93 years of history
In 1927, the Charlotte branch of the American Association of University Women decided to study the Little Theatre movement. This grassroots effort to mount amateur theatricals swept the country during and after the First World War.
That group performed its first production in 1928, a reading of "Outward Bound", in the Carnegie Library uptown and the Charlotte Drama League was born. This organization soon became The Little Theatre of Charlotte and throughout the 1930s presented productions in venues such as Baird's School, Alexander Graham Junior High, Central High School, Thompson Orphanage Auditorium and Presbyterian College Auditorium on College Street.
Since 1941, the theatre has been housed at 501 Queens Road, located in the heart of the historic Myers Park district of Charlotte. The first production at this location was "George Washington Slept Here," which opened on December 1, 1941 and concluded a highly successful run on Saturday, December 6. The next day came the attack on Pearl Harbor and many of the theatre's volunteers went off to war. The theatre continued to present plays, as it had every season during the depression and as it has done every season during its history.
With over 460 main stage productions presented to over half a million audience members, an annual participation of approximately 500 volunteers, and outreach programs that serve the schools and the community at large, Theatre Charlotte is…your stage, your local theatre.
PHOTO ARCHIVE
Explore over nine decades of history in Theatre Charlotte's photo archive, highlighting our productions since 1927.
production history
1928
Outward Bound
The Dover Road
The Guardsman
1929
The Constant Nymph
The Showoff
Hedda Gabler
The Thirteenth Chair
The Bad Man
The Queen's Husband
1930
The Sacred Flame
To The Ladies
Dear Brutus
The Royal Family
Candida
1931
He Who Gets Slapped
Holiday January
The Trial of Mary Dugan
Ten Nights in a Barroom
Let Us Be Gay
Camille
1932
The Fool
The Torch Bearers
The Butter and Egg Man
Fixin's
Hansel and Gretel
Ma's Fan
See Naples and Die
Sleeping Beauty
Broadway
Lady Windemere's Fan
You and I
Declassee
Helena's Husband
1933
The Wedding Bells
The Wild Duck
Interference November
Little Women
Zombie
The Outsider
Smilin' Through
Little Prison
The Wedding
A Christmas Carol
Merton of the Movies
1934
As Husbands Go
Death Takes a Holiday
Journey's End
Street Scene
The Importance of Being Earnest
Three Cornered Moon
Pygmalion
1935
Her Master's Voice
Children of the Moon
Swastika
Rip Van Winkle
Men in White
Double Door
The Pursuit of Happiness
Counselor at Law
1936
The Cuckoo's Nest
Outward Bound
Private Lives
Ah, Wilderness
The Vinegar Tree
The Sun Sets East
Autumn Crocus
1937
Ceiling Zero
Boy Meets Girl
A Kind Word
The Night of January 16th
Biography
Personal Appearance
Night Must Fall
1938
The Front Page
The Silver Cord
Hay Fever
Hot Seat
The Late Christopher Bean
The Spider
First Lady
Stage Door
Seen But Not Heard
1939
Men Must Fight
Big Hearted Herbert
Petticoat Fever
Gold in the Hills or The Dead Sister's Secret
The Royal Family
Yellow Jack
1940
What a Life
Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Curse You, Jack Dalton
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Margin for Error
Cradle Song
1941
The Bellamy Trial
The Shining Hour
Janie
Charley's Aunt
George Washington Slept Here
1942
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Out of the Frying Pan
The Bat
The Skylark
Gold in the Hills or The Dead Sister's Secret
Arsenic and Old Lace
Claudia
1943
The Whole Town's Talking
Room Service
Ladies in Retirement
Yes, My Darling Daughter
Cry Havoc
1944
The Warrior's Husband
Her Master's Voice
The Little Foxes
Fly Away Home
The Doughgirls
Angel Street
1945
Kiss and Tell
The Ninth Guest
My Sister Eileen
Ah, Wilderness
Over 21
Rebecca
You Can't Take It With You
1946
Suspect
Junior Miss
Blithe Spirit
The Spider
State of the Union
Guest in the House
1947
Holiday
Laura
Janie
Goodbye Again
The Male Animal
Therese
1948
Dear Ruth
Years Ago
But Not Goodbye
Portrait in Black
John Loves Mary
Kind Lady
1949
January Thaw
Candlelight
Life With Father
The Gorilla
Happy Birthday
Command Decision
1950
Parlor Story
On Borrowed Time
Ten Nights in a Barroom
Present Laughter
Born Yesterday
Strange Bedfellows
