# Sombrero Playhouse

The Sombrero Playhouse was a regional theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. It was built in March 1949, the first legitimate professional theater in Phoenix, though the city did have a long tradition of Little Theater. Major Broadway and Hollywood stars of the time performed on stage at the Sombrero, including Katharine Cornell, Helen Hayes, Kirk Douglas, Milton Berle, Billie Burke, Burgess Meredith, Walter Pidgeon, Tom Drake, Vincent Price, and Mary Astor. Despite its limited capacity, it was one of the most widely-known regional theaters in the Western United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. It presented recent Broadway hits (sometimes while they were still playing there), revivals, and on several occasions original productions that then went on national tour.
After 20 seasons of presenting plays, the Sombrero "went dark" after the 1968 season, became an art film house in 1976, before being sold and demolished in 1982.

## Founding

William W. Merrill and Richard Charlton formed a partnership in June 1948 to explore the possibility of a theater in Phoenix. Merrill owned the summer stock Will-o-Way Playhouse in Birmingham, Michigan, while Charlton operated the Music Hall in Detroit. Charlton met Ann Lee at Sardi's in October 1948, where they discussed the idea of "winter stock" theater in the Southwest. She was a Texas-born Broadway actress who had founded a summer stock venue in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Merrill purchased property at 3535 East MacDowell Road in Phoenix, which held a barn that could be converted to a rustic theater. The new venue would be called Sombrero Playhouse, since it would be a western version of a "straw hat" (summer stock) theater. However, Merill lacked the funds to proceed with development.
Charlton and Lee took a long-term lease for an empty two-acre lot on Seventh Street near Camelback Road, on which a new theater would be built. He and Ann Lee formed a corporation with local notables as officers to fund the project, while he and Lee would be co-producers. Charlton went to Hollywood to recruit name talent for the opening season, while Lee persuaded the Phoenix City Council to clear scrub vegetation from the lot at no charge using city jail inmates as labor. The property actually lay outside the then city limits, but as a reporter covering the council noted, when Lee smiled none of the councilmen said "No". Ground-breaking at 4747 North Seventh Street for the $100,000 building began February 22, 1949, with the building completed in late March.
Merrill filed an injunction with Maricopa Superior Court to stop the use of the name "Sombrero Playhouse", which he had registered with the state in February 1949. Charlton countered with his own suit asking to dissolve his partnership with Merrill and for an accounting of the remaining assets. The name stayed on the theatre, which had its opening on March 29, 1949, with a performance of Born Yesterday, starring William Bendix, Audrey Totter, and Whit Bissell.

## Seasonal activities
### Winter drama

The Sombrero's season ran from January through March. The first three seasons, plays opened on Tuesdays and closed Sundays, generally with Wednesday and Saturday afternoon matinees, for a one-week run of eight performances. Beginning with the fourth season (1953), opening night was switched to Mondays, with Saturday night the closer. This lasted two seasons then reverted to the original Tuesday thru Sunday scheme for the remainder of its performing seasons.
The first season, originally advertised as 12 weeks, was revised to five weeks due to the theater's construction, then cut to four weeks. For subsequent years, the Sombrero's season usually ran for ten weeks, with a limited engagement of one week per production. This was part of the appeal for Hollywood stars, who wanted the cachet of a stage credit but didn't want to commit to an open-ended run. Seasons in the 1950s would sometimes be extended with bonus programs.

### Cast and crew

Charlton formed American Productions Inc. to provide casts and plays for the Sombrero Playhouse Corporation. Ann Lee left the Sombrero before the 1957 season to resume acting full-time. Charlton then brought in associate producers to share production tasks. Directors, set designers and other technical crew were recruited seasonally, generally from outside Arizona since the state then had few opportunities for those crafts.
Bit parts and walk-on roles were filled by local actors, drama school apprentices, and an occasional Phoenix notable. A resident group of professional actors, directors, and technical crew were hired each season to support the name stars. While the stars stayed at nearby deluxe resorts, the others were housed first at the Echo Lodge in the Camelback Inn area. Later, adobe stables just south of the theater were converted into fourteen apartments, for use by the resident actors and crew. These were rented out on nine-month leases during off-season.

