Theater in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past several decades. History The heritage of theater in Pittsburgh stretches back to at least 1765, when it was recorded that "balls, plays, concerts, and comedies" were being performed at the British military installation at Fort Pitt. Subsequently, amateur "thespian societies" emerged, including the Thespian Society that was organized by students of the Pittsburgh Academy in 1810, the forerunner of the University of Pittsburgh, in order to stage popular comedies and musical entertainment. These students included Henry Marie Brackenridge, the son of university founder Hugh Henry Brackenridge; Morgan Neville, the son of Presley Neville; and future U.S. Congressman and Senator William Wilkins. This club was frequently mentioned by travelers commenting on the early culture of Pittsburgh, however it was disbanded by university faculty in 1833 because, according to Agnes Starrett's 1937 history of the university, "instead of Shakespeare, the members had begun to produce vulgar modern comedies". Throughout the 1800s, Pittsburgh was home to various stock companies, beginning with the Theater on Third Street, Pittsburgh's first free-standing playhouse, in 1813. These companies were composed of eight to ten local actors, a stage manager and prompter, a stage carpenter, a properties master, and occasionally an orchestra leader; the local actors would perform with touring "stars" such as William Macready, Edwin Forrest, Junius and Edwin Booth, Charles Kean, Charlotte Cushman, James Hackett, and Edwin Adams. An important milestone in the creation of indigenous Pittsburgh theater occurred when William Henderson took over the lease of the Old Drury in 1859 and produced plays by Pittsburgh playwrights in the theater's season. Other theaters followed Henderson's lead, including the Pittsburgh Opera House, which held the first productions of nationally regarded playwright Bartley Campbell. In the early 1900s, Pittsburgh became a key location for productions handled by the Theatrical Syndicate due to its strategic location, abundance of playhouses, excellent rail service, and established audiences. Sam Nixon and Fred Zimmerman's building of the Nixon and the Gayety (now Byham Theater) attracted touring productions of successful Broadway plays as well as international ballet and opera companies. Harry Davis, another theatrical entrepreneur in the early 1900s, founded the Family Avenue Theater and the Pittsburgh Opera House, which produced melodramas and standard plays as well as showed films. In the early 1910s, concern