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The '''Walnut Street Theatre''', founded in 1808 at 825 [[Walnut Street (Philadelphia)|Walnut Street]], on the corner of S. 9th Street in the [[Washington Square West, Philadelphia|Washington Square West]] neighborhood of [[Philadelphia]], is the oldest operating theatre in the United States.<ref>[http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=817 ExplorePAhistory.com]</ref> The venue is operated by the Walnut Street Theatre Company, a [[non-profit organization]], and has three stages: the Mainstage, for the company's primary and larger productions, the Independence Studio on 3, a studio located on the building's third floor for smaller productions, and the Studio 5 on the fifth floor, which is rented out for independent productions. In May 2019, the Walnut Street Theatre announced a major expansion, to begin in 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.philly.com/arts/walnut-street-theatre-expansion-theater-in-the-round-parking-lot-20190504.html|title=Walnut Street Theatre announces a major expansion, set to start in 2020|author=John Timpane|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=May 4, 2019|access-date=May 4, 2019|quote=The Walnut Street Theatre announced Saturday evening that fund-raising is now underway for a substantial new wing of the building. Plans would expand the 210-year-old theater’s footprint partway into the parking lot next door and add a 400-seat theater in the round. The three-story, 35,000-square-foot addition would break ground in May 2020 and be completed in 2022.}}</ref> In March 2020, the expansion was postponed six weeks from its initial groundbreaking due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/walnut-street-theatre-funding-donor-new-name-20221017.html</ref>
==History==
[[File:Carter and Ford in a debate, September 23, 1976.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Gerald Ford]] debate domestic policy on September 23, 1976, at the Walnut Street Theatre]]
Walnut Street Theatre was built by the [[Circus of Pepin and Breschard]], which toured the United States from 1807 until 1815. Pepin and Breschard constructed numerous venues in cities along the East Coast of the United States, which often featured, along with performances of their circus, classical plays as well as [[hippodrama|horse dramas]].<ref>Havard, Bernard and Sylvester, Mark D. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QWvV5lmU3E0C&pg=PA9&dq=%22gilbert+stuart%22+breschard&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html ''Walnut Street Theatre'']. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2008. p.9</ref> The theatre was founded in 1808, going by the name of The New Circus. In 1811, the two partners commissioned architect [[William Strickland (architect)|William Strickland]] to design and construct a stage and [[orchestra pit]] for theatrical performances and the theatre's name was changed to The Olympic. The official website says that the name The Walnut Street Theatre was first used there in 1820, though the name was changed back to The Olympic in 1822 and to The Walnut again in 1828. A travel guidebook from 1849 indicates that in the mid-19th century, this building was called The American Theatre.
The Walnut was the first theatre to install gas [[footlight]]s in 1837. In 1855, it was also the first theatre to feature [[air conditioning]]. The theatre switched to electric [[chandelier]]s and footlights in 1892. The theatre has undergone many renovations since its opening.
*''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man For All Seasons]]'' starring [[Paul Scofield]] (1961)
On October 15, 1966, the Walnut Street Theatre was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]], and in 1969, the theatre was purchased by a [[non-profit organization]] and turned over to the new Walnut Street Theatre Corporation. On September 23, 1976, it was the site of the first [[U.S. presidential election debates|presidential debate]] between [[Gerald R. Ford]] and [[Jimmy Carter]].
The Walnut Street Theatre Company, a non-profit regional producing company, was formed in 1983 by Bernard Havard. In 1984, the Walnut Street Theatre School was established and over 1,200 students enroll annually, and 1986 saw the introduction of the Independence Studio on 3 series. The company produces five productions per season on the theatre's main stage. In Fall 2008, the theater celebrated its 200th season of live entertainment. In 2010, it was the most subscribed theatre company in the world with 56,000 subscribers.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jones, Kenneth |title=Walnut Street Will Offer Kander & Ebb, Boublil & Schonberg, Amadeus, Hitchcock and Berlin |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/walnut-street-will-offer-kander-ebb-boublil-schonberg-amadeus-hitchcock-and-berlin-com-164698 |website=Playbill.com |date=January 5, 2010 |access-date=April 26, 2022}}</ref>
== Covid-19 and Controversy ==
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