The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre is the student theatre at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

History

The theatre was founded in 1946 with the current building's construction completed in 1953. The theatre is notable for having given birth to the acting careers of

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primeti ...

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, and other University of Miami alumni. It is named in honor of 1953 University of Miami alumnus

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricis ...

, whose

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 ...

career included composing '' Hello, Dolly!'', ''

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'', '' La Cage aux Folles'', and other Broadway hits. Since its founding, the Ring has performed at three different sites. In addition to its current location, the Ring has been located previously in a circus tent and a round building used to train Allied navigators 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 name for the Ring grew out of the company's first in-the-round performance, which placed the audience in a "ring" around the stage. The current building was designed by Robert M. Little and Marion M. Manley and constructed started in 1951 with completion in 1953."Ring Around the Stage." ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1953, pp. 106-107.
/ref> Its unusual circular design and first-of-its-kind, flexible seating arrangement drew national attention in the world of theater. The main building has a roof constructed of poured concrete that is held in place by a large 3 inch wide steel ban like the ban placed old wagon wheels in the 1800s and heated then shrunk. The Ring Theater was designed and built to withstand hurricanes with winds up to 250-mph. In the 1970s, the Ring permanently changed its seating configuration to three-sided thrust. After a complete renovation of the theatre house, the Ring has now returned to total flexibility and offer three different kinds of staging as well as three seating arrangements. The theatre is named for University of Miami alumnus and Broadway composer Jerry Herman. Its new stage, the Alvin Sherman Family Stage , is named in honor of philanthropist Alvin Sherman, who provided support for the theatre's renovation. The Ring Theatre is served by the

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at the University Station.

Notable alumni

- actor, "Manolo Ray" in '' Scarface''. *

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- actor, voice of "

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" in '' Star Trek: First Contact''. *

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- actress, "Vicky Larson" in ''

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''. *

Joshua Henry Joshua Anthony Charlton Henry (born September 2, 1984) is a Canadian-American actor and singer of stage and screen. He is best known for portraying Haywood Patterson in Kander and Ebb's 2010 musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'', for which he rec ...

- actor, "Haywood Patterson" in '' The Scottsboro Boys''. *

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- actress, "Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor" on ''

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''. *

- actor, "

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" in ''

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''. *

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- actor, "Mr. Petrachelli" on ''

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''. *

Saundra Santiago Saundra Santiago (born April 13, 1957) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Gina Calabrese in the NBC original crime drama series ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1990). She also played Carmen Santos on the CBS soap opera ''Guidin ...

- actress, "Det. Gina Navarro Calabrese" in ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

''. *

- actor, ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...

'' and ''

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 25, 43, 10.68, N, 80, 16, 48.38, W, scale:10000, display=title 1946 establishments in Florida Buildings and structures in Coral Gables, Florida Events in Coral Gables, Florida University of Miami Tourist attractions in Miami-Dade County, Florida Theatres in Florida