Riverside Studio, International Style theatre in Tulsa, United States
Riverside Studio is a two-story, flat-roofed stucco building set into a hillside facing west over Riverside Drive toward the Arkansas River, on a 0.86-acre tract. Two external staircases climb to a shared landing and foyer, whose large flat circular window is the main decorative feature; stepped front windows alternate black-glass inserts in a diagonal pattern. Behind the foyer, a narrow one-story auditorium with three sets of double doors on each side leads east to the recital stage, with living quarters, garage and servant rooms at the south end.
Built in 1928 as a residence and music studio for teacher Patti Adams Shriner, architect Bruce Goff designed it in the International Style. The building transitioned to a performance venue starting in 1953 and has hosted theatre productions since then.
Since 1953 the Tulsa Spotlight Club has staged Richard Mansfield Dickinson's adaptation of the 19th-century temperance melodrama The Drunkard here, almost every Saturday night; the company calls it the longest-running stage production in America. Actor-director Joe Sears, co-creator of the Greater Tuna trilogy, took over as director in 2013.
The building is dug into a hillside facing west across Riverside Drive toward the Arkansas River, on an 0.86-acre tract. Two sets of external stairs climb to a shared landing and the foyer, so entry involves steps. The play runs almost every Saturday night; the club claims it is the longest-running stage production in America.
The recital hall once held four murals by Oklahoma artist Olinka Hrdy, commissioned by Bruce Goff; a fountain by Italian sculptor Alfonso Iannelli stood at the front. Both were gone by the time the National Register application was filed, and the side doors were blocked by later air-conditioning ducts.
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