Bucks County Playhouse

A springtime photo of the Bucks County Playhouse by the Delaware River, in the shadows of trees, displaying a progress pride flag by the entrance.
Bucks County Playhouse in June 2024
Opening Night at the Bucks County Playhouse July 2012

The Bucks County Playhouse is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

When the Hope Mills burned in 1790, Benjamin Parry rebuilt the grist mills as the New Hope Mills. The town was renamed for the mills.

Bucks County Playhouse, 1934
Bucks County Playhouse, 1934

The building was saved from demolition in the 1930s. It was purchased and run by a group of people including playwrights Moss Hart and Kenyon Nicholson.[1] Renovations converting the building into a theater began in 1938. The first production at the new Bucks County Playhouse was Springtime for Henry featuring Edward Everett Horton. It opened on July 1, 1939.

The Bucks County Playhouse became a summer theater. It was the starting point for many actors and became a place where plays slated for Broadway were tried out. Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley, had its premiere at the theater in 1963.[2][3]

The Bucks County Playhouse Conservancy, a public/private partnership, raised sufficient funds to regain the property following a 2010 foreclosure. Following an extensive renovation, the theater reopened on July 2, 2012.[3]

Bucks County Playhouse in 2012

References

  1. ^ Walker, Don (1953-08-06). "Local barn makes good". The Bucks County Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  2. ^ "Bucks County Playhouse - History". Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b Reed, Bill (2 July 2012). "The curtain rises Monday at the refurbished Bucks County Playhouse". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
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