Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park - Marx Theatre (Regional/National Tours)

Adapted from the material at www.cincyplay.com/learn/history

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has been offering Tristate audiences the finest in professional theatre for more than 40 years. It has become an artistic home for America's best actors, directors and designers, with a national reputation for excellence and commitment to new works.

The Playhouse hosts more than 200,000 people annually in the 626-seat Robert S. Marx Theatre and the intimate Thompson Shelterhouse, which seats 225. Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern and Executive Director Buzz Ward oversee a full-time staff of 75 and an annual budget of approximately $9 million.

The first Playhouse debuted in 1960 in a converted park shelter with 166 seats. Among the thousands of actors who have since appeared on our stages are Scott Bakula, Roscoe Lee Browne, David Canary, Kristin Davis, Patty Duke, Bonnie Franklin, Swoosie Kurtz, Cleavon Little, Donna McKechnie, Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Charlotte Rae, Lee Roy Reams, Lynn Redgrave, Mercedes Ruehl, Gary Sandy, Susan Stroman, Daniel J. Travanti, Cicely Tyson, Sam Waterston and Henry Winkler.

As sold-out houses became the norm, it became clear that a larger auditorium was needed. On July 18, 1968 the Robert S. Marx Theatre, named after the well-known Cincinnati philanthropist, opened with Camino Real by Tennessee Williams. Designed by Hugh Hardy of the New York architectural firm, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, the Marx won awards for its innovative design and flexibility. It also began a new era for the Playhouse, which was, for the first time, able to produce two works simultaneously in two complementary theatre spaces.

As the Playhouse ended its first decade, it already was catching notice for its caliber of production and its belief that theatre can be innovative as well as entertaining. In the late 60s, the National Theatre of the Deaf, the Barbwire Theatre and Judith Malina and Julian Beck’s Living Theatre all came to the Playhouse. In 1970, the Playhouse mounted a pioneering production of Shaw's Pygmalion. acclaimed for its use of non-traditional casting. In 1973, Harold Scott joined the Playhouse as the first African-American artistic director in the history of American regional theatre. For the past 15 years, the Playhouse has produced at least one world premiere production each season. A $7.5 million capital campaign launched in 1995 made it possible to expand and modernize both the public and the backstage spaces. In 2004, the Playhouse was honored with the Regional Theatre Tony Award®, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry.

Theatre Information:
962 Mt. Adams Circle
Cincinnati, OH 45206
US

Box Office: (513) 421-3888

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