1951
Goodbye, My Fancy
The Play's the Thing
The Trial of Mary Dugan
Harvey
Light Up The Sky
Grand National Night
1952
For Love or Money
Two Blind Mice
Father of the Bride
I Remember Mama
The Curious Savage
The Two Mrs. Carrolls
1953
Private Lives
Stalag 17
Miranda
The Happy Time
Mister Roberts
Affairs of State
1954
The Moon is Blue
Night Must Fall
Be Your Age
Bell, Book and Candle
The Women
Summer and Smoke
1955
Late Love
Dail "M" for Murder
My Three Angels
Time Out for Ginger
Sabrina Fair
1956
King of Hearts
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Solid Gold Cadillac
The Seven Year Itch
Bad Seed
1957
As Husbands Go
Desperate Hours
The Loud Red Patrick
The Great Sebastians
Personal Appearance
1958
The Teahouse of the August Moon
The Reluctant Debutante
Gold in the Hills or The Dead Sister's Secret
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
The Mousetrap
1959
Visit To A Small Planet
The Heiress
Nude With Violin
The Boyfriend
Third Best Sport
Ten Little Indians
1960
The Hidden River
The Girls in 509
Janus
The Moon is Blue
The Boyfriend
The Warm Peninsula
Howie
1961
The Gazebo
Bus Stop
The White Sheep of the Family
Southern Exposure
Say Darling
Five Finger Exercise
1962
A Majority of One
The Rainmaker
Send Me No Flowers
Little Mary Sunshine
Everybody Loves Opal
The Diary of Anne Frank
1963
Speaking of Murder
Picnic
Come Blow Your Horn
The Pleasure of His Company
Farewell, Farewell Eugene
1964
A Far Country
Sunday in New York
Seidman and Son
Critic's Choice
Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1965
Enter Laughing
Not in the Book
The Fantastics
Time Limit
The Sound of Murder
1966
Gigi
Come Back Little Sheba
See How They Run
You Can't Take It With You
Poor Richard
1967
A Case of Libel
The Irregular Verb to Love
The Royal Family
A Rainy Day in Newark
The Potting Shed
1968
Amphitryon 38
Write Me a Murder
The Indians Want the Bronx
Nobody Loves an Albatross
The Waltz of the Toreadors
Wait Until Dark
1969
The Lion in Winter
Hands Across the Sea
Red Peppers
Tonight at 8:30
Ways and Means
The Curious Savage
Absence of a Cello
All The Way Home
1970
The Owl and the Pussycat
Incident at Vichy
The Showoff
Star Spangled Girl
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1971
The Man Nobody Saw
A Thousand Clowns
The Importance of Being Earnest
Out at Sea
Inherit the Wind
Beckett
Light Up The Sky
Boys in the Band
1972
The Night of the Iguana
Child's Play
Escurial
Krapp's Last Tape
Man on The Ledge in Room 926
The Miracle Worker
Anniversary Waltz
A Doll's House
1973
Change of Scenery
Home
Krapp's Last Tape
A Raisin in the Sun
Beggar's Opera
A Hatful of Rain
What the Butler Saw
1974
Kiss Me Kate
Last of the Red Hot Lovers
The Member of the Wedding
Everybody Loves Opal
The Mikado
Vivat, Vivat Regina
The Amorous Flea
1975
A Midsummer Night's Dream
I Never Sang For My Father
Guys and Dolls
Ten Little Indians
Born Yesterday
Only An Orphan Girl
High Spirits
Finishing Touches
1976
The Pajama Game
The Patriots
The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd
The Fantasticks
Forty Carats
1977
The Little Foxes
The School For Scandal
Paint Your Wagon
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Hotel Paradiso
1978
To Kill a Mockingbird
Ring Around the Moon
Fiddler on the Roof
Camelot
Flowers for Algernon
Company
The Rainmaker
Blithe Spirit
1979
God's Favorite
Revolution Without Casualties
The Caretaker
Finian's Rainbow
Applause
Done to Death
On a Clear Day
Philadelphia, Here I Come
Cinderella
1980
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Imaginary Invalid
Lovers and Other Strangers
Dear World
Barefoot in the Park
Funny Girl
Butterflies are Free
Mame
Sly Fox
Frankenstein: A Love Story
1981
Night Watch
Good Evening
God
Hello Out There
The Sunshine Boys
Same Time, Next Year
The Gingerbread Lady
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The Peacock Season
Eeyore's Christmas Present
1982
Chapter Two
Our Town
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
David and Lisa
Cabaret
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1983
The Lion in Winter
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Seesaw
See How They Run
Sweeney Todd
Bedroom Farce
1984
You Can't Take It With You
Look Homeward, Angel
The Sound of Music
Gigi
Norman, Is That You?
