The Savannah Theatre, first opened in 1818 and located on

Chippewa Square Chippewa Square is one of the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the middle row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and McDonough Street, and was laid out in 1815. It is s ...

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, is one of the United States' oldest continually-operating theatres. The structure has been both a live performance venue and a movie theater. Since 2002, the theatre has hosted regular performances of a variety of shows, primarily music revues.

History

The Savannah Theatre opened its doors at 5:30pm on December 4, 1818 with a performance of "The Soldier's Daughter". The original structure was designed by British architect William Jay, whose other notable works include the Telfair Mansion and the Owens-Thomas House, both located in Savannah. During the 1850s and 1860s, it was sometimes known as the Athenaeum. On March 21, 1861,

Alexander H. Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in 1 ...

delivered the

Cornerstone Speech The Cornerstone Speech, also known as the Cornerstone Address, was an oration given by Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, at the Athenaeum in Savannah, Georgia, on March 21, 1861. The improvised speech, ...

at the theatre. Theaters -- New Theatre, Savannah Ga

The original structure suffered severe damage due to a hurricane that hit Savannah on August 31, 1898, tearing sections of the roof off the building and flooding the auditorium. Additionally, the Theatre has undergone two notable structural overhauls as the result of fires in 1906 and 1948. Following the 1948 fire, the building was transformed to its current

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style.

Notable players

Over the past two centuries, the Savannah Theatre has showcased an array of talented performers, including Fanny Davenport,

E. H. Sothern Edward Hugh Sothern (December 6, 1859 – October 28, 1933) was an American actor who specialized in dashing, romantic leading roles and particularly in Shakespeare roles. Biography Sothern was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of English ...

Julia Marlowe Julia Marlowe (born Sarah Frances Frost; August 17, 1865 – November 12, 1950) was an English-born American actress, known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare's plays. Life and career Marlowe was born as Sarah Frances Frost at Cald ...

, Otis Skinner, Oscar Wilde Sarah Bernhardt, W. C. Fields,

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...

, and

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922), was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty ...

. Edwin Booth played several engagements at the Theatre in February 1876, with

Shakespearean 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 ...

roles including Hamlet, Iago, and King Lear. It is unknown as to whether or not Edwin's younger brother

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth ...

ever performed at the Savannah Theatre. In 1851, the New York Dramatic Company leased the Theatre briefly. Among the players was Joseph Jefferson, whose most well-known role was that of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's "

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls aslee ...

". However the company's stand failed to succeed, as their "lineup of standard hits failed to tempt Savannah audiences." One of the more memorable performances in the Theatre's history came in November 1911, when baseball great

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

appeared in '' The College Widow.''

The theatre today

Beginning in 2002 with the music revue "Lost in the `50s", the Theatre has housed live performances of several productions.

References

Bibliography

External links

The Historic Savannah TheatreDon’t miss Historic Savannah Theatre, enduring part of city’s historySavannah Theatre - Cinema Treasures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savannah Theatre Entertainment venues in Savannah, Georgia Theatres in Georgia (U.S. state) Tourist attractions in Savannah, Georgia Music venues in Georgia (U.S. state) 1818 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Theatres completed in 1818 Chippewa Square buildings Savannah Historic District