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Lee R Nemchek
The illustrious history of the Pasadena Playhouse of Pasadena, California, an internationally-recognized leader and innovator in the community civic theater movement from 1917 to 1969, is well documented.1Considerably less known is the fate of the untold wealth accumulated by the Playhouse over its lifespan in the form of its documentation, a significant collection of archives and original theater research material. The bulk of this precious matter has, over time and in various forms, come to rest in the Reference Department of the Pasadena Public Library, where it is considered part of their substantial local history holdings, and where it is collectively known as the Pasadena Playhouse Collection.
At the height of its activities and reknown, the Pasadena Community Playhouse Association functioned as a legally incorporated, non-profit organization with a Board of Directors, full staff and business department, over twenty active committees, and thousands of individual subscribing members. The Playhouse School of the Theatre, established in 1929, was touted by Variety as being 12:1 over any other single-unit training facility in America in training people for the entertainment field.2It awarded degrees of Bachelor and Master of Theatre Arts to its graduates, and possessed a library containing over 3,600 volumes.3During its first twenty-five years of operation, the Playhouse produced 477 world premiere productions, and further distinguished itself as the first theater in the United States to present the complete theatrical works of Shakespeare.4Five separate performance areas operated under the direct supervision of Playhouse management, not including off-site performance locations. With a
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year-round production schedule of at least two plays monthly between its various stages, the Pasadena Playhouse lead the entire world in the number of plays mounted by a single producing unit.5The Playhouse was designated ''State Theatre of California'' by the State Legislature in 1937, and appears on the California Inventory of Historic Resources. In addition, the property is a Pasadena Cultural Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.6
As might be expected from an important and diversified organization such as the Playhouse, an enormous quantity of records, documents and memorabilia built up during the years of its operation. While the Playhouse flourished under the leadership of its...