Theatre of Living Arts

 

The theatre opened in 1908 as the "Crystal Palace," seating nearly 700.^[4] In 1927, the venue became a concert hall. In 1941, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corporation took over management of the venue converting it into a movie theatre.^[5] Along with the changes came a new name, the "New Palace Theatre." The theatre's popularity declined in the 50s.

Through the efforts of two Philadelphia women, Celia Silverman and Jean Goldman, the building was acquired in 1963 in order to house a new non-profit theatre company, The Theatre of the Living Arts. Architect Wolfgang Roth was hired to create a 431-seat theater space with a thrust stage. In 1964, Andre Gregory was hired as artistic director, with Silverman and Goldman acting as unpaid producers.^[6]

The company proved to be a critical success, presenting ten productions per season, all to high praise. Troupe members included: Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, Sally Kirkland, Ron Leibman and Morgan Freeman. In 1967, a dispute with the board of directors resulted in Gregory leaving the theatre on February 17, 1967.^[7]

At that time, the theatre was taken over by a new firm and christened as the "Bandbox Living Arts", a beatnik house;^[4] however, the theatre saw a decline in popularity and closed in 1969 due to financial issues.^[8]

In 1970, business entrepreneur Al Malmfelt purchased the theatre.^[8] It reopened a year later as a single screen cinema, specializing in hard to see films. Nearly twenty films were shown per week, including classic films, art films, foreigns, serials, and controversial films. There was also a "monsters at midnight" film series, featuring horror films. In 1976, the TLA became the first theatre in Philadelphia to show The Rocky Horror Picture Show,^[9] which became an instant success with fans and led to weekly showings, encouraging the audience to dress as their favorite characters and return week after week.

In 1978, the American Theater Arts for Youth used the venue^[8] for several productions including: Babes in Toyland, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Wizard of Oz. It left the venue in 1982 to seek a bigger audience. By November 1980, the theatre was in renewed financial trouble; it folded again in 1981.

Stephen Starr purchased the building for $600,000 in March 1981, hoping to bring his Starr nightclub to a bigger facility; however, this was prevented by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and local residents of the neighborhood. Instead, Starr reopened the cinema under the name The Palace, but closed it again in September 1981. That same year, former employees Claire Brown Kohler, Eric Moore and Ray Murray began researching ways to reopen the theatre.^[6] Together, they formed the Repertory Cinema, Inc.^[10] (later becoming the TLA Entertainment Group). To save costs when the theatre reopened, the new team planned to travel round trip to New York City to exchange reels.

Due to the success of VHS and cable television, however, the cinema experienced another decline in attendance. In response, the management team opened TLA Video in 1985 to reach that audience.^[11] The initial store opened next to the theatre; four additional locations were then added throughout the Philadelphia metro area. All of those stores closed in 2011.^[11]

In 1986, the TLA premiered Jean-Luc Godard's Hail Mary, sparking backlash by many Catholic members of the community.^[12] Protesters picketed outside the TLA for a week while the theatre showed the film.^[11]

In 1987, the cinema folded again. Allan Spivak purchased the theatre in September 1987;^[8] renovations were then undertaken to convert the venue from a cinema into an off-Broadway type of venue. The newly-improved theatre's first show was a production of the 1986 Outer Critics Circle Awards-winning (and 2014 Tony Award-winning) musical Lady Day, which opened on October 21, 1987.

A year later, the theatre was converted into a concert venue. In 2006, Live Nation purchased it,^[13] and it was briefly known as "The Fillmore at TLA"^[14] (commonly The Fillmore Philadelphia) until June 2008.^[15]

In addition to its various incarnations through the twentieth century, the building housing the TLA has also undergone transformations. After the New Palace Theatre became The Theatre of the Living Arts in 1959, in 1965 it underwent renovations designed by one of its founders, Philadelphia modernist architect Frank Weise.^[16] At that time the theatre expanded to the next door property, expanding the venue.^[17]

The venue was later renovated in 2006 when Live Nation purchased it, and it became The Fillmore. The company updated the theatre with hardwood floors and three large chandeliers.^[14] The venue is known for its memorabilia hanging on the dark red walls inside it.^[14]

South Street's reputation for entertainment extends to the turn of the twentieth century. However, in 1950 there was a major decline in real-estate value due to the proposal of a crosstown expressway that would have wiped out South Street. The Theatre of the Living Arts founding helped re-establish the street's entertainment culture and ushered in a revival of the street. It was a success during this time period selling over 250,000 tickets between 1964 and 1969. The TLA set the stage for the bohemian counterculture that flocked to this street along with other consumer and artistic venues. The street had a major rise in galleries and cafes that surrounded the TLA, and has become a center for alternative counterculture.^[18][19]

The TLA has hosted both unknown and up-and-coming bands^[19] and established bands.^[20] Some of the most notable concerts held at the TLA include:

• December 9, 1988: The Dead Milkmen
• December 16, 1988: Jane's Addiction
• January 7, 1992: Joan Jett
• April 23, 1992: Tori Amos
• May 22, 1993: Anthrax
• July 22, 1993: The Cranberries
• April 4, 1995: 10,000 Maniacs
• June 21 and 22, 1995: Bob Dylan
• July 11, 1995 Black Sabbath
• November 25, 1995: Patti Smith
• April 16, 1997: Fiona Apple

The TLA entertainment group branched off of the TLA movie theatre and was originally the group that ran the theatre. The group was founded in 1981 by Ray Murray, Claire Brown Kohler, and Eric Moore.^[6] During this time the TLA was a movie theater showing an eclectic mix of movies including foreign films and cult classics. The entertainment group formed off of it and became a movie distribution store with a variety of obscure movies available for rent by catalog, online, and in their own retail stores. The original retail store opened next door to the theatre.

In February 1986, the TLA found itself in the middle of a controversy when the theatre decided to show Jean-Luc Godard’s Hail Mary. The film was very controversial among Catholics at the time leading it to be denounced by Pope John Paul II in April 1985.^[12] In response to the announcement of the film's premiere, the TLA group received a hundred calls a day and 2,000 letters in protest.^[11] The film was eventually shown at the TLA for a week and was met with picketers and protesters causing South Street to be shut down for a time.^[11]

The TLA has been accredited in helping launch filmmaker and writer John Waters's career.^[11] In its movie theatre days, the TLA played his cult classic movies such as Pink Flamingos when no other mainstream movie theatre would.^[21] Due to the huge success of his films at the TLA, other theatres followed making the TLA an important aspect of Pink Flamingos' and John Waters' success.^[11]

39°56′28″N 75°08′55″W / 39.941111°N 75.148611°W / 39.941111; -75.148611