The Old Globe is California's oldest professional theatre. Following the closure of the California Pacific Exposition in 1937, a nonprofit organization called the San Diego Community Theatre was formed in order to lease the land and adjacent buildings from the City of San Diego in order to renovate the Theatre for permanent use.
On December 2, 1937, the renovated Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of John Van Druten’s 'The Distaff Side'. The ticket price of admission was 35-cents.
Modeled after Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego's historic Balboa Park was built in 1935 for the presentation by the theatrical troupe then known as 1935 Globe Players of abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays as part of the California Pacific International Exposition.
The Globe Players had moved to San Diego from Chicago where they had performed edited versions of Shakespeare’s plays in an Elizabethan-themed “Merrie England” Exhibit at the 1933-34 Century of Progress Exposition. The format of abbreviated Shakespeare productions fit nicely with a great array of attractions in Balboa Park's Exposition.
The only years between 1937 and the present date during which the OldGlobe "went dark" for any substantial period of time were from 1942-1947
during World War II and immediately thereafter. When Pearl Harbor was
attacked on December 7, 1941 precipitating the United States' entranceinto World War II, the Navy took over all buildings and groups of Balboa Park
due to San Diego's strategic location and port harbor on the Pacific Coastline.
During the "War Years", the Old Globe was primarily used for military training
purposes; however, lectures and entertainment were offered, including
Bob Hope who entertained the troops there.
Additionally, the core Community Theatre leaders in San Diego
Additionally, the core Community Theatre leaders in San Diego kept the Old Globe alive by providing theatre for its many fans through the auspices of the USO. Between 1942 and the end of the war in 1945, the Old Globe troupe, under the USO, presented shows at various San Diego military installations. Finally, in 1947, the US Navy returned the Old Globe theatre to its original occupants. The opening production in 1947 was William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life,”
The year 1949 was marked by the launch of the Shakespeare Festival, a collaborative undertaking by the San Diego Community Theatre/ the Globe Theatre and San Diego State College. Two Shakespeare productions in each Summer were successfully performed between 1950-1952 of 1950, but in 1953, the production of the enormously popular Broadway hit “Mr. Roberts” was mounted for the entire summer, temporarily supplanting the Shakespeare Festival.
The Shakespeare Festival resumed in 1954, by then belonging entirely to the San Diego Community Theatre/Old Globe. The number of productions increased to three, 15 performances each, in repertory style rotation, and the Festival grew in prestige and production quality in the following decades.
Rebuilt after a devastating arson fire in 1978 which destroyed the Old Globe, the immediate need for a space to produce that Summer’s San Diego National Shakespeare Festival resulted in the construction of the Festival Stage adjacent to the physical site of the Old Globe.
In January 1981, the Theatre’s board of directors established the Globe as a year-round professional company, and in 1982, the new 580-seat Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of Shakespeare’s 'As You Like It'.
In January 1981, the Theatre’s board of directors established the Globe as a year-round professional company, and in 1982, the new 580-seat Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of Shakespeare’s 'As You Like It'.
For almost 90 years since its inception in 1935, The Old Globe "has been home to the most acclaimed national artists, designers, directors, and playwrights in the theatre industry. More than 20 productions produced at The Old Globe have gone on to play Broadway and Off Broadway, garnering 13 Tony Awards and numerous nominations".
In 1984 the Globe was the recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre for its contribution to the development of the art form.
The Old Globe annually mounts 15 productions from all periods and styles, ranging from Shakespeare to an ongoing emphasis on the development and production of new works, along with the annual family musical Dr. Seuss’ "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
"With a current operating budget of approximately $30 million, the Globe is one of San Diego’s largest arts institutions, its leading arts employer, and among the nation’s top-ranked regional theatres. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s arts engagement programs and outreach services."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: To find out more about San Diego's historic Balboa Park where The Old Globe is located, link to my Blog article herein published on May 30, 2023, entitled, "BALBOA PARK: THE BACKSTORY OF SAN DIEGO'S ENCHANTING, ECLECTIC HISTORIC CULTURAL ARTS VENUE©" at: https://snobbytours.blogspot.com/2023/05/balboa-park-san-diegos-enchanting.html
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(Primary sources and photo credits: The Old Globe; Darlene Davies’s article, "80 Years in the Making", Ranch & Coast Magazine, published April 27, 2015)
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