The Coronado Playhouse is celebrating its 64th season! The new venue, which opened in 2006 with state of the art equipment, still overlooks beautiful Glorietta Bay.

The Playhouse is an intimate, 100 seat cabaret-style theatre with a full service bar. It provides quality entertainment with a mix of classic and modern comedies, dramas, and mysteries; dazzling musicals; colorful free Shakespeare; and exciting original works by local authors.

Season ticket holders can reserve tables up to a year in advance for each show of the current season. Catered dinners, at an additional cost, are available opening nights and for some holiday shows.
 

The Coronado Playhouse is the oldest community theatre in San Diego County. It was first organized as the Coronado Players in February 1946. After four successful seasons of performing in a local high school auditorium (and selling tickets door to door), the Players purchased a World War II WAVE barracks and an adjoining Quonset hut from the U.S. Navy at North Island. That building housed the theatre until it was demolished in 2003 to make way for the Glorietta Bay Project, which includes the new City Hall, a small park, and the Coronado Community Center (which houses the Coronado Playhouse).

 

In May 1950, Rena Kennyon directed the melodrama, The Curse of an Aching Heart, the first production to be staged in the then-new theatre on North Island. Since 1946, the Playhouse has produced over two hundred productions, 100 of which were directed by Stanley Martin, a professional director at the theatre for 22 years. Mr. Martin directed Suds in Your Eyes, based on the best selling book by Mary Lasswell, which ran for sixteen consecutive summers from 1950-1966.

The theatre started a new summer tradition in 1997 with the Annual Free Shakespeare under the direction of theatre professional Keith A. Anderson.

When the old theatre was demolished, the Coronado Playhouse operated out of a temporary strung structure Pavilion at the Coronado Ferry Landing, and in 2006 moved into the Coronado Community Center theatre at 1835 Strand Way when the Community Center was completed.

 

Our theatre is operated under the direction of a Board of Directors, who are elected by the membership. Performers, and stage and technical crew, are all dedicated volunteers.

The Playhouse is self-supporting through box office revenues, season tickets, memberships, donations, grants, and the generosity of volunteers. If you would like further information on any of these items, please click on the corresponding link on the menu to the left.