Stage Company Virginia Stage Company (VSC) is a professional theater company located in Hampton Roads, Virginia. VSC presents locally produced plays for over 70,000 patrons a year both at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, Virginia and throughout the community. A no ...

since 1979. The Wells Theatre is owned and operated by the City of Norfolk and is part of The Seven Venues.

History

The theatre opened on August 26, 1913 with a production of ''The Merry Countess'', a Shubert musical. In 1916 Jake Wells installed a movie screen and projector, although theatrical bookings continued to occupy most of the theatre's schedule. Many of America's leading performers appeared at the Wells, among them John Drew,

Maude Adams Maude Ewing Adams Kiskadden (November 11, 1872 – July 17, 1953), known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American actress who achieved her greatest success as the character Peter Pan, first playing the role in the 1905 Broadway production ...

Otis Skinner Otis Skinner (June 28, 1858 – January 4, 1942) was an American stage actor active during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Early life Otis A. Skinner was born on June 28, 1858, in Cambridge, Massachusetts the middle of three ...

, John Philip Sousa, Billie Burke, Fred and Adele Astaire and

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

. Throughout the Great Depression, the Wells continued to stage vaudeville shows and movies.

Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

was added to the theatre's repertoire around the beginning of

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 ...

, which provided a steady source of income by attracting thousands of sailors stationed in Norfolk. Throughout the 1940s and 50s the theatre continued to operate as a movie house also. In the 1960s the Wells shared in the general decline of downtown Norfolk by converting to an X-rated movie house and occasionally staged live burlesque shows. The backstage area became the Jamaican Room, one of Norfolk's infamous gin mills and brothels. The poured-in-place, steel-reinforced concrete structure was technologically advanced for the period. The New Wells' ornate decoration made the theatre the flagship of Wells Amusement Enterprises, and continues today as a well-preserved example of Beaux-Arts

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1980. The theatre originally had 1,650 seats with 12 boxes and three balconies. The top balcony served as a segregated balcony "For Negro Audiences Only," and with had its own entrance and box office. A system of stairs made inside access easy, allowing waiters from Wong Ping's Chinese Restaurant to serve theatre patrons on the second floor roof garden before and after performances. The downstairs Trustees Lobby facing Tazewell Street housed

Doumar's Cones and BBQ ''Doumar's Cones and BBQ'' is a Norfolk, Virginia restaurant. Historically, the business operated at the Ocean View Amusement Park. At that location Abe Doumar, the business' creator, is credited with creating the world's first ice cream cone. Res ...

's first location in Norfolk. The brothers would eventually operate 42 theatres in nine states. In Norfolk, Wells operated The Granby, Academy, Colonial, NorVa, Strand, New Wells and the American Theatre. Otto managed their entire theatrical enterprise from Norfolk with multiple ticker-tape machines that allowed him to calculate each theatre's box office earnings.

References

External links

Official web site

City of Norfolk's Seven Venues official site
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Norfolk, Virginia Beaux-Arts architecture in Virginia Theatres completed in 1913 Culture of Norfolk, Virginia Buildings and structures in Norfolk, Virginia Theatres in Virginia Tourist attractions in Norfolk, Virginia 1913 establishments in Virginia Downtown Norfolk, Virginia