Page 29 - July 2019 Conference Program Volume 42 No. 01

The theater was designed by Charles A. Rich
with the Wilmington firm of Brown and Whiteside
appointed to assist. Contractor J. A. Bader was
awarded the project with a winning bid of $122,960.
On April 15, 1913, construction commenced to
prepare land for ground breaking. A 100-man
crew worked for 150 consecutive days to construct
the theater that would be called the Playhouse.
It was one of the largest theaters of its time using Photo credit: Joe del Tufo, Moonloop Photography
over 750,000 bricks and 2,000 tons of concrete.
Measuring 38 feet deep, and 85 feet wide, the
stage could easily accommodate almost any
traveling show.
On October 15, 1913, DuPont employee A.C.
Bonnell purchased the first ticket. Despite the
success of its early years, the 1920s and 1930s
introduced a dip in the economy as a result of the
Great Depression. New management under the
famous Shubert Brothers and a line-up of stars such as Fred Astaire, John and Ethel Barrymore, Helen Hayes,
or Orson Wells helped keep the theater alive. The Wilmington community also showed its continued support
at a city Chamber of Commerce meeting by guaranteeing continued subscription purchases, ensuring
the theater’s viability. New manager Raymond N. Harris assumed the role into the mid-1940s before DuPont
assumed full management in 1946.
In 2015, The Grand assumed operation of its sister theater on Market Street, The Playhouse on Rodney Square
(formerly the DuPont Theatre), where we continue to present the Broadway in Wilmington series, as well as
other, non-Broadway entertainment. The Playhouse has a similarly rich heritage as The Grand.
Today, the century-old Victorian gem proudly remains the oldest legitimate, continually operating theater
in the country. The theater has hosted shows such as Jersey Boys, Chicago, Cats, Anything Goes, RENT, Les
Miserables, and Mamma Mia. The theater has hosted hundreds of celebrity performers and speakers such as
Bette Davis, Fred Astaire, Orson Welles, John and Ethel Barrymore, Carol Channing, Ben Vereen, Christopher
Plummer, Kathleen Turner, Lena Horne, and many many more. The theater was named the winner of the
Delaware News Journal Reader’s Choice award for “Best Live Arts Venue” in 2011.”

Plays & Players Theatre

Philadelphia, PA

Plays & Players began in 1911 as a social club devoted to expanding and developing new theater experiences
for and by its membership. The first President, Maud Durbin Skinner, was the wife of the famed American actor
Otis Skinner. The Plays & Players Theatre, then called
the “Little Theatre of Philadelphia,” first opened its
doors in 1913. The theatre was founded by Beulah
Photo credit: Courtesy of Plays & Players Theatre
E. Jay and her husband Edward G. Jay, Jr. with
acquaintance F.H. Shelton in an effort to produce
“American plays of ideas,” an underrepresented
genre at the time. During its 100 years of performing,
Plays & Players theater company has produced
innumerable notable performances — some of the
most noteworthy being the world premiere of the
acclaimed Broadway play “Stalag 17” in 1949, and
a childhood performance by actor Kevin Bacon
in Member of the Wedding in 1974. The first season
of Plays & Players included An Ideal Husband by
Oscar Wilde and The Learned Ladies by Moliere,
both still popular plays today.

In the 1960′s Plays & Players decided to grow from
being a members-only club to an all-inclusive one,
43rd National Conference & Theatre Tour July 2019 INLEAGUE | PAGE 27