Globe of the Great Southwest

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The Globe of the Great Southwest

The Globe of the Great Southwest is a theater in Odessa, Texas whose design was inspired by that of William Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre. In addition, the complex also features a replica of Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Both buildings are located on the campus of Odessa College.

The Globe Theatre is a non-profit organization presenting classical and modern plays on an Elizabethan stage. It hosts community theater performances, monthly country-western shows called , and other community activities. The nearby Anne Hathaway Library, a replica of the cottage in which Shakespeare's wife lived, houses displays of special interest to Shakespeare fans. Full-time theatre activity began in the fall of 1968.

History[]

The idea behind The Globe of the Great Southwest was first conceived in an English class at Odessa High School in the late 1950s:

A student brought to class a model of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and commented to his instructor, Mrs. Marjorie Morris, then teaching in high school, that it would be exciting to have an actual life-size replica of the Globe right here in Odessa. This casual remark caught the imagination of Mrs. Morris and fired her with a zeal which eventually made her dream a reality.^[1]

The Globe under construction

The Globe Theatre organization and fundraising efforts for construction were begun in 1958, and construction was completed as funds were raised and became available; it began its first season in 1968. The apron stage and unobstructed balcony views create an unusually intimate setting for a theater of the Globe's size. It has 441 seats. Also, the shape and construction materials, which were wood and plaster, result in excellent acoustics.^{[citation needed]} The interior, with its rich British red carpeting and upholstered seats, and its warm London dock lanterns, makes each visit a "memorable and aesthetic experience."^[1]

The building is a simplified and modernized version of its much larger Elizabethan namesake: both have an apron stage backed by a two-story fixed set that forms one side of a polygonal courtyard surrounded by wooden balconies. The Odessa theater is octagonal with a covered courtyard containing fixed seats for 441 attendees and a single balcony, while the original London theater was a 20-sided polygon with an open-air courtyard where most attendees stood and three balconies offered more expensive seats: total capacity may have been as high as 3,000.^[2][3]

External links[]

• The Globe of the Great Southwest's official website
• Globe of the Great Southwest's Facebook page

References[]

Coordinates: 31°51′50″N 102°22′57″W / 31.86389°N 102.38250°W / 31.86389; -102.38250