The Publick Theatre, Inc.

Brief History

Quality Theatre Under the Stars Since 1970!

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The Publick Theatre, Inc., Boston's oldest resident theatre company, celebrates its 27th Anniversary this season presenting quality theatre under the stars in Christian A. Herter Park, Soldiers Field Road, Brighton, on the banks of the Charles River. The Publick Theatre was founded in 1971 by Donato Colucci. At that time its Board of Directors, led by David Blumenthal, approached the Metropolitan District Commission to establish a classical theatre at its present site. The MDC agreed and with an old farm wagon for a set and "natural lighting", The Publick Theatre opened its first season with William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

Over the course of the mid-to-late '70's, the MDC landscaped the area and built the current amphitheatre. During the 1980's the artistic quality of the company's classical repertory grew and patrons also began to enjoy popular musicals as well as premières of new plays each season.

The plays that The Publick Theatre has produced in its 26-year history include: The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labor's Lost, Fiddler on the Roof, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The New England première of Quilters, Scapinno, Twelfth Night, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Much Ado About Nothing, The Masterbullder, A Flea In Her Ear, Guys & Dolls, The Boston Première of The Voice of the Prairie, Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, Ruddigore, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, The Miser, Cyrano de Bergerac, As You Like It, H. M. S. Pinafore, The Gondoliers, The Merchant of Venice, Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes, and Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The Publick Theatre, Inc. has earned many awards over the years including the New England Theatre Conference's Moss Hart Award - Professional Division for Quilters, The Critics' Circle Award for A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Spiro Veloudos; and, most recently, Sweeney Todd was cited on "Best of Boston" lists in The Boston Herald and The Improper Bostonian, while Anything Goes was listed in The Boston Phoenix's 1995 Year in Review.

Today, with the continued cooperation of the Metropolitan District Commission, David B. Balfour, Jr., Commissioner, a strong, committed Board of Directors and dedicated staff, The Publick Theatre is one of Boston's cultural traditions enjoyed by over 6,500 patrons each summer.