when was the first theatre built in america
1716
title: Theater in the United States text: has an active community theatre culture, which relies mainly on local volunteers who may not be actively pursuing a theatrical career. Before the first English colony was established in 1607, there were Spanish dramas and Native American tribes that performed theatrical events. Although a theater was built in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1716, and the original Dock Street Theatre opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1736, the birth of professional theater in America may have begun when Lewis Hallam arrived with his theatrical company in Williamsburg in 1752. Lewis and his brother William, who arrived in 1754, were the first to title: Theater in the United States text: organize a complete company of actors in Europe and bring them to the colonies. They brought a repertoire of plays popular in London at the time, including "Hamlet", "Othello", "The Recruiting Officer", and "Richard III". "The Merchant of Venice" was their first performance, shown initially on September 15, 1752. Encountering opposition from religious organizations, Hallam and his company left for Jamaica in 1754 or 1755. Soon after, Lewis Hallam, Jr., founded the American Company, opened a theater in New York, and presented the first professionally mounted American play—"The Prince of Parthia", by Thomas Godfrey—in 1767. In the 18th century, laws title: Theater in the United States text: 1900 and 1920 managed to survive as well, though many went through periods of alternate use, most often as movie theaters until the second half of the century saw many urban populations decline and multiplexes built in the suburbs. Since that time, a number have been restored to original or nearly-original condition and attract new audiences nearly one hundred years later. By the beginning of the 20th century, legitimate 1752 (non-vaudeville) theater had become decidedly more sophisticated in the United States, as it had in Europe. The stars of this era, such as Ethel Barrymore and John Barrymore, were often title: History of cinema in the United States text: of the new Ellicott Square Building, Main Street, Buffalo, New York, Mitchell Mark (properly spelled Mitchel Mark) and his brother Moe Mark added what they called Edison's Vitascope Theater (entered through Edisonia Hall), which they opened to the general public on October 19, 1896 in collaboration with Rudolf Wagner, who had moved to Buffalo after spending several years working at the Edison laboratories. This 72-seat plush theater was designed from scratch solely to show motion pictures. Terry Ramseye, in his book, "A Million and One Nights" (1926) [p. 276], notes that this "was one of the earliest permanently located and title: Theatre in the round text: Theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. The Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre in Seattle, Washington was the first theatre-in-the-round venue built in the United States. It first opened on May 19, 1940 with a production of "Spring Dance", a comedy by playwright Philip Barry. The 160-seat theatre is located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1947, Margo Jones established America's first professional theatre-in-the-round company when she