History of The Youngstown Playhouse

The history of The Youngstown Playhouse is really the history of The Mahoning Valley and its people.

Now in its 81st season, The Youngstown Playhouse has always led the nation as one of its most successful and longest-operating community theatres. It once reigned as the nation's largest community theatre.

By 1924, it became clear that the Youngstown community wanted entertainment. The stars, like Al Jolson, Walter Hampden and the Barrymore's who stopped by for brief performances on their way to bigger cities were not enough for the people who made their homes here. They wanted a different kind of a theatre - a theatre for players, a theatre where the whole community could participate. The seeds for a community theatre were planted.

On February 16, 1927, several different drama organizations merged to form The Youngstown Players.

The Youngstown Players had a great respect for art. They had a great respect for talent. They had a great respect for the theatre.

They also had a whole slate of prominent Youngstown business leaders and art patrons as their officers and board of directors.

Above all, however, their strongest attribute was their dream. They dreamed about The Youngstown Playhouse - a theatre with its own building.

The Playhouse's first home was in a converted barn at 138 Lincoln Avenue, with an entrance on Arlington Avenue. Eventually the organizers of the theatre brought in 165 seats and a 25 foot stage and the first performances were staged in 1928.

The Playhouse on Arlington Street was the result of a labor of life involving many Youngstown families and the area's outstanding talent. There was not necessarily any connection between the two. From the beginning, The Youngstown Players brought together people of different backgrounds - rich and poor; teacher and student; store owner and clerk. All of them worked together in the pursuit of dramatic art. Nothing else counted except talent and a willingness to put it to work.

Over the years, The Playhouse grew. It moved from Arlington Street to its theatre on Market Street in 1942. The Playhouse eventually moved to its current home on Glenwood Avenue in 1959.

Talent blossomed and moved on. Some went onto Broadway. Others to Hollywood. Dozens of famous directors, actors and producers credit their success in the business to the lessons they learned on-stage, backstage and in the offices of The Youngstown Playhouse.