Wilma Theater (Philadelphia)
.jpg) The Wilma Theater in 2024 | |
Interactive map of Wilma Theater | |
Former names | Wilma Project (1973–1996) |
|---|---|
| Address | 265 Broad Street, Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA |
| Coordinates | 39°56′50.4″N 75°09′52.2″W / 39.947333°N 75.164500°W |
| Capacity | 296 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1996 |
| Website | |
| https://wilmatheater.org/ | |
The Wilma Theater is a non-profit theater company located at 265 S. Broad Street at the corner of Spruce Street in the Avenue of the Arts area of Center City, Philadelphia. The company's current 296-seat theater opened in 1996 and was designed by Hugh Hardy.[1]
History
The Wilma Theater began in 1973 as the "Wilma Project", founded to produce original material and to develop community-oriented artists. The name "Wilma" refers to an imaginary oppressed sister of Shakespeare created by Virginia Woolf.[2]
Blanka Zizka and Jiri Zizka from Czechoslovakia joined the project in 1979 as artists-in-residence, and later took over artistic leadership, changing the name to the Wilma Theater. The company staged their productions at a variety of different theaters, in particular a 100-seat converted garage on Sansom Street, but opened their current 296-seat theater on S. Broad Street in 1996.
Jiri Zizka left the theater at the end of the 2009–2010 season and died in January 2012.[3][4]
In 2015, the theater formed a permanent troupe of in-house actors, the Hothouse.[5]
Yury Urnov, James Ijames, and Morgan Green were named co-artistic directors alongside Blanka Zizka in 2020, with Zizka retiring in 2021.[6][7] Ijames departed the Wilma in 2023 and Lindsay Smiling, an actor in the theater's resident HotHouse company, was named as a co-artistic director with Urnov and Green.[8] In 2026, it was announced that Lindsay Smiling would become the sole artistic director, with Urnov staying on as resident director.[9]
Awards and honors
As of 2018, the theater had won 68 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre and received 238 nominations.[10]
On May 22 2024, it was announced that the Wilma would be the recipient of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award, which comes with a $25,000 grant.[11][12] Zizka credited the Hothouse for the award, describing them as the "soul" of the Wilma.[12] WHYY's arts and culture reporter Peter Crimmins has similarly noted that "The Wilma is distinctive not only for the excellence of its original productions, but [also] for its unique approach to running a theater company."[12]
References
Notes
- ↑ "History". wilmatheater.org. The Wilma Theater. Archived from the original on October 26, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ↑ Marchese, John (March 1, 2013). "Wilma Theater Artistic Director Blanka Zizka: Philadelphia's Drama Queen". Philadelphia. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ↑ Klein, Michael (August 19, 2010). "Inqlings: Jiri Zizka ends run at Wilma". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ↑ "Jiri Zizka: 1953 - 2012". wilmatheater.org. The Wilma Theater. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Paran, Janice (December 18, 2015). "Blanka Zizka Is Remaking the Wilma From Within". Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ Shapiro, Howard (February 18, 2020). "One Wilma Theater artistic director becomes four, in a new leadership model". WHYY.org. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
- ↑ Crimmins, Peter (June 30, 2021). "Blanka Zizka, a giant of Philadelphia theater, will retire from the Wilma". WHYY. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Lindsay Smiling Named Wilma Co-Artistic Director". American Theatre. April 14, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ Dobrin, Peter (May 22, 2026). "Wilma Theater ends its three-leader 'experiment.' Lindsay Smiling is named sole artistic director". Inquirer.com. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ "The Barrymore Awards". Theatre Philadelphia. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan. "Philadelphia's Wilma Theater Wins 2024 Regional Tony Award". Playbill. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- 1 2 3 Crimmins, Peter (May 22, 2024). "Philadelphia's Wilma Theater wins a Tony Award". WHYY.org. Retrieved June 12, 2024.