Page 30 - July 2019 Conference Program Volume 42 No. 01

and opened its productions to the entire community. In the 70′s the Plays and Players Children’s Theater was
added to its busy schedule. On March 14, 1973, Plays & Players Theatre was entered in the National Register
of Historic Places. Over the course of the twentieth century, Plays & Players expanded its repertoire beyond
community theater to include workshops, classes and more. In 2011-2012, Plays & Players celebrated its 100th
season of performances by local artists in Philadelphia.
Once an exclusive club, Plays & Players has grown over the years into a professional theatre devoted to
supporting established and emerging local artists in practicing and performing their craft. A historic company
existing in a vibrant modern arts scene, Plays & Players continues to change and grow with the times while
always keeping an eye on its rich and powerful past.
Plays & Players Theatre is one of the oldest theaters in continuous use in the United States. It was designed and
constructed in 1912 by famed Philadelphia architect Amos W. Barnes. Beginning as The Little Theatre, it has also
been known as the Delancey Street Theatre (1920) and The Philadelphia Theatre before being known as Plays
& Players Theatre.

ConferenCe historiC theatre tours
tuesDay, July 16 & weDnesDay July 17, 2019

Academy of Music
Philadelphia, PA

Excerpted from the Academy of Music website...
The Academy of Music is currently owned by The
Philadelphia Orchestra and managed by Kimmel
Center Inc. but the long-term caretaking of the
building is overseen by a third entity: the Academy of
Music Restoration Fund Office, a non-profit with its own
board of trustees and a mission to raise all the money
required for the ongoing capital projects that ensure
the structural integrity and long-term preservation of a
National Historic Landmark.

Photo credit: Paul Loftland for Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau

Merriam Theater
Philadelphia, PA

Excerpted from the Merriam Theater’s Wikipedia
entry...
The Merriam Theater, formerly the Sam S. Shubert
Theatre, is Philadelphia’s most continuous location
for touring Broadway show theatre. It is located at
250 South Broad Street within the Avenue of the
Arts cultural district of Center City, Philadelphia. The
Theatre was built by the Shubert Organization in 1918.
In 1972 the theater came under the ownership of the
Academy of Music, and was owned by the University
of the Arts. In November 2016, it was purchased by
the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Photo credit: Merriam Theater website

PAGE 28 | INLEAGUE League of Historic American Theatres