THE PANTHÉON in PARIS, FRANCE: NATIONAL MONUMENT AND HISTORIC RESTING PLACE FOR HONOURED FRENCH LUMINARIES©

 

The Panthéon is considered to be one of the great monuments in Paris.  The name itself is the Classical Greek word for "temple".  Located in the 5th arrondissement in Paris' Latin Quarter, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon looks out over all of Paris. 

ORIGINAL BUILDING CONCEPTION

King Louis XV

The edifice was constructed between 1758 and 1790 from designs by  Jacques-Germain Soufflot at the behest of King Louis XV of France  (1710-1774) who had vowed in 1744 that if he recovered from an illness which he had at the time, that he would replace the ruined Medieval church of the Abbey of Saint Genevieve built during the reign    of King Clovis during the late 6th  Century and construct on the same site an edifice worthy of Saint Genevieve, who had become, and is, the Patron Saint of Paris, in order to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics.  When the 6th Century church was completed Geneviève had been buried within it.  According to history, as numerous miracles started to occur at her tomb, the church was renamed Sainte-Geneviève. Plundered by the Normans during the 9th Century, the Church of Sainte-Geneviève was later rebuilt and eventually completed in in the late 12th Century in 1177.  By the18th Century, the church had fallen into ruin.

King Louis did recover, and entrusted Abel-François Poisson, Marquis de Marigny, with the fulfillment of his vow.  In 1755, Marigny commissioned Jacques-Germain Soufflot to design the church, with construction beginning two years later in 1757, and the foundation laid in 1758.  The cornerstone was laid in 1764 by the King himself; however, he did not live to see the construction's completion, which itself was delayed for economic reasons during the years preceding the French Revolution in 1789.

The structure is an early example of Neoclassic architecture, with a façade modeled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". 

Architectural designer Jacques-Germain Soufflot had had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the Gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a secular mausoleum required the great Gothic windows to be blocked.

Exterior, circa 1795, showing blocked windows

The overall design was that of a Greek cross with massive portico of Corinthian columns.   Its ambitious lines called for a vast building approximately 361-feet long by 276-feet wide, and 272-feet  high. No less vast was its crypt. 

Original construction designs by architect Soufflot

Soufflot's masterstroke is concealed from casual view: the Triple Dome, each shell fitted within the others, permits a view through the oculus of the coffered inner dome of the second dome which has the fresco by Antoine Gros, "The Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve". The outermost dome is built of stone bound together with iron clamps and covered with lead sheathing, rather than made with carpentry construction, as was the common French practice of the 18th Century period. The entire Triple Dome is additionally supported by covered buttresses.

Triple Dome design by architect Soufflot

Interior view under the Triple Dome

Antoine Gros fresco "The Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve"

The foundations were laid in 1758, but due to economic problems work proceeded slowly.  In 1780, Soufflot died and was replaced by his student, Jean-Baptiste Rondelet. The remodeled Abbey of St. Genevieve was finally completed in 1790, coinciding with the early stages of the French Revolution. 

Entrance to Crypts

Upon the death of the popular French orator and statesman Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau on April 2, 1791, the National Constituent Assembly, whose president had been Mirabeau, ordered that the building be changed from a church to a secular mausoleum for the interment of notable Frenchmen, retaining Quatremère de Quincy to oversee the project. Mirabeau was the first person interred there, on April 4, 1791. 

The ashes of Voltaire were placed in the Panthéon in a lavish ceremony on July 12, 1791, followed by the remains of several martyred revolutionaries, including Jean-Paul Marat and the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  In the rapid shifts of power during the Revolutionary Period, two of the first men honored in Panthéon, Mirabeau and Marat, were declared enemies of the Revolution, and their remains were removed.  Finally, the new government of the French Convention decreed in February, 1795 that no one should be placed in the Panthéon who had not been dead at least ten years.

Interestingly, the remains of Voltaire were rumored to have been stolen in 1814, but these rumors were proven to be false by exhumation in 1897.

Fresco by Antoine Gros

In 1851, Jean Bernard Léon Foucault, who was the leading experimental physicist of his day, demonstrated the rotation of the earth by constructing a 220-foot pendulum beneath the central dome of the Panthéon.  Foucault determined that the period of rotation of the plane of the pendulum's oscillation varied by latitude—and that at the poles it would take the pendulum exactly 24 hours to complete one rotation, while at the equator no rotation would be observed. The remarkable experiment -- easily understood by an observer without scientific knowledge -- eventually helped erase the last traces of lingering doubt which the Church had against the fact that the Earth rotates around the Sun instead of vice versa -- providing definitive proof that helped vindicate Galileo, Copernicus and Giordano Bruno.

