Pioneer Playhouse, Open-air theatre in Danville, United States.
Pioneer Playhouse is an open-air theatre in Danville, Kentucky, with rows of wooden benches arranged around a raised wooden stage in a simple amphitheater layout. Productions range from plays to musicals and take place outdoors throughout the warmer part of the year.
The theatre was founded in 1950 by Colonel Eben C. Henson and has run every season since without interruption. In 1962, the Kentucky legislature named it the official State Theater, the first time any state had given that designation to a theatre.
For many people in Kentucky, attending a summer show here is a long-standing tradition passed down through families across generations. The open wooden benches and the stage set against the night sky give performances a directness that a closed venue rarely offers.
Shows take place on summer evenings, so arriving a little early gives you time to find a good seat on the open wooden benches. Bringing a light layer is a good idea since the air can cool down noticeably once the sun sets.
A number of actors who later became known faces in Hollywood got some of their earliest stage experience right here. That connection gives this small outdoor stage a quiet place in the broader story of American cinema.
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