### The facility

The playhouse had limited clearance above the proscenium arch backstage, no more than four feet, so sets couldn't be "flown", they had to be struck for changes. Special twelve-foot flats were designed for the limited space, instead of the usual fourteen-feet. A set workshop and storage facility was built behind the Sombrero Playhouse during winter 1953–1954; prior to that sets were stored outdoors as there was no room backstage.
A $15,000 rehearsal hall addition was built after the Sombrero's application for a liquor permit triggered a dispute with the nearby Silver Spur restaurant where casts had previously rehearsed. Just prior to the 1953 winter season, the theatre floor was remodeled to replace aisle steps with smooth concrete ramps. The entire playhouse complex had air-conditioning installed two months later.
By 1959 the city limits of Phoenix had expanded to encompass the Sombrero Theatre, which was renovated and hooked up to city water and sewer lines. Acoustics remained a problem throughout the Sombrero's existence, one reason why so few musicals were booked there.

### Subscriptions

From the second season subscription tickets were offered. Subscriptions carried with them membership in the Backstage Club, a small private lounge added onto the theater building in 1952. Subscriptions were available in blocks of ten performances, which could be used for any production. By 1959 the Sombrero had over a thousand subscribers, and by 1961 had nearly doubled that figure.

### Sidelines

The Backstage Club was enlarged and redecorated in 1953 to include a buffet supper area and piano bar. It was expanded into a full-service restaurant and nightclub for the general public during February 1956.
A drama school, the American Foundation for Theatre Arts was established during late 1958 at the Sombrero, with free tuition for up to ten apprentices.
The Backstage Club's Galaxy room was used for original local art exhibits starting in 1959. During the 1960s this became a separate business enterprise called Galaxy Galleries.

### Apogee

The Sombrero's reputation had grown with the Hollywood community, helped in part by the producers opening an office in the Los Angeles area. The New York Times ran a half-page article profiling the success of the producers in recruiting, not only for their own theater but also for Broadway productions that needed a name star in a hurry. Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis watched ZaSu Pitts in Ramshackle Inn at the Sombrero on their honeymoon in March 1952. Frank Lloyd Wright, Clare Booth Luce, and Ethel Merman were attendees at first nights. So was then first lady Mamie Eisenhower and her sister, accompanied by the Secret Service.
The years 1959 and 1960 were the high point for the Sombrero Playhouse. Guthrie McClintic and Sol Hurok produced the world premiere of their production of Dear Liar at the Sombrero in 1959, starring Katharine Cornell and Brian Aherne, with the playwright Jerome Kilty himself directing. The following year Helen Hayes starred in The Cherry Orchard.
Several notable opera productions also appeared on the stage of the Sombrero in these years: Tonight at the Opera with Kathryn Grayson and David Poleri in 1960, and in 1961 Madame Butterfly with Maralin Niska, and Boris Godunov with Jerome Hines and John Gurney. All three productions were directed by Vladimir Rosing.

### Later seasons

The Phoenix Center for the Performing Arts was launched with large newspaper ads in January 1965. This offered two subscriptions: the Broadway Series, of plays at the Sombrero, and a Carnegie Hall Series of concerts and dance at Phoenix Union High School. A local columnist reported Charlton's plans for a new performing arts complex, but it appears the only outcome was Charlton styling himself artistic director and hiring others to take over production chores at the Sombrero.
Charlton was provoked by a scorching review of the 1965 season opening, that indicted "the Sombrero attitude". Critic William J. Nazzaro took exception to the slapdash production schedule of the Sombrero:
   "What we saw last night was what one should expect at a theater that operates on the star system, where the management does not know what it will present even two or three weeks before the actual event... But what really needs correction is the Sombrero's attitude that a star can be engaged at the last minute, thrown into a vehicle with limited rehearsals, and come up with a winner".
Charlton responded with a letter to the Arizona Republic editor, acknowledging problems with the opening night performance, but denying that the Sombrero production method itself was at fault. However, Nazzaro was hardly the first local critic to make these observations.

## Off-season activities

During the off-season the Sombrero was leased out for private and public use. The theater was used for a private children's drama group and city public theatre workshop programs during the late spring and summer, while the co-producers returned to Santa Fe to open Ann Lee's El Teatro for the summer season. During the late spring and fall first-run foreign films, sans concessions, were run. The Backstage Club was open year-round to members, and often featured entertainment and art shows.

