Little Theatre (now Plays and Players)

1714 Delancey St. / 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 theater was founded by Beulah 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 Molière,
both still popular plays today. On March 14, 1973, Plays & Players Theatre was entered in the National Register of Historic Places.



Programs available from this theatre:

  • She Stoops to Conquer (1914)



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