The original sphere from the Foucault Pendulum was temporarily displayed at the Panthéon in the mid-1990s, during renovations at the Musée des Arts et Métiers. It was later returned to the Musée des Arts et Métiers, and a copy is now displayed at the Panthéon.

REPURPOSING THROUGH THE CENTURIES

Twice since 1790, during the 19th Century, the Panthéon has reverted to being a church, only to become again a meeting house dedicated to the great intellectuals of France.  It was during the Third French Republic, France's form of government commencing in 1870, that building's exclusive use was decreed in 1881 to be a mausoleum.

The inscription above the entrance reads AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE ("To great men, the grateful homeland"). By burying its notable people in the Panthéon, France honours them for their various achievements.  Consequently, interment within the Panthéon is severely restricted and is allowed only by a parliamentary act for "National Heroes".

Crypt of Marie Curie

The Panthéon also houses the remains of scientist Marie Curie, educator and inventor Louis Braille, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, writers Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and Émile Zola, and other French luminaries, including its original architect, Jacques-Germain Soufflot.

By the end of 2021, the remains of more than 80 people (all men except for 6 women) will have been interred in the Panthéon -- with many being transferred from their original burial sites and re-interred there, accompanied by great ceremony.  More than half of all the interments were made under Napoleon's rule during the First French Empire between 1804 and 1815.

Funeral of Victor Hugo at the Panthéon, 1885

Initially, only men were interred in the Panthéon.  In 1907,  Marcellin Berthelot was buried with his wife Madame Sophie Berthelot, the first woman to be so interred.  Scientist Marie Curie was interred in 1995, followed in 2015 by Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz and Germaine Tillion -- two heroines of the French Resistance during World War II -- and lawyer/politician/Holocaust survivor Simone Veil in 2018.

France's President Emmanuel Macron recently announced a ceremony to be held on November 30, 2021 at the Panthéon to celebrate the re-interment of Josephine Baker (1906-1975), American-born entertainer and human rights/civil rights activist who became a French citizen in 1937, and who is considered to be a World War II hero in France -- a courageous member of the French Resistance.  Upon her death in 1975, she was buried in the Principality of Monaco.  Baker, the sixth woman to be interred in the Panthéon, will be the first Black woman to receive France's highest honour of burial at the Panthéon.

In January 2007, France's President Jacques Chirac unveiled a plaque in the Panthéon dedicated to more than 2,600 people recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel for saving the lives of Jews who would otherwise have been deported to Nazi concentration camps. The tribute in the Panthéon underlines the fact that around 3/4ths of the country's Jewish population survived World War II, often thanks to ordinary French people who provided help at the risk of their own lives. 

This plaque says: Sous la chape de haine et de nuit tombée sur la France dans les années d'occupation, des lumières, par milliers, refusèrent de s'éteindre.  Nommés "Juste parmi les Nations" ou restés anonymes, des femmes et des hommes, de toutes origines et de toutes conditions, ont sauvé des juifs des persécutions antisémites et des camps d'extermination. 

Bravant les risques encourus, ils ont incarné l'honneur de la France, ses valeurs de justice, de tolérance et d'humanité.

Translated into English, the plaque reads as follows: Under the cloak of hatred and darkness that spread over France during the years of [Nazi] occupation, thousands of lights refused to be extinguished. Named as "Righteous among the Nations" or remaining anonymous, women and men, of all backgrounds and social classes, saved Jews from anti-Semitic persecution and the extermination camps. 

Braving the risks involved, they embodied the honour of France, and its values of justice, tolerance and humanity.

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(Primary and Photo Sources: maierstorm.org; Treasures from Heaven Blog, projects.mcah.columbia.edu; the guardian.com;  Leburre, Alexia, The Pantheon: Temple of the Nation, Paris: Éditions du Patrimoine (2000); Inocybe at fr. wikipedia; amusing planet.com; francetvinfo.fr)

©2021 Snobby Tours^®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE ARMSTRONG BROWNING LIBRARY: A LASTING TRIBUTE TO POETS ROBERT AND ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING and BAYLOR UNIVERSITY'S "JEWEL IN THE CROWN"©

 
The Armstrong Browning Library, located on a tree-lined street with landscaped lawns in an "older" part of the Baylor University campus in Waco, Texas, is not only a much-loved building on campus and one of the most beautiful library settings, but also it is considered to be a "local treasure"  by the general community, and has become a much-visited site for out-of-town travelers for over 70-years, since 1950.  I first visited the Library as a child and was thoroughly enchanted.  I have re-visited numerous times over the years, not only to view recent acquisitions of Browning memorabilia on display, but also to attend late afternoon or  evening concerts and recitals performed by faculty and students in Baylor's Music Department, and also by members of the Waco Symphony Orchestra.  It has always been my favourite place on the Baylor campus.