## Last years

Regular stage seasons ceased on March 31, 1968, with a production of The Torch-Bearers starring Cornelia Otis Skinner, Mildred Natwick, and Joe Flynn. Thereafter the facility was used intermittently for showing films, as a summer stock workshop, and for special events. During April and May 1976 there was an attempt to revive legitimate drama with a production of Sleuth, but there was no follow-up. Summer 1976 saw the theater leased out to an art house business which showed second-run and classic films. As with many US art house cinemas at that time, it largely survived off midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Richard Charlton, who owned both the theater and the adjacent restaurant, tangled with the art house leasees during 1978 over access to a dirt parking lot on the premises and what Charlton characterised as "x-rated films". A Maricopa Superior Court judge ruled the ten-year lease was valid and the art house could continue showing films, but its patrons would have to park elsewhere.
Charlton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1980, and the theater and restaurant were purchased by AJ Properties in July 1981. The two buildings were to be demolished in favor of a multi-structure office complex. The Sombrero Theatre was torn down in 1982, with the property remaining an empty lot into 1983. Furnishings, antiques, paintings, and other artwork from the Sombrero Theatre were sold at a bankruptcy auction in November 1983.

## Productions
### 1949-1958

| Year | Play | Director | Producer | Leading Cast and Notes |
| 1949 | Born Yesterday | Irving Sudrow | Lee/Charlton | William Bendix, Audrey Totter, Whit Bissell, Morgan Farley, Richard Bowler, Frank Marlowe |
| 1949 | The Philadelphia Story | | Lee/Charlton | Ruth Hussey, Don Porter, Craig Stevens, Benay Venuta, Beverly Wills, Lee Patrick, Dan Tobin, Edgar Barrier |
| 1949 | John Loves Mary | | Lee/Charlton | Guy Madison, Enrica Soma, Don Porter, Lee Patrick, Edgar Barrier, Fred Taylor, Richard Bowler, Peggy Converse. |
| 1949 | Here Today | | Lee/Charlton | Ann Lee, Don Porter, Dan Tobin, Peggy Converse, Maude Wallace, Ross Elliot. Poor direction resulted in a blistering review. |
| 1950 | Light Up the Sky | Harry Ellerbe | Lee/Charlton | Jean Parker, Robert Lowery, Natalie Schafer, Roy Roberts, Carleton FitzGerald, Frances Bavier, Boyd Crawford, Tyler Rayburn, Kay Buckley |
| 1950 | The First Mrs. Fraser | Harry Ellerbe | Lee/Charlton | Jane Cowl, Reginald Mason, Ann Lee, Lewis Martin, Frances Bavier. |
| 1950 | For Love or Money | Harry Ellerbe | Lee/Charlton | John Loder, Natalie Schaffer, Sally Brophy, Frances Bavier, Steven Meyer. |
| 1950 | You Can't Take It with You | Harry Ellerbe | Lee/Charlton | Fred Stone, Dorothy Stone, Charles Collins, Frances Bavier, Lewis Martin, Kay Buckley, Zac George, Steven Meyer. |
| 1950 | Dream Girl | Frank Ross | Lee/Charlton | Joan Caulfield, Don Porter, Hayden Rorke, Richard Webb, Frances Bavier, Kay Buckley, Lewis Martin. |
| 1950 | My Sister Eileen | Margaret Perry | Lee/Charlton | Una Merkel, Vince Barnett, Kay Buckley, Naomi Stevens, Steven Meyer. |
| 1950 | Strange Bedfellows | Margaret Perry | Lee/Charlton | Frances Bavier, Sally Brophy, Lewis Martin, Natalie Schafer, Steven Meyer, John Ong, Donnie Smelick. |
| 1950 | Harvey | Margaret Perry | Lee/Charlton | Brock Pemberton, Frances Bavier, Sally Brophy, Lewis Martin, Steven Meyer, Natalie Schafer. |
| 1950 | Let Us Be Gay | Margaret Perry | Lee/Charlton | Kay Francis, Joel Ashley, Frances Bavier, Sally Brophy, Lewis Martin, Natalie Schafer. |
| 1950 | The Glass Menagerie | Margaret Perry | Lee/Charlton | Robert Walker, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, Margaret Wycherly. |
| 1951 | O Mistress Mine | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | |
| 1951 | The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | Susan Peters |
