Theater of the Living Arts
| TLA | |
Exterior of venue c. 2009
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| Former names | Crystal Palace (1908-27) Palace Theatre (1927-40) New Palace Theatre (1941-59) Theatre of the Living Arts (1959-68; 1981-87) Bandbox Living Arts (1968-69) TLA Cinema (1972-81) The Palace (1981) Theatre of Living Arts (1988-2007; 2008-Present) The Fillmore at TLA (2007-08) |
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| Address | 334 South St Philadelphia, PA 19147-1536 |
| Location | Queen Village |
| Owner | Live Nation Philadelphia |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1908 |
| Renovated | 1941, 1957, 1965, 1970, 1987, 2006 |
| Construction cost |
$50,000 ($1.33 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
The Theatre of Living Arts (known commonly as the TLA) is a concert venue located on South Street in Philadelphia, PA. The venue, which opened in 1988, dates back to the early 1900s as a nickelodeon. Over the years, the venue has seen many incarnations ranging from concert hall to movie theatre to theatre. Known for its acoustics, it was voted as one of the best concert venues in America by Complex.
The theatre opened in 1908 as the "Crystal Palace", a nickelodeon seating nearly 700. 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. Along with the changes came a new name, the "New Palace Theatre". The theatre’s popularity declined in the 50s. By 1959, the theatre saw another reincarnation, this time as a repertory theatre. The theatre operated under the direction of stage veteran Anne Ramsey and her husband Logan Ramsey. This is also when the name, "Theatre of the Living Arts" came into being.
In 1964, Andre Gregory took over from the Ramseys as artistic director. The theatre proved to be a success, presenting 10 productions per season, all to high praise. Some troupe members included: Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, Sally Kirkland, Ron Leibman and Morgan Freeman. In 1967, a dispute between Gregory and the board of directors resulted in the director leaving the theatre on February 17, 1967. At this time, the theatre was taken over by a new firm and christened as the "Bandbox Living Arts", a beatnik house. The theatre saw a decline in popularity and closed in 1969 due to financial issues.
In 1970, business entrepreneur Al Malmfelt purchased the theatre. It reopened a year later as a single screen cinema; specializing in hard to see films. Nearly 20 films were shown per week. The movie house showed classic films, alongside art films, foreigns, serials and controversial films. There was also a monsters at midnight film series, with the venue showing horror films. In 1976, it premiered The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The TLA was the first theatre in Philadelphia to show this "midnight movie" which became an instant success with fans and led to weekly showings, encouraging the audience to dress as their favorite characters.
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Wikipedia