The Library is well-known for the Browning Collection which it houses -- the world's largest collection of memorabilia, including original manuscripts and personal items, which belonged to British poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. There are over 60 intricate stained glass windows throughout the building depicting themes from the poetry of the Brownings.

In addition to the Browning Collection, the Library is research center focusing on the 19th Century, with significant holdings regarding literature and culture in Britain and in America from 1800 to 1900, including over 600 literary manuscripts, over 11,000 original letters and over 1,500 musical scores, plus books, periodicals, "objects d’art", fine art, and also rare Wedgwood bone china.

THE ARMSTRONGS:  A 40-year Dream Which Became a Reality

Dr. Andrew Joseph (A.J.) Armstrong (1873-1954) and his wife, Mary Maxwell Armstrong (1882-1971) shared an impressive dream and turned it into a reality by amassing the world's largest collection of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning letters, manuscripts, likenesses, and mementos at Baylor University.

Dr. Armstrong became interested in the poet Robert Browning and in 1905 began to collect books and articles about Browning.  Mary Maxwell Armstrong’s intelligence, insight, and perseverance made her an influential figure in twentieth-century Waco.  Her determination combined with her love for great literature aided in the establishment of a world-renowned library on the campus of Baylor University.

Together the Armstrongs accomplished this goal by organizing and conducting educational tours to Europe and around the world and by hosting celebrities at Baylor and in their own home, always placing the profits from these projects into a "special account."   The account, as well as the Browning Collection, grew through their diligent and passionate efforts.  Eventually, enough funds were gathered from, or pledged by, generous donors for the construction of a building solely dedicated to housing the Browning Collection.

BACKSTORY:  The Beginning of a Lifelong Commitment to Preserve the Legacy of the Brownings

A.J. Armstrong’s love for the Brownings began in September of 1904 at Illinois Wesleyan University where he was hired to teach a course on Robert Browning’s works.  Until that time, Armstrong had never before studied the poet, but not one to give any task less than his best, according to one source, he studied Browning’s writings every day from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m., breaking only for an hour to eat dinner.  He later wrote that he “was ripe for the reception of [Browning’s] philosophy, to appreciate his beauty.”   By 1905, Armstrong had begun his own small “Browning library.”

In 1908,  Dr. Armstrong was recruited by the then-President of Baylor University, to fill a one-year interim position as Chair of Baylor’s English department.  At the end of his first year at Baylor in 1909, Armstrong took a three-month trip around Europe and married Mary Maxwell.  It was on that fortuitous trip, while he was in Italy, that he met and became friends with Robert Barrett “Pen” Browning, the 60-year-old only son of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, an artist and sculptor, who showed him various aspects of his parents’ home and belongings. 

When Pen Browning died in 1912 without leaving a Will, the Browning estate was dispersed during a 6-day sale, in order to satisfy relatives and creditors.  Dr. Browning asked the London agent to keep him informed about who had purchased manuscripts and other items from the Browning Estate.  Ultimately,  Armstrong obtained a list of to whom the items were sold and began to acquire them via donation or purchase, hoping to preserve their works and legacy.

During that same year, 1918, Armstrong saw an opportunity after he had assumed the full-time position as Chair of Baylor’s English Department:  He donated his personal collection of Browning texts and commentaries to the University.  For the remainder of his life, he traveled the globe in search of all the Browning art, artifacts, letters and manuscripts that he could find and obtain for the collection.

CONSTRUCTION: The Growth of the Collection Creates the Need for New Space 

In 1918, after Dr. Armstrong had donated his small collection of Browning books to Baylor University, he dedicated himself to raising money to fund an ongoing search to expand that collection which was known as the "Browning Collection".
 
Initially, the Browning Collection was housed in the open shelves of Baylor’s main library, Carroll Library, until a fire occurred in 1922.  Fortunately, the entire Browning Collection was saved, and during renovation of the Carroll Library, a special Browning Room was created and dedicated in 1924.