| 1951 | Detective Story | William Schorr | Lee/Charlton | Kirk Douglas, Peggy Webber, Allen Jenkins, Sandra Gould, Tony Caruso, Sidney Miller. |
| 1951 | The Voice of the Turtle | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | Mel Ferrer, Diana Lynn, Ann Lee. |
| 1951 | Dinner at Eight | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | Cesar Romero, Helen Walker, Rhys Williams, Don Beddoe, Chick Chandler, Lela Bliss, Ruthelma Stevens, Lillian Bronson, Joan Vohs, Walter Coy, Ruth Lee. |
| 1951 | Post Road | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | ZaSu Pitts, Don Beddoe, Ruth Lee, Harris Brown, Thayer Roberts, Lynne Gray. |
| 1951 | Anything Goes | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | Benay Venuta, Fred Clark, Dick Elliott, Bert Easley, Lee Kerry, Don Kaylor, Russ Black. |
| 1951 | Made in Heaven | Arthur Sircom | Lee/Charlton | Richard Arlen, Ruth Warrick, Ruth Lee, Tookie Hunter, Thayer Roberts. |
| 1951 | Goodbye, My Fancy | Dick Irving | Lee/Charlton | Nancy Carroll, Cameron Mitchell, Ruth Lee, Rita Riggs. |
| 1951 | Sailor, Beware! | Richard Charlton | Lee/Charlton | Mickey Rooney, Tom Neal, Jimmy Cross, Thayer Roberts, Claude Stroud, Jane Nigh. |
| 1952 | Affairs of State | Demetrios Vilan | Lee/Charlton | Bonita Granville, Charles Meredith, Edgar Buchanan, Gordon Oliver, Ann Doran. |
| 1952 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Paul Guilfoyle | Lee/Charlton | Maria Palmer, Alan Dreeben, Sally Brophy. |
| 1952 | Seventh Heaven | Paul Guilfoyle | Lee/Charlton | John Ireland, Joanne Dru, Norman Budd, Alan Dreeben, Vicki Raaf. |
| 1952 | The Skin of Our Teeth | Paul Guilfoyle | Lee/Charlton | Betty Field, Cora Witherspoon, James Dobson, Jacqueline Paige, John O'Connor |
| 1952 | Season in the Sun | Paul Guilfoyle | Lee/Charlton | Nancy Kelly, Walter Coy, John O'Conner, Jacqueline Paige, Don Porter, Harris Brown, Peggy Converse, Cora Witherspoon. |
| 1952 | Come Back Little Sheba | Paul Guilfoyle | Lee/Charlton | Una Merkel, John O'Connor, Ann Chatin, Bill Amador, John Dutra, Harris Brown, John Gobias |
| 1952 | The Happy Time | George Somnes | Lee/Charlton | Reginald Gardiner, Frances Dee, Maria Palmer, Lloyd Corrigan, Richard Vath, Ruth Lee, Joe E. Marks |
| 1952 | Lady in the Dark | Walter Coy Ann Lee | Lee/Charlton | Norma Terris, Ann Lee, Walter Coy, Allan Nixon, John O'Connor, Bert Tanswell, Jacqueline Paige |
| 1952 | Ramshackle Inn | Jonathan Seymour | Lee/Charlton | ZaSu Pitts, Howard Erskine, Harris Brown, Ann Chatin, John O'Connor. |
| 1952 | The Little Foxes | Jonathan Seymour | Lee/Charlton | Ruth Chatterton, Walter Coy, Grandon Rhodes, Jacqueline Paige, Pat Wray, John Kuhl, John O'Connor, Betty Cole, Nathaniel Robinson. |
| 1952 | The Cocktail Party | | Lee/Charlton | Only Vincent Price and Sally Brophy emerged unscathed. The reviewer was not pleased with other cast members, chose not to name them, but credited the prompter with having the most spoken lines on opening night. |
| 1953 | Life with Mother | Demetrios Vilan | Lee/Charlton | Billie Burke, Carl Benton Reid, Lillian Culver. |
| 1953 | The Moon Is Blue | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Edward Ashley, Betty Lynn, Mark Miller |
| 1953 | Petticoat Fever | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | William Eythe, Anne Kimbell, Arthur Gould-Porter, Eve Miller, Nicholas Colasanto. |
| 1953 | Burlesque | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Robert Lowery, Jean Parker, Edgar Buchanan, Gale Sherwood, James Warren, Jimmy Conlin, Dorothy Kane. |
| 1953 | The Corn Is Green | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Ann Harding, Douglas Dick, Lewis Russell, Cora Witherspoon, June Northup. |
| 1953 | Hay Fever | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Miriam Hopkins, Wilton Graff, Ann Lee, Cora Witherspoon, Jacque Mercer, William Ching, George Nader. |
