Theatre Tulsa, Inc. is a

community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

company in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

, USA.
Theatre Tulsa
the longest running community theatre west of the Mississippi and seventh in the nation, has had a prosperous but sometimes difficult history. The theatre has survived multiple wars, fires, and economic depressions. Theatre Tulsa started as a small community theatre that played shows in a tent, and grew to the largest community theatre in the nation in the 1970s, followed by years of decline and a recent re-invigoration that includes the new creation of a Broadway Series main stage season, a Next Stage series season composed of new works, and a Family Series season for children, families, and arts education programming. Tulsa Little Theatre was incorporated December. 10, 1922 by Mrs. Bonnie Reed and Mrs. Hope Holway. Despite the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the group managed to raise money to build a theater which was christened with a performance of ''

The Cradle Song ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in February 1932. Two years later, the group incorporated as Tulsa Little Theatre. Struggling through the next few years, the theater survived a threatened bank foreclosure in 1935 after a number of donors stepped in, and in 1940 the theater paid off its mortgage. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it produced shows for military camps and veterans’ hospitals. Tulsa Little Little Theatre prospered, and by 1959 was the largest non-professional theater company in the country. In 1964, its membership was 8,000 strong. By 1972 it had the largest community theater membership in the nation and had counted 1.5 million members over the past 50 years. In 1974 Tulsa Little Theatre changed its name to Theatre Tulsa, Inc. Theatre Tulsa remains active today producing 10 productions a year that include modern and classic

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

, and

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. Theatre Tulsa has had many firsts; it was the first community theater in the country to premiere ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...

'' (1939) and ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...

'' (1947); the musical ''

Brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

''(1985); “Miracle on 34th Street: A Musical Adaptation” (a 1993 original musical written for Theatre Tulsa); “''

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

''” (2003); and the first American production of ''

Pitmen Painters The Ashington Group was a small society of artists from Ashington, Northumberland, composed largely of mine workers. They met regularly between 1934 and 1983 to encourage their progress. Although most of the men had no formal artistic training, th ...

'' (2011). Theatre Tulsa's production of ''

Forever Plaid ''Forever Plaid'' is an Off-Broadway musical revue written by Stuart Ross, and first performed in New York in 1989 and now performed internationally. Overview The show is a revue of the close-harmony "guy groups" (''e.g.'' The Four Aces, The F ...

'' sold out more than 400 shows in 1995 and 1996. Some noted performers, including Jeanne Tripplehorn,

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

and

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...

, received their first stage experience with Theatre Tulsa.

References

Community theatre Culture of Tulsa, Oklahoma Theatre companies in Oklahoma Economy of Tulsa, Oklahoma {{US-theat-stub