Marie Durland
1914-2002

The light faded to black for one of our Playhouse founders last year, as veteran actress Marie Durland passed away in Coronado. She was 88.

Marie came to Coronado in the early 1940s from Tittle, North Dakota, and she found this “tight little island” was big enough for her to spend the rest of her life here. She joined a fledgling group of players who formed the Coronado Community Players, appearing in their first production, The Male Animal, at the high school auditorium in 1946.

When the Playhouse built its very own theater, the structure you see today, Marie danced in the can-can line in the oleo of its first production, “Curse of an Aching Heart” in 1953. From then on, there was no stopping Marie, playing in The Women, First Lady, Auntie Mame, the Sleeping Prince and many, many others.

When she rode the ferry across the Bay to take a role in Desk Set at the Old Globe, she took home an Atlas Award for her performance. But she preferred to stay on her island. Married for many years to high school football and track coach Charles “Sunday” Durland, Marie was also known for her volunteer work as a Pink Lady at Coronado Hospital.

The Playhouse dedicates the production of The Hollow to the memory of Marie Durland.