| 1953 | Bell, Book and Candle | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Victor Jory, Teresa Wright, Douglas Dick, Cora Witherspoon, Joseph Leon. |
| 1953 | Theatre | Dennis Allen | Lee/Charlton | Kay Francis, Lester Vail, Jesslyn Fax, Dennis Allen, Rose Hobart, Chester Matshall. |
| 1953 | Private Lives | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Gene Raymond, Ann Lee, Jacque Mercer, Mark Miller. |
| 1953 | Jason | Lester Vail | Lee/Charlton | Franchot Tone, Anne Kimbell, Kenneth Tobey, Cora Witherspoon, Thom Conroy, Paul Stephenson. |
| 1954 | Design for Living | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Sylvia Sidney, Gene Raymond, Cora Witherspoon, William Weaver, Thayer Roberts |
| 1954 | The Women | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Frances Dee, Joan Blair, Cora Witherspoon, Rose Hobart, Jean Perkinson, Lizz Slifer, Dorothy Patrick. |
| 1954 | Nina | William Weaver | Lee/Charlton | Edward Everett Horton, Ann Lee, Don Shelton, William Weaver. |
| 1954 | Suds in Your Eye | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Jane Darwell, Richard Jaeckel, Nancy Hale, Kasia Orzazewski, Cora Witherspoon. |
| 1954 | In Any Language | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Miriam Hopkins, Robert Lowery, George Givot, Jean Perkinson, Lynne Grey, Michael Ivor. |
| 1954 | Late Love | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Mary Astor, Ted Brenner, Cora Witherspoon, William Weaver, Sally Fraser, Gerald Masterson, Sonja Niel Anderson. |
| 1954 | Mister Roberts | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Don Taylor, Marshall Thompson, Barry Kelley, Lewis Martin, Del Tenney, Max Slaten, Alan Orrie, Loretta King. |
| 1954 | The Male Animal | William Weaver | Lee/Charlton | Buddy Ebsen, Robert Lowery, Kay Buckley, Del Tenney, Jack Jordan, Susie Oby, Gilbert Fallman. |
| 1954 | Goodbye Again | William Weaver | Lee/Charlton | Mercedes McCambridge, Kent Smith, Dan Tobin, Mary Lawrence, Jacque Mercer, Gerard Masterson. |
| 1954 | The Open Window | John O'Shaughnessy | Lee/Charlton | Victor Jory, Mary Anderson, Mary Wickes. |
| 1954 | Sabrina Fair | Morton DaCosta | Lee/Charlton | Diana Lynn, Wendell Corey, Estelle Winwood, Margaret Bannerman, Philip Tonge, Marshall Thompson, Lewis Martin. |
| 1955 | Oh, Men! Oh, Women! | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Terry Moore, Hayden Rorke, Sally Brophy, John Bryant, Jacque Mercer, James Dobson. |
| 1955 | Stalag 17 | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Tom Drake, Hugh O'Brian, Robert Strauss, John Banner, Rudolph Anders, John Bryant. |
| 1955 | I Am a Camera | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | John Ireland, Joanne Dru, Ann Spencer, Edit Angold, Tommy Noonan, Glaze Lohman, Riza Royce. |
| 1955 | My Three Angels | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Thomas Gomez, Henry Brandon, Liam Sullivan, Carl Harbord, Margaret Wells, Elinor Donahue, Lewis Martin, John Bryant. |
| 1955 | George Washington Slept Here | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Arthur Hunnicutt, Douglas Wood, Jim Backus, Elinor Donahue, Henny Backus, Mark Herron. |
| 1955 | Mother Was a Bachelor | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Billie Burke, Edgar Buchanan, Susan Seaforth, Alex J. Petrie, Tamar Cooper, Glase Lohman. |
| 1955 | Dial 'M' for Murder | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Douglass Montgomery, Lloyd Bridges, Maria Palmer, Sean McClory, Wilton Graff, Keith Donaldson. |
| 1955 | The Fourposter | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Constance Bennett, Tod Andrews. |
| 1955 | The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Steve Brodie, Paul Stewart, Wendell Corey, Robert Anderson, Fay Roope, Gerald Masterson. |
| 1955 | Picnic | Charles K. Freeman | Lee/Charlton | Scott Brady, Georgiana Carter, Elinor Donahue, Alice Drake, Cora Witherspoon, Carol Hill, Howard Bevans. |
