Cleveland Play House history

With Brooks as president, the company held its first show in May 1916 in an old farmhouse on land owned by industrialist Francis Drury, who lived across the street in his mansion at 8615 Euclid Avenue.

By 1921, O'Neil had resigned to pursue work in New York City, and the theatre's board of directors looked for leadership that would save the nearly-bankrupt company.

Audiences soon became too big for this space, too, and in 1926 the company moved back to the Drury estate.

A new Cleveland Play House facility, built in 1927, housed the Brooks Theatre and the Drury Theatre.

Max Eisenstat and Ben Letter hard at work backstage, 1940.

In 1949 the Play House also added a third theater in a converted Christian Science church on Euclid Avenue and East 77th Street.

The Play House's famed triumvirate, Frederick McConnell, director, K. Elmo Lowe, asst. director & Max Eisenstat, backstage manager, 1955.

K. ELMO LOWE (1958-69) - one of the three men hired with McConnell - oversaw the unionization and integration of the theatre but continued the fairly conservative play selections of his predecessor.

Impacted by the rise of television and population flight to suburbia, by 1968-69 all but the Hanna were eventually boarded up, as entertainment also moved to the suburbs.

The planners formed a group known as the “Playhouse Square Association,” which gained formal non-profit status in 1970.

The threatened razing of the Mimi Ohio and KeyBank State in 1972 galvanized community leaders, including politicians, activists, funders, businessmen, and the Junior League, who obtained a stay of execution.

The musical revue Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris opened in the KeyBank State Theatre lobby in 1973 with expectations of a three-week run.

Scene from the Play House's 60th anniversary production of First Monday in October with Melvyn Douglas, 1975.

Re-opening date: July 9, 1982

The Play House’s continued success led to the 1983 opening of a new complex on East 86th Street at Carnegie Avenue.

Following the brief directorship of William Rhys (1985-87), the board of directors once again searched outside of Cleveland for new leadership that would be able to combat decreasing audiences and the company's increasing financial constraints.

First Show: Vaudville- Elsie Janis, the Cansinos, and Grace Hayes, several additional acts and a big band. (Orch. seat was $1.65) Re-opened: April 30, 1988

The Allen remained on the endangered list until 1993, when “Playhouse Square Foundation,” the nonprofit organization that operated the center, rented the theater with an agreement to purchase it.

Opened: 1996 Purpose: United States Bank Plaza, located in the area bordered by Euclid Ave., E. 14th Street and Huron Road, is considered Playhouse Square’s unofficial 10th stage.

In 1999, an investment group led by Playhouse Square agreed to acquire the historic Hanna Building, a move that brought control of the Hanna Theatre as well as significant street-level retail opportunities.

Playhouse Square draws more than 1 million people annually to its 11 performance spaces while contributing in excess of $43 million in local economic impact every year exclusively from its performing arts activity (according to a Cleveland State University 2004 study).

Opened: September 10, 2005 Purpose: Multi-purpose Black-Box Theater/TV Studio built as part of the Idea Center in 2005.

In July 2009, CPH sold its building at 86th Street and Euclid Avenue to Cleveland Clinic.

In September 2011, CPH kicked off its 96th consecutive season in the transformed Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

Opened: February 1, 2012 Purpose: Built as part of the Allen Theatre complex, primarily used by Cleveland Play House and Cleveland State University.

That same year, Laura Kepley became the organization's ninth artistic director (2013-Present). At the time of this writing, the Cleveland Play House continues to flourish and maintains a strong commitment to Ohio playwrights.