Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami

This legitimate theatre is located in the Coconut Grove region of Miami. Today, it has closed its doors because of debt issues but in its heyday it was known as one of the finest theaters in the country.

The Coconut Grove Playhouse opened as the Players State Theater in 1927. It was owned at the time by Paramount Studio. The Mediterranean style building was designed by architects Kiehnel and Elliot and had the largest Wurlitzer organ in the United States. It was also the second air conditioned theater in the East Coast. It was purchased in the 1950s by a wealthy businessman with interests in oil and was converted into a legitimate theater with the help of architect, Alfred Browning Parker. It had two stages, the Proscenium Mainstage Theater could seat 1700, spectators and the smaller Encore Room Theater with only 100 seats.

The Coconut Grove Playhouse opened in 1956 with the US premier of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. From 1956, to 2007, the theater hosted several well known plays and many well known stars like Liza Minnelli, George. C. Scott and Ethel Merman have given memorable performances here. In 1982, actor, director Jose Ferrer became the theater’s artistic director and made it one of the country’s leading playhouses. Today, the theater is closed and waits for a new reopening.