As early as 1925, the Browning Collection was the largest in the world, and in 1943, clearly in need of its own building, Baylor President Pat Neff initiated a $100,000 “challenge grant” to Dr. Armstrong toward construction of a separate library building to house the collection.
 
On May 7, 1948, in spite of a stifling post-war economy, ground-breaking began at the corner of 8th and Speight on the Baylor campus for the building completed two years later in 1950 seen in the vintage photo below.  Dr. Armstrong initially worked with the two architects who designed the Library until his health began to fail, at which time his wife Mary took over.  The two architects each had separate design responsibilities and worked independently:  Hedrick C. Wyatt of Fort Worth, Texas, designed the 3-story physical building in the Italian Renaissance architectural style.  Otto R. Eggers of the New York City architectural firm Eggers & Higgens -- who in 1939 had taken over the construction phase of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. after the death of its original architect John Russell Pope -- created the interior spaces.  The overall cost of constructing the Library in 1948 was $1.75-million -- the equivalent of approximately $20-million in 2021.

The various interiors of the Armstrong Browning Library are, in a word, gorgeous. The ceilings are extremely high, with some being very ornate and including chandeliers.  The woodwork is intricate, and the polished bookcases and curio cabinets house rare books and Browning memorabilia.  To enter the building, visitors first pass through the elegantly carved double front doors, seen in the photograph here below.

In the Entry Foyer, there are sculpture busts of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning to the left and right, facing each other, as seen in the photograph below.

To the left of, and off, the Entry Foyer, through a set of doors, is the Library's Reading Room with stained glass windows providing diffused natural light from the outside.  In addition to serving its obvious purpose, this room has also been used for Baylor's School of Music faculty and student recitals because of its excellent acoustics, ambiance and ample size -- especially during the tenure of Daniel Sternberg, Dean Emeritus of Baylor's School of Music whose career at Baylor spanned nearly 40-years from 1942-1980, and who, coincidentally, passed away 21-years ago this month.

The two corridors on each side of the Entry Foyer lead to a spectacular multi-purpose room regularly used for intimate late afternoon and evening chamber music concerts, choral performances, and musical recitals.  This room, referred to as the Foyer of Meditation, is also a favourite location for taking bridal photos.  One side of the room faces West, which  --  as the sun is setting  --  causes a rainbow of colours from several large stained glass windows to softly blanket the room.  Evening concerts held in this room are literally "magical".

Of particular interest to visitors is the Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon, located upstairs.  It is a re-creation of her room, and features her personal memorabilia in a soft light green setting.  Although the public can only view the room through its doorway, I personally have always felt that it conveys a certain peaceful tranquility.

To this day, a surprising amount of Browning collectibles still surface as they come  out of the hands of private collectors.  The Library was renovated in 1995 in order to house an even larger collection which by then also included that of Baylor's Engtlish Department which had re-located to the building.  Another renovation occurred in 2012.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  A customized Guided Tour of the Armstrong Browning Library is included among our Living History Tours of Waco© by Snobby Tours®, Inc.  For more information, please visit our Website at: http://snobbytours.com/wacotours.html

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(Primary and Photo Sources : Living History Tours of Waco© by Snobby Tours®, Inc.;  baylor.edu;  The Handbook of Waco and McLennan County;  The Texas Collection at Baylor University;  Lewis, Scott, Boundless Life: A Biography of Andrew Joseph Armstrong, 2014; The Texas Historial Commission)

©2021 Snobby Tours^®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE MUCH-LOVED PASADENA PLAYHOUSE -- HISTORIC LIVE PERFORMANCE VENUE FOR HOLLYWOOD FILM STARS AND THE OFFICIAL STATE THEATRE OF CALIFORNIA©

When the motion picture industry was in its infancy on the West Coast shortly after the 1900s commenced, and eventually primarily in the Los Angeles area, not only did the founding studio heads of Paramount, Columbia, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Brothers who had previously emigrated from "across the pond" come from "back East" (New York) and "up North" (Canada), but also they enticed theatrical stage performers from Broadway and vaudeville  to come "out West" to appear in "the flickers" they were producing.

Those "flickers", the early motion pictures, were "silent" because the process of recording sound and synchronizing it on celluloid transparent film strips was not successful in a full-length feature film until 1929 in the  "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson.  During the "Silent Era" of film production, the often-distinctive speaking and singing voices of stage actors and actresses could not be heard by audiences.

