Austin Playhouse - Austin's premier professional theatre in Austin, Texas.

Austin Playhouse's Threepenny Opera - Spring 2008

Our mission...

Austin Playhouse is dedicated to providing opportunities for Austin artists and audiences to celebrate the human experience. Austin Playhouse will nourish your mind, delight your spirit, and enrich your life through professional productions of classic, contemporary and musical plays.

Our goals...

Communities across America have recognized the cultural, economic, and social value of professional regional theatre. An alternative to the Broadway model, the regional theatre develops quality work in a collaborative dialogue with the community it serves. Austin Playhouse has built an impressive place in the Austin arts landscape and is poised to take the next step, becoming a world-class regional theatre.

Our history...

Austin Playhouse is a professional theatre that produces a year-round season of comedies, dramas, musicals, and world premieres. Austin Playhouse was founded in 2000 by Producing Artistic Director Don Toner and over fifty of Austin’s leading theatre artists, administrators, and volunteers. This group had worked together to build the State Theater Company (formerly Live Oak Theatre) into one of Austin’s leading arts organizations.

For its premiere season, Austin Playhouse was invited to perform on the campus of Concordia University. Three plays, Light Up the Sky, Mahalia, and The Fantasticks were produced under a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association.

Austin Playhouse does Threepenny Opera On October 4, 2002, Austin Playhouse settled into its new home at Penn Field on South Congress Avenue, opening with a regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning play Copenhagen by Michael Frayn. The company renovated the warehouse into a comfortable 150-seat theatre featuring a large lobby with an art gallery.

In February 2004, Austin Playhouse opened a second performance space at Penn Field. The 70-seat performance space and was rededicated the Larry L. King Theatre in October of 2006. The King Theatre was dedicated to producing new works by local and national playwrights. The King Theatre seasons have also included many works by female playwrights including the world premiere of local playwright Cyndi Williams’ Dug Up (David Mark Cohen Award for Best New Play) and the southwest premiere of Age of Arousal by Linda Griffiths (Austin Critics Table Best Comedy Winner).

Over the past eleven years, the company has produced over sixty professional productions including thirteen world or regional premieres. The company has also hosted play readings, fostered new play development, and provided production space for emerging companies. Austin Playhouse has grown from an annual subscriber base of 350 its first season to almost 2,000 today.

Austin Playhouse is also committed to building strong ties in the community. They have collaborated with other companies and worked extensively with local universities including co-productions, sponsored projects, internships, and student employment opportunities. They have also created a successful benefit performance program to raise funds and awareness for over twenty Austin charities. The company is looking forward to incorporating more educational and outreach opportunities soon. Its permanent home will serve as a hub of artistic activity for Austin Playhouse and many local performing arts organizations.

After a decade of successfully producing theatre and building a place in the community, Austin Playhouse decided to leave their rented space and purchase land to build a state-of-the-art venue. Austin Playhouse is making a commitment to building a sustainable future in Austin. This new performing arts venue will house Austin Playhouse as well as providing much needed rehearsal and performance space to other arts organizations. In 2011 Austin Playhouse built a temporary facility at Mueller Austin near the site of their future home to perform in while their permanent home is under construction.