By Joshua Robison / The Jambar
The Youngstown Playhouse at 600 Playhouse Lane has been a staple of theatrical entertainment for the Mahoning Valley for over 100 years. Since its founding in 1924, the Playhouse maintains a legacy that has outlived any other theatre in the U.S.
Dr. John Cox, pediatrician and president of the board of directors, said that the Youngstown Playhouse is just like the city as it has refused to give in during difficult times.
“[The Playhouse] is just like Youngstown. It just doesn’t refuse to go away and just wants to stick around. So, we’re pretty happy [and] lucky that we’re still around for the area,” Cox said.
Cox said he believes the Youngstown Playhouse is crucial to the livelihood of the Youngstown community, bringing life to the area.
“I think art is vital in a community. A town without art, I think, is a dead community,” Cox said.
According to the Youngstown Playhouse website, the Playhouse serves an estimated 9,000 audience members annually between 10 productions. Each Youngstown Playhouse production is shown on the main stage, with 400 seats, or the smaller blackbox theatre, the Moyer Room, with 75 seats.
The Playhouse is mainly run by the efforts of volunteers throughout the community. Actors, directors, stage crew and set designers all volunteer for productions.
Cox said with the Youngstown Playhouse being a nonprofit, the work done by volunteers matters greatly to the functionality of the playhouse.
“It matters with a lot of people really putting forth their effort, because it is a nonprofit, so everybody is a volunteer,” Cox said.
The Playhouse’s next show will be held at the Playhouse’s new 175-seat satellite location in downtown Youngstown. Cox said that the new venue is part of future plans to bring local theatre groups together.
“I’m trying to bring all the different theatre groups together, and I think the downtown venue allows me three different spaces to be able to rent out those facilities, and then make it more of a business to keep us sustainable,” Cox said.
The Playhouse board of directors is composed of people with diverse backgrounds. Cox said that these differences allow the Playhouse to represent the community it’s involved in.
“We try to get a nice cross section of the community,” Cox said. “That’s how we get more patrons [and] that’s how we keep our different constituents. We’re trying to make everybody in the community represented, so I want to make sure our board represents the community.”
The Playhouse has also been the starting point for many notable names in the entertainment industry. Actor Ed O’Neill, Broadway stage director Mike Moritz and Broadway producer Joey Monda all participated in Youngstown Playhouse productions.
With such talent taking part in the Youngstown Playhouse, Cox said that the Playhouse nurtures skills that members can use in the professional world.
“I think in general, theatre teaches you how to work with other people — you’re all trying to put something together. So, everybody’s got to do their job, you have to integrate and listen to people when you’re doing theatre,” Cox said. “So, those kinds of qualities project into real life all the time.”