The Regions - Old Globe Theatre

The Regions

For the near future we'll be making weekly visits to the websites of major regional theatres. This week:

The Old Globe Theatre

Originally built in 1935 to present abridged versions of Shakespeare for the California Pacific International Exposition, two years later the theatre and surrounding buildings were taken over by the San Diego Community Theatre (which would have made it a very well equipped community theatre indeed!). Its buildings have been subject on several occasions to acts of arson, which lead to subsequent substantial renovation. The Old Globe was a 1984 recipient of the Tony Award for excellence and saw the development of a number of renowned works, including Neil Simon's Rumors, A. R. Gurney's The Cocktail Hour, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, Tom Dulack's Breaking Legs, and Tina Howe's Pride's Crossing. More than 300,000 people visit the Old Globe each year.

The Old Globe Website

The site is cleverly designed in a faux-frames manner - a left side java-loaded link list appears on each page; passing you over each link details more fully where the link will take you. In addition, each page sports a "next page"-type link (a right-pointing arrow in the upper right), allowing you to browse the site. Each page is lightly sprinkled with graphics and photos, loading quickly. (No designer of the site is credited, although it seems as if ElectriCiti is responsible.)

Tickets are available for purchase directly from the site through a secure server. Other areas of the site include:

Subscriptions & Membership, for information about, er, subscriptions and membership;
Around the Globe, for details about Globe offerings such as seminars and backstage tours, and some light information about the different departments, such as Scenic Design, Administration, and Public Relations;
Education, with details about their joint program with the University of San Diego leading to a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts, and other educational programs;
History;
Media Releases;
and an Interest Form, where you can "as [them] questions, give [them] comments," or request information.

The 1999 season (see Calendar) includes Floyd Collins, Bedroom Farce, The Magic Fire, Albee's People, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Three Days of Rain.

C U @ the Theatre!