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Bucks County Playhouse
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
2 reviews for Bucks County Playhouse
I agree with Gourmet G. The building is an historic place - and while the quality of the productions can vary greatly from "What was THAT?" to "Broadway Quality", I have seen many a show here under many incarnations of this great play house.
A national landmark rich in theatrical history, the Playhouse has seen some of the biggest names in show business grace its stage, some appearing for the first time in a professional production. Originally a grist mill dating back to 1790, the building - threatened with demolition - was purchased by a group of individuals, including playwright Moss Hart, for the purpose of presenting a summer theater program in the bucolic town of New Hope, a weekend retreat for Philadelphia and New York City residents. It opened in July 1939, and rapidly developed a reputation as the country's premier playhouse. The classic play 'Harvey' and Neil Simon's 'Barefoot in the Park' (then titled 'Nobody Loves Me') both had runs here prior to their Broadway openings. Among the performers who have appeared here are Helen Hayes, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Lillian Gish, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Roddy McDowell, and Walter Matthau. Although run in a strictly professional manner, the building's ambiance is closer to that of a barn where Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and friends would put on a show than that of a Broadway theater. In more recent years, the season has been devoted primarily to popular musicals starring B and C-list headliners like Joyce DeWitt as Mama Rose in 'Gypsy,' which draw not only the tourists, but hordes of Manhattan theater aficionados unable to resist a combination of camp and surefire disaster.
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