Peoria Players originated on October 6, 1919, with a one-act
play by Oliphant Down entitled The Maker of Dreams and has been
in continuous operation since. This feat was accomplished in
spite of many obstacles – a depression, a freeway, and financial
difficulties. The first ten years of Peoria Players saw a total
of 114 plays produced, many of them one-act plays. Twelve of
those plays were written by Peorians including the production of
an original play called the Acid Test in the 1920s. The growth
in interest and support of Peoria Players was little short of
phenomenal. At the end of the first decade, membership had
increased from 35 to 600 members. But Peoria Players had no
permanent home. Often the first few years, the Peoria Players
rented the Majestic Theatre to stage plays. By the 1924-25
season most of Peoria Players performances were produced in the
Musical Hall of the Peoria’s Women’s Club.
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The 50s had another potential
disaster in store for Peoria Players. This time it was the
construction of Interstate-74 and a bridge which would pass
right through the back portion of the firehouse taking Players’ stagehouse and workshop with it. It was time to find a new home
again. During our search for new property, Players took its
1956-57 season on the road. Thus, Peoria Players was never
“dark”. Soon excavations were underway at the Lakeview Park
facility, our current home. On November 30, 1957 Peoria Players
opened with Tea House of the August Moon in its new community
auditorium designed by Les Kenyon.
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