Prior to 1917, these "transplanted" theatrical stage actors literally had no "legitimate" stage venue in the Los Angeles area to practice their craft of performing plays for live audiences.  In 1917, however, the Pasadena Playhouse was founded -- just l0-miles east of Downtown Los Angeles -- in the upscale, bucolic tree-lined community of Pasadena, where the Wrigley Mansion and other grand houses graced Orange Grove Boulevard, and Rose Bowl Parade floats had begun passing along Colorado Boulevard on New Year's Day in 1902.

EARLY YEARS:1917-1925

First sharing performance space in a burlesque house, the Pasadena Community Playhouse, as the Pasadena Playhouse was originally named, was founded in 1917 by theater impresario Gilmor Brown.  Galvanizing a community largely made up of wealthy Easterners, Brown raised money from over 1,000 citizens in Pasadena to purchase land at 39 S. El Molino and in 1925 the current historically-landmarked theater opened its doors with national fanfare.  

The theatre building was designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style by Pasadena artist and architect Elmer Grey, and had a fire curtain painted by Pasadena artist Alson S. Clark.  Its non-professional, community beginnings and the tremendous amount of local support for the project led George Bernard Shaw to dub the City of Pasadena as  "the Athens of the West".

The Playhouse drew national attention, bringing Southern California world premieres by authors such as Eugene O'Neill, William Saroyan, Noel Coward, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Tennessee Williams, as well as many English language premieres of significant Continental dramas.

Under Brown, The Pasadena Playhouse became internationally known and at one time, with a campus that took up almost a full square block, five stages, a scene shop and a theatre arts college, was one of the largest theatre complexes in the world.

THE THEATRE ARTS COLLEGE:  Established in 1927

At no time in its history was there more energy around The Playhouse than during the 40-plus years when the education of actors, directors, designers, technicians and playwrights took place at The Playhouse School of Theatre Arts (later College of Theatre Arts).  Begun in 1927, the College expanded quickly as young performers enrolled from across the country and hoped to break into the budding motion picture industry.  Eventually, considered second only in the country to Julliard, the College grew to 300 students, employed over 35 faculty, created a unique nexus of education and professional productions, and provided a pipeline of talent to the growing entertainment industry.

With degree programs in acting, directing, stage technology, playwriting, and theater administration, its three-year accredited training program offered BFA and MFA degrees and was housed in a literal “ivory tower” built in 1937 on the northwest side of the campus. The Playhouse College became one of the first schools in the nation to offer training and classes in “stage, screen, radio, and television”. 

Brown tried and created concepts in Pasadena that have become theatrical norms globally, including the enormously impactful “theatre-in-the-round” staging technique. Because of Brown’s audacity in producing the entire Shakespeare canon, a feat no other theater in America could claim, the state legislature unanimously voted The Pasadena Playhouse the Official State Theatre of California in 1937, a mere 20 years after its founding. 

THE STAR FACTORY:  1920's - 1960

During its “golden era” between 1920-1945, the Playhouse was dubbed the “Star Factory” due to the number of celebrities who were discovered on its stages. Each of the major film studios, which were themselves young upstart companies at the time, had scouts assigned to cover all the Playhouse productions. When the industry was transitioning from silent films to “talkies”, the studios had contracts with the Playhouse for their silent film stars to be taught voice and diction.  While Brown’s clairvoyance for talent led to the discovery of many notable actors, it also led to the development of playwrights, directors, and eventual entertainment industry giants who went on to establish the Los Angeles empire of film and television we know today.  Some of the Playhouse's former students, guest performers or resident company players include Raymond Burr, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Eleanor Parker, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Angela Bassett, Tyrone Power, Dana Andrews, Robert Preston, Gig Young, Carolyn Jones, Martha Hyer, Nick Nolte, Al Pacino, Leonard Nimoy, Finola Hughes and Sally Struthers, among others.  A few of these later-to-be-well-known performers, such as Dana Andrews, Eleanor Parker and Martha Hyer, were actually "discovered" by talent agents attending a stage production in which they were performing while they were students at the Playhouse!

Outside of showcasing talent, the Playhouse trailblazed techniques in radio, broadcasting live nationwide from the mainstage, and experimented with early television, establishing the first West Coast TV station in 1931, re-named KTLA in 1947 and still on-air.  Under Brown’s leadership, The Playhouse grew from a small troupe of players to a center for artistic innovation and activity, becoming a veritable talent funnel for the radio, television and film industry explosion that occurred in Los Angeles during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.