1985
Side by Side by Sondheim
Picnic
They're Playing Our Song
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Wait Until Dark
1986
My Sister Eileen
On Borrowed Time
Something's Afoot
'Night Mother
Barnum
Breakfast with Les and Bess
Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You
1987
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Fifth of July
Aint Misbehavin'
Harvey
I'm Not Rappaport
As Is
Sunday in the Park with George
The House of Blue Leaves
1988
The Crucible
Biloxi Blues
Babes in Arms
La Cage Aux Folles
Murder on the Nile
1989
A...My Name is Alice
The Children's Hour
I'm Not Rappaport
Dreamgirls
Follies
And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little
1990
The Diviners
The Boys Next Door
Chicago
Life with Father
A Chorus Line
The Shadow Box
1991
Baby
The Dresser
Big River
Crimes of the Heart
Annie
Amadeus
1992
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
Noises Off
The Wiz
Deathtrap
West Side Story
Broadway Bound/Brighton Beach Memoirs
1993
Pippin
The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia
Man of LaMancha
Talley's Folly
Guys and Dolls
Macbeth
Retrieving the Lamb
1994
Once on this Island
Master Harold and the Boys
City of Angels
Assassins
The Comedy of Errors
1995
The Cemetary Club
A Raisin in the Sun
1776
The Music Man
Inspecting Carol
1996
Witness for the Prosecution
Cabaret
Fences
My Fair Lady
A Streetcar Named Desire
1997
Barefoot in the Park
The Miracle Worker
Bubbling Brown Sugar
Gypsy
Arsenic and Old Lace
1998
An Ideal Husband
Death of a Salesman
Anything Goes
Brigadoon
The Piano Lesson
1999
Present Laughter
A Doll's House
Into the Woods
The Boyfriend
Sweet Bird of Youth
2000
The Taming of the Shrew
Driving Miss Daisy
The Philadelphia Story
South Pacific
Rebecca
2001
The Importance of Being Earnest
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Damn Yankees
You Can't Take It With You
2002
Romeo and Juliet
All My Sons
Sweet Charity
Show Boat
Lend Me a Tenor
2003
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Man of LaMancha
Evita
Blithe Spirit
2004
She Loves Me
A Raisin in the Sun
Rumors
Cabaret
Picasso at the Lapine Agile
2005
Noises Off
Our Town
Nine
Kiss Me Kate
Lost In Yonkers
2006
I'm Not Rappaport
To Kill A Mockingbird
A Little Night Music
A Chorus Line
On Golden Pond
2007
Brighton Beach Memoirs
The Crucible
Smokey Joe's Cafe
Oliver!
The Heidi Chronicles
A Christmas Carol
2008
Walking Across Egypt
The Diary of Anne Frank
Little Shop of Horrors
Godspell
The Last Night of Ballyhoo
A Christmas Carol
2009
Shakespeare in Hollywood
Death of a Salesman
The Full Monty
Seussical
The Woman in Black
A Christmas Carol
2010
Biloxi Blues
A Streetcar Named Desire
Smoke on the Mountain
Annie
Steel Magnolias
A Christmas Carol
2011
The Graduate
The Glass Menagerie
Rent
Same Time, Next Year
The Music Man
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
A Christmas Carol
2012
Doubt, A Parable
Around the World in 80 Days
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The Odd Couple (Female Version)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
In the Heat of the Night
A Christmas Carol
2013
The Foreigner
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Avenue Q
Gypsy
Arsenic and Old Lace
A Christmas Carol
2014
The Miss Firecracker Contest
Driving Miss Daisy
Hair
Footloose
To Kill A Mockingbird
A Christmas Carol
2015
Harvey
The Normal Heart
Jesus Christ Superstar
La Cage Aux Folles
Dracula
A Christmas Carol
2016
The Importance Of Being Earnest
The Miracle Worker
The Addams Family
Saturday Night Fever
Sordid Lives
You Can't Take It With You
A Christmas Carol
2017
Crimes of the Heart
A Raisin in the Sun
Memphis
Aida
The Grapes of Wrath
A Christmas Carol
2018
The Nerd
A Time To Kill
Spring Awakening
Peter and the Starcatcher
The Philadelphia Story
A Christmas Carol
2019
Ain't Misbehavin'
Terms of Endearment
The Producers
Oliver!
And Then There Were None
A Christmas Carol
2020
The Odd Couple
What I Did Last Summer
Vintage Hitchcock
A Christmas Carol