Old Globe Theatre

History

1930s–1950s

The Old Globe Theatre was built in 1935, designed by Richard Requa as part of the California Pacific International Exposition. The theatre was based on a copy of one built for the Chicago Century of Progress, which in turn was a copy of the Globe Theatre in London, England, where many of William Shakespeare's plays were performed during his lifetime. Like the original Globe, the theatre was open in the center with a roof over the seating on the sides.

During the exposition, it hosted 50-minute versions of Shakespeare plays. At the end of the exposition, the Globe had been received so well that a nonprofit organization called the San Diego Community Theatre was formed to save the temporary structure from demolition. The committee leased the structure from the city, produced full-length plays, and created a more permanent structure by roofing over the theatre and bringing it up to code.

The first director of the Globe theater was Luther Kennett (1937), and on December 2, 1937, the remodeled Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of John Van Druten's 1933 play The Distaff Side. In the cast was a young actor named Craig Noel, whose presence as an actor, director, and artistic leader would guide the theatre's growth through more than five decades of continuous production.

In 1939, Noel was hired as general director. During World War II, the United States Navy took over all buildings in Balboa Park, including the Globe. The Community Theatre group stayed together, producing one-act plays in various venues around San Diego. When the Globe was returned to civilian use in 1947, Noel returned as general director, and he remained in a leadership position until his death in 2010. In 1949, he launched the Globe's summer Shakespeare Festival in partnership with the drama department at University of San Diego. Since then the Shakespeare festival has been presented every summer except 1953, when Noel broke with tradition by producing the smash hit play Mister Roberts instead. The Globe continued to produce a combination of modern plays along with Shakespeare and other classics.

Since 1949, the National Shakespeare Festival has taken place nearly every summer at the Globe in San Diego.

In 1951, the San Diego Junior Theater Wing of the Old Globe began to offer adventurous, youthful plays for children. Many of the students in the Junior Wing would become actors in the company. For example, Victor Buono, who went on to become a film star after his time at the Globe. In 1953, the Junior Theater became a part of the San Diego Park and Recreation Department, having outgrown the Globe.

From 1955 to 1978, Peggy Kellner designed over 200 shows at the Old Globe, including costuming and set design.

1960s–1990s

The Cassius Carter Centre Stage, a theater in the round, was added in 1969 in what had been the Falstaff Tavern restaurant. It was rebuilt in 2009 as the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre.

In March 1978, the Globe Theatre was destroyed in an arson fire, and an outdoor festival stage was hastily constructed so that the 1978 season could still be produced. An outdoor stage was built just for the National Shakespeare Festival to continue. They performed modern spins on Shakespeare, including a 1987 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that featured an original jazz score. It was rebuilt and is now named the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. The entire three-theatre complex is called the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts.

In 1981 Jack O'Brien was hired as artistic director, while Noel became executive producer.

In 1982, Teatro Meta, a bilingual theatre company co-sponsored by the Old Globe, University of California San Diego, and Southwestern College, had its first production. It was founded by Noel and Jorge Huerta. It became independent in 1987.

1990s–present

In 2012, Barry Edelstein was named artistic director. The Globe has grown into an internationally known theatre complex, an "influential powerhouse among regional theatres." In 1984, it received the Tony Award for best regional theatre.

Notable productions

Shows which originated at the Old Globe have gone on to Broadway to win nine Tony Awards and nearly 60 nominations.

References

References

1. "The Old Globe".
2. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Rebecca Creskoff, Joshua Malina & More to Lead World Premiere of WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANNE FRANK".
3. Staff, La Jolla Light. (December 23, 2009). "The Old Globe unveils redesigned campus".
4. (27 April 2015). "The Old Globe, '80 Years in the Making'".
5. (13 December 2014). "Old Globe's History Places it Center Stage".
6. "Everything Old is New Again: A History of San Diego Junior Theater, 1948-2008".
7. (28 February 2018). "Muses of the Old Globe".
8. Davies, Darlene Gould. (August 12, 2022). "Cassius Carter Centre Stage".
9. HEBERT, JAMES. (2009-12-06). "Curtain up on new Old Globe".
10. Harper, Hilliard. (1988-03-13). "Commentary : In the End, Globe's Arsonists Destroyed Only a Building".
11. Herbert, James. (2014-12-13). "Old Globe's history places it center stage".
12. Mohr, Beth. (Spring 1985). "The Old Globe Theatre: Highlights From Fifty Years". The Journal of San Diego History.
13. "First Production by the Teatro Meta".
14. (7 October 1987). "Bilingual Offshoot of Teatro Meta in the Works".
15. "Barry Edelstein Named Artistic Director of San Diego's Old Globe".
16. Weber, Bruce. (April 12, 2010). "Craig Noel, a Force in Regional Theater, Dies at 94". [[The New York Times]].
17. [http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-04-04/local-county-news/old-globe-theater-founding-director-craig-noel-dies San Diego News Network, April 4, 2010] {{webarchive. link. (February 24, 2012)
18. "Globe to Broadway". The Old Globe.