Theatre-By-the-Sea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Theatre-By-the-Sea
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Theatre in 2008
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 Location in Rhode Island
Location in the United States
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| Location | South Kingstown, Rhode Island |
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| Built | 1933 |
| NRHP reference No. | 80004597 |
| Added to NRHP | July 10, 1980 |
Theatre-By-the-Sea is a special old theater located on Cards Pond Road in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. It's a place where people have enjoyed plays and shows for many years. This historic building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, which means it's recognized as an important landmark.
Contents
The Theatre's Story
Early Days and Beginnings
The Theatre-By-the-Sea has changed a lot over time. From 1928 to 1933, Mrs. Alice Jaynes Tyler used her summer home property to run a camp for girls. However, during the Great Depression, fewer families could afford summer camps.
Mrs. Tyler then had a new idea. She decided to turn an old barn on her property into a theater. This helped create jobs for people. She worked with actor Leo Bulgakoff, producer Leslie Spiller, and lighting designer Abe Feder. The new 300-seat theater opened its doors on August 7, 1933.
Changes and Challenges
Many things happened to the theater over the next 35 years. On September 21, 1938, a big storm called the New England Hurricane of 1938 caused a lot of damage. This led to the first major changes to the building.
Workers cut the theater in half with a hand saw. A dump truck pulled the box office forward. Then, a new section and a balcony were added to the theater.
During World War II, the theater was mostly empty. It was even used by military planes for practice dives. Sometimes, it showed movies.
A Golden Age of Stars
By 1947, Theatre-By-the-Sea was busy again. It had a very successful period that lasted for almost 10 years. Many famous stars performed there during this time.
Some of the well-known actors included Marlon Brando, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx, Tallulah Bankhead, Mae West, Judy Holiday, and Shelley Winters. The theater closed in 1963. This happened after Mrs. Tyler passed away in 1951 and another storm, Hurricane Carol, hit in 1954. The future of the theater was then uncertain.
New Owners and Renovations
In 1967, a press agent and producer named Tommy Brent saved the theater. He stopped it from being torn down just hours before it was too late. He managed the theater for 22 years. However, the building needed a lot of repairs and updates.
In 1988, a company called FourQuest took over. They became the third owners of the property. They did many big renovations during that fall and winter. The theater reopened in the spring of 1989. FourQuest continued to run it until the fall of 2003.
The theater closed again for a while. Then, William Hanney, a businessman from Massachusetts who owned movie theaters, bought the property. He wanted to keep the tradition of theater alive at this historic Rhode Island spot. Since he bought it, the theater has been known as "Bill Hanney's Theatre by the Sea."
From 2007 to 2012, the Ocean State Theatre Company produced the shows. In 2013, Mr. Hanney and a production company called Matunuck Live Theatre took over the show production.
See also
