The Walnut Theatre in Philadelphia

The Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania boasts itself as being the oldest in the country. Well, this is difficult to argue since the company was originally established in 1809. And with many things in Philadelphia, there is an incredible history and major cultural significance to this theatre. It’s one thing to say you’ve been around for twenty or thirty, even forty years, which is impressive on its own. But to say you’ve been creating great theatre for two hundred years almost makes you sound like one of the European companies. At any rate, this theatre has been around that long and continues to produce great plays.

The theatre continues to sit in its original location on the corner of Ninth and Walnut Street and the building itself has been recognized as one of the nation’s historic landmarks. The theatre has another major static to brag about and that is the 56,000 season ticket subscribes it has. This is greater than any theatre in the world, which is possibly an even more impressive statement than its being the oldest in the country. Tourists who visit Philadelphia are frequently attracted to major cultural landmarks and you can’t get any more historic and significant than this. Ooops, that’s right, we’re talking about Philadelphia so maybe that’s not true. Regardless, many of the non season subscription holders are coming from their fabulous rooms in one of the area hotels.

Currently the theatre is presenting a production of Elliot A Soldier’s Fugue by Philadelphia native playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes, who is better known for his hit Broadway musical In The Heights. This play deals with a second generation soldier returning from Iraq and making a decision about a return tour. In the process issues of generational differences and father and son relationships are brought up in a journey through generations.