Decade by decade

Based largely on Frank M. Whiting's book, Minnesota Theatre: From Old Fort Snelling to the Guthrie, I've compiled a list of important and noteworthy events in Minnesota theatrical history. These are dates that have stood out to me, personally, and which I feel have a specific connection to theatre in Minnesota: 1821-1850 The first documented Minnesota performances take place at Fort Snelling as the soldiers stave off winter chills. 1851-1859 These years see the first professional troupes (Placide’s Varieties, The St. Louis Varieties) performing at Mazourka Hall and Market Hall in St. Paul. The St. Louis Varieties would be the first troupe to play in Minneapolis in 1857. Intent on forming a joint stock company, Henry Van Liew constructs The People’s Theatre in 1857, the first Minnesotan performance space concentrating primarily on theater. It would burn down in 1859. 1860-1869 Theodore Steidle helps develop theaters in New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter and New Ulm. Two opera houses open: The Opera House in St. Paul and The Pence Opera House in Minneapolis. The Pence would go through several name changes before it was dismantled in 1908 and demolished in 1952. Road companies begin visiting in greater numbers through the 1880s. 1870-1879 Gustav Amberg arrives from Detroit with a group of professional actors and begins to produce plays in the attempt to establish a German theater. Perhaps because of his influence — and other enterprising Germans like Theodore Steidle — more German, Scandinavian, Czech and English-based theater groups appear, catering to their respective communities. 1880-1889 The Grand Opera House is built behind the The Opera House in St. Paul. This was the first theatre operated by Louis Napolean Scott, who would manage a number of theaters, including The St. Paul Metropolitan Opera House, The Lyceum in Duluth and The Grand in Superior. Scott’s rival, Theodore Hays, also began his career in 1886 and would go on to manage the Jacob Litt Grand Opera House, the Minnesota Amusement Company and help develop the Twin City Scenic Studio. From 1888-89 also saw the birth of The People’s Stock Company. 1890-1899 The Metropolitan Opera House opens; the cost to biuld it is half a million dollars. 1900-1909 The Ferris Stock Company, another Minnesota-based group, has a successful first year in 1902 but has little staying power. 1910-1919 More Minnesota-based companies begin to form: The Wright Huntington Players (1913), The Shubert Players, and The Bainbridge Players (1911-1933). The Bainbridge Players is perhaps the most important; it specifically served the Minneapolis community and lasted for over twenty years until its founder, Buzz Bainbridge, was elected Mayor of Minneapolis in 1933. The Duluth Little Theatre — eventually The Duluth Playhouse — forms in 1912 (and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012). 1920-1929 The Arthur Casey Players (1926-1929) was one of the more successful stock companies in St. Paul but fell victim to financial trouble ahead of the Great Depression. The Portal Players and the Assembly Players (1922-1937) had more success, but also eventually folded. 1930-1939 The Bainbridge Players expire in 1933. Professional theater in Minnesota fades for a time during the Depression. 1940-1949 The Edyth Bush Little Theater (1940-1965) begins as a birthday gift from Edyth Bush's husband Archibald Granville Bush, a founder of 3M. The Edyth Bush Little Theater folds under funding and idealogical strains while The Old Log Theater, a much more grassroots group is also founded in 1940 (is entering their 70th season). 1950-1959 The Circle Theatre Players, eventually known as Theatre in the Round Players (TRP), forms in 1951 and, like The Lakeshore Players (1953) and Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop (1958), continue to produce to the present. 1960-1969 After searching among seven different communities nationwide, The Guthrie Theater opens in Minneapolis in 1963. The formation of Theatre L’Homme Dieu (1960), the Children’s Theatre Company (1961), the Cricket Theatre (1968) and the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (1968) also occur in this decade. 1970-1979 Michael Langham takes over as artistic director of the Guthrie in 1971 and leads the theater away from financial difficulties. These years also see the founding of several of Minnesota's most noteworthy theaters and organizations: The Playwrights’ Center (1971), Park Square Theatre (1972), In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (1973), Mixed Blood (1976), Penumbra Theatre (1977), The History Theatre (1978) and Theatre de la Jeune Lune (1979). The relatively, short-lived but much-loved Actor's Theatre of St. Paul is founded in 1977. Sir Tyrone Guthrie passes away in 1971. 1980-1989 In 1982, the Guthrie is the first Minnesota theater to win a Regional Theatre Tony Award. Red Eye Collaboration, a center for alternative forms of theatre, opens in 1983. Director Wendy Knox directs first at Red Eye before forming Frank Theatre in 1989. It was during 1984 when The Children's Theatre Company's artistic director was convicted on charges of sexual misconduct with children. (Despite this blow, The Children's Theatre would continue to flourish, winning a Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2003.) After five years of fund-raising, largely by 3M heiress Sally Ordway Irvine, The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts opens in 1985. 1990-2000 Bain Boehlke forms the Jungle Theater in 1991. Several theaters, including Mu Performing Arts (1992) and Teatro del Peublo (1992) form based on the need for theaters to speak to and from new, growing communities in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Fringe Festival first coaleces in 1993. The Guthrie Theater begins plans for a new facility. The Cricket Theater, which is still remembered for its productions of new American plays, folds in 1995. 2000-2009 The Guthrie moves into their new building downtown (2006). After winning the Tony Regional Theatre Award in 2005, Theatre de la June Leune closes its doors in 2009 due to financial difficulty. Other large theaters tighten their budgets and restructure while smaller companies struggle to stay alive.