Morton Theatre

Yes!!!! Getting ready for a performance! Feels great to have cast and crew in the house! See it livestreamed this Saturday at mortontheatre.com!

As we take pride in The Morton’s 111-year history as the oldest surviving African-American vaudeville theatre, we can’t help but be in awe of Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, which was built a full century earlier, and has been in continuous operation ever since! Let’s take a closer look at our Thursday HITHistoric and Interesting Theatre (which has a couple of interesting connections to Georgia’s own former president President Jimmy Carter) Opened in 1809 as a circus ...venue, an orchestra pit and stage were later added for theatrical performances. To this day it continues to operate as a Hemp House, with the original grid, rope, pulley, and sandbag system that was in use nearly two centuries ago. The theatre's hand-painted fire curtain, which still hangs above the stage, displays a reproduction of the The Liberty Bell's First Note, 1753, originally painted by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. A few fun facts: The Walnut's first theatrical production, The Rivals, was staged in 1812 with President Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette in attendance. The first copyright law protecting American plays has its roots at the Walnut. The curtain call, now a tradition in every theatre, started at the Walnut with the post-play appearance of noted 19th Century actor Edmund Kean. Actor Junius Brutus Booth made his debut at the Walnut. Booth was the father of a famous acting clan that included three sons Junius II, Edwin and John Wilkes and one daughter, Asia. Edwin purchased the Walnut in October of 1863, two years before President Lincoln was assassinated by his brother. In November 1921, the Provincetown Players presented Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones. This landmark drama marked the first time an African-American actor, Charles S. Gilpin, played the lead in a play produced by a white company. In 1983, during the Walnut's first season as a non-profit organization, Bernard Havard brought in the The Negro Ensemble Company's production of A Soldier's Play whose cast included Samuel L. Jackson. The Clash, one of the leading and most controversial of Britain's new wave rock bands, played one performance at the Walnut as part of their second US tour, "The Clash Take the Fifth in 1979. Currently, the Walnut is the largest subscribed regional theatre company in the world, with nearly 50,000 subscribers annually. And finally, about President Carter The Walnut was the site of the first presidential debate between President Gerald Ford and Governor Jimmy Carter during the 1976 election. On July 3, 1990, President Carter was awarded the Philadelphia Liberty Medal at the Walnut. This medal honors an individual or organization from anywhere in the world that has "demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance, or deprivation."

Special guest announced for this weekend's livestream production!

You are in for a treat this weekend, June 12th at 8PM when we premiere Double Consciousness! Leading off this great night will be musical artist Chantae Cann! Take a look at Chantae jam out below, and be sure to sign up on the event page @MortonTheatreCorporation

We want to take this time to acknowledge another one of the organizations we were awarded a grant from for our upcoming production, Double Consciousness. The At...hens Cultural Affairs Commission awarded our chair of programming @Thomas Brazzle and co-producers Whet Ink Productions and Moonlight Theater Company with an Arts in Community Resilience Award. Athens Cultural Affairs Commission (ACAC) was established to advise the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government on cultural affairs and aesthetic development of the built environment in accordance with provisions of planning, programming, procurement, installation, operation, and maintenance of public art projects and artworks. BE SURE TO TUNE IN ON SATURDAY, JUNE 12TH @ 8PM FOR THE PREMIERE OF DOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS, STREAMING LIVE FROM THE MORTON THEATRE ONLINE @MORTONTHEATRE.COM