GOING DARK:  1960-1986

In 1960 Gilmor Brown died and the Playhouse experienced classic founder’s succession issues, suffering from a lack of leadership and direction in the years after his death.  As other competing theaters in Los Angeles grew in popularity, particularly those at today’s Center Theatre Group in downtown Los Angeles, many traditional patrons to the Playhouse were looking for a new and more cosmopolitan experience.  They began to cancel their subscriptions at the Playhouse for other options.

Likewise, when the local drama departments of USC and UCLA formed, the Playhouse college began to lose enrollment as students opted for the broader university experience.  The College eventually closed in 1969, the same year the theater itself was shuttered and claimed bankruptcy.

Because of prescient and ardent preservationists, almost all of the theater’s archives, which included Gilmor Brown’s papers, production designs and histories, clippings, art, photographs, film and various other theater memorabilia, were saved from auction and guarded in various private and public locations around Pasadena. Over the ensuing years, most of it was gathered and donated to the Huntington Library where the collection is held and believed to be one of largest American regional theater collections in the nation.

During the 16 years during which the Pasadena Playhouse was dark, important work was being done to ensure its future.  The Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse, a volunteer support group that has grown to 400, formed and was instrumental and securing the building’s California State Landmark status, saving it forever from the wrecking ball.  On November 11, 1975, the Pasadena Playhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an "excellent example of Spanish Colonial style" and "example of the work of noted Los Angeles architect Elmer Grey".  After a succession of real estate transactions, the Playhouse was finally reopened in 1986 as a non-for-profit LORT B theater.

RESURRGENCE: 1990s-2016

Entrepreneur and developer, David Houk, helped to successfully reopen and renovate the Playhouse, as well as create the Playhouse District itself, an area of retail and shopping that is now bustling around its namesake establishment. By the early 90’s and the Playhouse’s 75th anniversary in 1992, the theater enjoyed a thriving subscriber base of over 24,000 patrons from 327 zip codes and produced eight shows per year. In 1997, Sheldon Epps was named artistic director and became the first artistic director of color at a major Southern California theater. In a tenure that would last 20 years, the period under Epps direction would result in the theater becoming well known for its emphasis on diverse content and casting, new musicals, and growth in the areas of education and new play development.

The Carrie Hamilton Theater, named after the late daughter of Carol Burnett, opened in 2006, giving the Playhouse a second space that was quickly utilized as a place for rehearsals, readings, short experimental productions and theaters-in-residence. The 99-seat theater eventually hosted the Furious Theater Company for several seasons. Furious produced more cutting-edge work and drew a younger audience.

For the past two decades, the Pasadena Playhouse has staged several hit shows that went on to Broadway acclaim, including Baby, It’s You, Sister Act, and Purlie, and is known for producing multi-ethnic programming with a strong emphasis on diversity. Through programs that helped to bring students to the theater as well as groups who might not have the opportunity to attend a live theatrical event, community outreach and arts education are pillars of the Playhouse’s mission. The theater has also found great success through co-productions.  From local theater companies like South Coast Repertory and Deaf West Theater, to New Jersey’s Crossroads Theatre Company, collaborations have brought bigger or more interesting productions to Pasadena. 

In 2016, Sheldon Epps announced his tenure would end at the Playhouse and a new artistic director, Danny Feldman, hailing from New York’s Labyrinth Theatre Company, was named on the eve of the theater’s Centennial.

INTO ITS NEXT CENTURY:  2017-present

2017 marked 100 years of The Pasadena Playhouse, which currently has a seating capacity of 686 for the main stage. The year 2017 also marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of The Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, and the 80th anniversary of the Playhouse’s designation as The Official State Theatre of California. These three significant anniversaries point to the importance of The Pasadena Playhouse in the chronicles of American theatre, with very few, if any, professional theatres in this country able to claim similar distinctions of history, impact and longevity. 

The Pasadena Playhouse is included on our Los Angeles Architecture: An Eclectic Landscape©  custom-created heritage and cultural Tour which is generally scheduled during the month of May when offered, in order to coincide with the Pasadena Showcase House of Design fundraiser benefiting the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra's educational and performance programs for disadvantaged youth. For more information, visit our Website at http://snobbytours.com/EclecticLAarchitecture.html

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(Primary Sources: pasadenaplayhouse.org; Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History  by Ann Scheid (1999); The Los Angeles Times; NetState: California)

©2021 Snobby Tours^®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.