Pioneer Playhouse

Pioneer Playhouse
	Pioneer Playhouse
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap
Address	840 Stanford Rd; Danville, Kentucky
Coordinates	37°38′20″N 84°45′24″W / 37.63889°N 84.75667°W
Type	Summerstock
Opened	1950
Website
	www.pioneerplayhouse.com

The Pioneer Playhouse, located in Danville, Kentucky, is the oldest outdoor theater in the state of Kentucky.

History[]

19th Century Main Street village and museum

The Pioneer Playhouse was built by Col. Eben C. Henson who established the outdoor theater in 1950. Notable alumni actors include John Travolta, Lee Majors, then known as Harvey Yeary, and Jim Varney.^[1] In 1962, Pioneer Playhouse became the first theater in the nation to be accorded the legal status of State Theater by act of Legislation.

Since Henson's death in 2004 the theater has been run by Henson's widow, Charlotte. Her daughter Holly served as artistic director until her death in 2012. Robby Henson, her son, directs at least one play at the theater every summer.

Productions[]

2020 (season curtailed due to Covid-19 pandemic)
- Maybe Baby, It's You by Charlie Shanian and Shari Simpson
2019
- Kong's Night Out by Jack Neary
- Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the novel by Larry Millett
- Breaking Up With Elvis by Robby Henson
- Not Now Darling by Ray Cooney and John Chapman
- Red, White and Tuna by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jason Williams
2018
- The Return of Tinker Doyle (sequel to 2013's Search for Tinker Doyle) by Elizabeth Orndorff
- Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act by Tom Smith
- Granted (sequel to Grounded and Guarded) by Holly Hepp-Galván and Robby Henson (adapted from the novel by Angela Correll)
- Unnecessary Farce by Paul Slade Smith
- Living on Love by Joe DiPietro
2017
- Death by Darkness by Elizabeth Orndorff. The production was directed by Anthony Haigh.
- Drinking Habits by Tom Smith
- Guarded (sequel to 2015's Grounded) by Holly Hepp-Galván and Robby Henson (adapted from the novel by Angela Correll)
- Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Ken Ludwig
- Elvis Has Left the Building by V. Cate and Duke Ernsberger
2016
- One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean
- Mom's Gift by Phil Olson
- Good Blues Tonight by Robby Henson
- The Tell-Tale Farce by Don Zolidis
- The Murder Room by Jack Sharkey
2015
- One Slight Hitch by Lewis Black
- La Bete (The Beast) by David Herson
- Grounded by Chelsea Marcantel (adapted from the novel by Angela Correll)
- Sherlock's Secret Life by Will Severin, Ed Lange
- Boeing, Boeing! by Marc Camoletti, Beverley Cross, Francis Evans
2014
- by Charles Edward Pogue and Larry Drake
- Is He Dead? by Mark Twain, adapted by David Ives
- by Robby Henson
- Walking Across Egypt by (adapted from the novel by Clyde Edgerton)
- by and
2013
- Deathtrap by Ira Levin
- Tamed by , adapted from Taming of the Shrew
- by
- Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig
- Cockeyed by Samuel French
2012
- by and
- Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin
- Bottoms Up! by
- High Strangeness by
- by , and
2011
- The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow
- Tartuffe: The Southern Version adapted from Moliere
- That Madcap Moon by
- by and
- by William Missouri Downs
2010
- by
- ()
- ()
- by Eric Coble The production was directed by Katherine M. Carter
- Run for Your Wife by Ray Cooney The production was directed by Lawrence Lesher
2009
- by
- by
- Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig
- Girl Crazy by Guy Bolton & John McGowan
- Be My Baby by Ken Ludwig
2008
- Leading Ladies by Ken Ludwig
- Mornings at Seven by Paul Osborn.
- by . The production was directed by Lawrence Lesher.
- by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore. The production was directed by Synge Maher.
- by Jim Brochu. The production was directed by Lawrence Lesher.
2007^[2]
- by David Wood. The production was directed by Robby Henson.
- The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. The production was directed by Lawrence Lesher.
- The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. The production was directed by Lawrence Lesher.
- by . The production was directed by Robby Henson.
- Greater Tuna by , , &
2006^[3]
- My Sister Eileen by Joseph A. Fields & Jerome Chodorov
- Rumors by Neil Simon
- by Ken Ludwig
- Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott
- Social Security by Andrew Bergman
2005^[4]
- On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard
- by
- The Man Who Came to Dinner by Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman
- by
- by
2004
- by Mark Saltzman^[5]
- Cactus Flower by Abe Burrows^[5]
- The Village Wooing by George Bernard Shaw
- Sherlock's Secret Life by Will Severin, Ed Lange
- Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon^[6]
2003
- by Beth Henley^[5]
- A Little Family Business by Jay Presson Allen
- Fiddler on the Roof
- Proposals by Neil Simon^[5]
- Sylvia by A.R. Gurney^[5]
1997
- Moon Over Buffalo
- The Liar
- Summer and Smoke
- A Flea in Her Ear
- Cookin' with Gus
1996
- King of Hearts
- That Madcap Moon
- Sylvia
- Spider's Web
- Crossing Delancey
1995
- The Nerd
- ^[7]
- Any Given Day
- Harvey by Mary Chase^[7]
- My Fat Friend by Charles Laurence^[7]
1994
- Boy Meets Girl
- Look Howard, Angel
- The Man Who Came to Dinner
- Scapino!
- Social Security
1993
- Lend Me A Tenor
- Murder on the Nile
- The Traveling Lady
- Arsenic and Old Lace
- Beau Jest
1992
- The Matchmaker
- Will Heal This Land
- Born Yesterday
- And A Nightingale Sang
- I Hate Hamlet
1991
- Noises Off
- The Front Page
- My Three Angels
- Postmortem
- Alone Together

References[]

^ Profile of Col. Henson. Randy Kennedy, New York Times, 1999 Archived 2005-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Pioneer Playhouse News" (pdf). Spring 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-28.^{[dead link]}
^ "Pioneer Playhouse News" (PDF). Spring 2006. Archived from the original (pdf) on January 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
^ "Pioneer Playhouse News" (PDF). Fall–Winter 2004. Archived from the original (pdf) on May 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Marjorie Tatum". Mandy Actors. Archived from the original on 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
^ "Robert Wedig". Mandy Actors. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Annette Remter". Mandy Actors. Retrieved 2008-10-29.^{[dead link]}

External links[]

The Pioneer Playhouse official web site

[Newyorktimes-1] Profile of Col. Henson. Randy Kennedy, New York Times, 1999 Archived 2005-02-07 at the Wayback Machine

[2] "Pioneer Playhouse News" (pdf). Spring 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-28.^{[dead link]}

[3] "Pioneer Playhouse News" (PDF). Spring 2006. Archived from the original (pdf) on January 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-28.

[4] "Pioneer Playhouse News" (PDF). Fall–Winter 2004. Archived from the original (pdf) on May 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-29.

[tatum-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Marjorie Tatum". Mandy Actors. Archived from the original on 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2008-10-29.

[wedig-6] "Robert Wedig". Mandy Actors. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-10-29.

[remter-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Annette Remter". Mandy Actors. Retrieved 2008-10-29.^{[dead link]}

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