The Old Globe Theatre was built in 1935 in Balboa Park, San Diego. It was designed by Thomas Wood Stevens and built for the purpose of presenting various Shakespeare productions. The architecture was inspired by a similar theatre built for the Chicago fair, which in turn was a copy of the original Globe Theatre in London. The theatre was built as a part of the California Pacific International Exposition, with the purpose of promoting San Diego’s economy after the Great Depression. The exposition held hundreds of exhibits on history, the arts, horticulture, ethnic cultures, science, and industry. After the exposition in 1937, The Old Globe was roofed and remodeled and continued to show theatrical productions. The San Diego Community Theatre, a non-profit production corporation, leased the building and adjacent buildings. This arrangement with the City of San Diego still continues today.
The first production of the newly renovated Old Globe Theatre was John Van Druten’s The Distant Staff, and premiered on December 2nd, 1937. Among the cast was Craig Noel who later became the artistic director of the theatre in 1939. He remained artistic director for over 60 years and had a large influence on the theatre’s success. In 1941 the United States Navy acquired Balboa Park for military purposes in World War II. The Old Globe was forced to shut down productions, and to remove records and staging equipment within 24 hours. The theatre continued to produce a limited number of performances in various theatres around San Diego County and elected Lowell Davies as president in 1945. In 1947 Balboa Park was returned back to the City of San Diego and the Globe was able to host its first production meeting in 5 years. The first post-war production was William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life, directed by Craig Noel. Over the next 10 years the theatre went on to show a number of productions including Twelfth Night, Caught in the Act, One is a Crowd, and Mr. Roberts.
In 1962 The Old Globe Theatre began producing a series of plays at Sherwood Hall in La Jolla, in addition to those held in Balboa Park. The following year, The Globe put on its first production at the adjacent Falstaff Tavern, which ran for five seasons through 1968. The Old Globe was able to fund additional remodels from the COMBO grant and donor funds. In 1965 construction was underway, providing new production and administrative wings, public restrooms, dressing rooms, and rehearsal halls. In 1969 the former Falstaff Tavern was also remodeled into a 225-seat arena style theatre, and was renamed The Cassius Carter Centre Stage. The Old Globe continued to gain widespread recognition throughout the 1970’s both inside and outside of the San Diego community.
However, in 1978 the 43-year-old Old Globe theatre was severely damaged after an arson fire. Fortunately, surrounding buildings like The Cassius Carter Center Stage, the administrative offices, rehearsal hall, dressing rooms, scenery and costume shops were not damaged. The Board of Directors was immediately assembled to establish a new space for the summer’s San Diego National Shakespeare Festival. The Festival Stage was built in just 100 days and still remains an outdoor theatre in the park today. Plans to rebuild the Old Globe were also quickly underway. The theatre reopened on January 14th, 1982 with William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Craig Noel. In 1984 another arson fire destroyed the Festival Stage, but this was rebuilt the following year and renamed the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Luckily, excellent fundraising over the next decade was able to eliminate debts caused by the two fires.
Since it’s opening, The Old Globe has been home to numerous award winning and critically acclaimed arts and theatre productions. The Summer Shakespeare Festival has become a world-renowned event, bringing in thousands of audience members each year. Larger theatre production companies outside of San Diego have also recognized the Globe. More than 20 Globe productions have gone on to become Broadway and off-Broadway productions. In 2000, The Fully Monty was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and in 2005 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. The Old Globe’s artistic director, Jack O’Brien, has won 2 Tony awards for directing Henry IV and the musical Hairspray. In 2006, the annual holiday production of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas debuted on Broadway at the Hilton Theatre and ran for 2 seasons. It became the Globe’s 20th production to move to the Broadway stage. This year Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas will celebrate it’s 18th anniversary at The Globe.
The Old Globe is San Diego’s largest arts institution and has a current budget of $22 million. It showcases a wide variety of theatre productions ranging from Shakespearean plays to new and modern works. The Old Globe Theatre operates year-round and puts on 15 productions and 600 performances annually. It has three stages: The Old Globe Theatre (seats 580), the Sherly Hall and Harvey White Theatre (seats 250), and the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre (seats 605). The Old Globe theatre is a replica tutor style with a round stage and traditional theatre setting. The Sherly Hall and Harvey White Theatre is a state-of-the-art arena stage. Seats are arranged into five rows from the stage, creating an extremely intimate setting. The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre is a traditional outdoor stage, which features Balboa Park’s signature eucalyptus trees as a natural backdrop. The Festival Theatre is used during the summer season from July through September. Productions at all three stages bring in an estimated audience of 250,000 annually.
The Globe also has several community outreach programs in San Diego with the goal of educating citizens on the importance of preserving the arts. The program travels to different schools around the county to educate students through in-class performances and workshops. They also offer adult programs featuring seminars and lectures to educate audiences on theatre production. The Old Globe has also partnered with USD in creating their Graduate Acting program. Each year the Globe selects seven students to participate in an intensive year-round course of study in theatre arts.
Today the Old Globe theatre is one of the country’s largest regional theatres. It is the oldest professional theatre in the state of California and San Diego’s largest theatre organization. Over the last 75 years, The Old Globe has won national recognition and has become a proud symbol of the San Diego community’s commitment to celebrating the arts.
Works Cited:
“History.” – The Old Globe. The Old Globe, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015. <https://www.theoldglobe.org/history/index.aspx>.
“The Theatres.” The Old Globe Theatre. The Old Globe, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015. <https://www.theoldglobe.org/theatres/old-globe.aspx>.
Haley Leverton
From Page to Stage 