| 1955 | Liliom | Benno Schneider | Lee/Charlton | Arlene Dahl, Fernando Lamas, Benay Venuta, Cora Witherspoon, Jay Novello. |
| 1956 | No Time for Comedy | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Sarah Churchill, Oliver Cliff, Katharine Bard, Hayden Rorke, Susie Oby, Richard Lupino, Richard Curley. |
| 1956 | The Solid Gold Cadillac | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | ZaSu Pitts, Roy Roberts, Hayden Rorke, Oliver Cliff, John Marchal, Burt Mustin, June Taylor, Meredith Harless, Ethel Hinton. |
| 1956 | The Fifth Season | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Leo Fuchs, Oliver Cliff, Sara Shane, Jody McCrea, Jacque Mercer, Ann Spencer, Mary Lawrence, Robert E. Perry, Philip Moore. |
| 1956 | The White Sheep of the Family | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Edward Everett Horton, Laura La Plante, Jane Urban, Oliver Cliff, Ann Spencer, Sara Shane, Philip Moore, Bill Hughes, Michael Ivor. |
| 1956 | A Room Full of Roses | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Linda Darnell, Ann Lee, Gayle Ann Edlund, Oliver Cliff, Barry Truex, Joanne Goldwater, William Hughes, Maidie Norman. |
| 1956 | Anastasia | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Oliver Cliff, John Banner, Blanche Yurka, William Hughes. |
| 1956 | The Seven Year Itch | Don Taylor | Lee/Charlton | Anne Kimball, Don Taylor, Oliver Cliff, Dan Harden, Anne Merryweather, Milou McNamera. |
| 1956 | Jenny Kissed Me | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Rudy Vallée, Maudie Prickett, Eilene Janssen, Oliver Cliff, Leonard Shoemaker, Lucille B. Smith, Michael West. |
| 1956 | The Rainmaker | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Tom Drake, Sally Brophy, James Dobson. |
| 1956 | Too Many Husbands | Robert E. Perry | Lee/Charlton | Ann Lee, Phillip Reed, Oliver Cliff, Douglas Wood, Shirley Massey, Helene Haigh, Adele Neff, Leonard Carey. |
| 1956 | The Desk Set | William Spier | Lee/Charlton | June Havoc, Lee Patrick, Edna Skinner, Oliver Cliff, Don Shelton, Loretta King, Philip Moore. |
| 1957 | The Little Hut | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Leon Ames, Joan Tetzel, Oliver Cliff. |
| 1957 | The Sleeping Prince | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Hermione Gingold, Francis Lederer, Ann Kimball, Richard Striker, David Lewis, Barbara Morrison, Hilda Plowright, Luana Anders. |
| 1957 | Tiger at the Gates | Harold Kennedy | Richard Charlton | Robert Ryan, John Ireland, Marilyn Erskine, Ray Danton, Mary Astor, Howard Wendell, Peg LaCentra, Marianne Stewart, Milton Parsons. |
| 1957 | Anniversary Waltz | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Sylvia Sidney, Oliver Cliff, Robert E. Perry, Edith Case, Joey Santana, Jody Johnston, William Tregoe, Barbara Davis, Maidie Norman. |
| 1957 | The Tender Trap | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Ann Lee, Oliver Cliff, Joan Hovis, Philip Reed, C. J. Miller, Joel Marston, Nancy Fichet, Carl Anderson. |
| 1957 | King of Hearts | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Brian Donlevy, Betty Lynn, James Dobson, Maidie Norman, Ricky Keene. |
| 1957 | The Chalk Garden | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Philip Tonge, William Allyn, Denise Alexander, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Lucille Smith, Grace Etchen. |
| 1957 | The Reluctant Debutante | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Edward Everett Horton, Olive Blakeney, Susan Luckey, Paul Stickles, Michael Hall, Helene Heigh, Lynne Erzinger. |
| 1957 | The Old Lady Shows Her Medals | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Gracie Fields, Biff McQuire, Fred Cahill, Kit Pedler, Olga Rogers, Marion Fernandez. Fields sang songs to supplement this hour-long one-act play. |
| 1957 | Janus | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Imogene Coca, Jules Munshin, Oliver Cliff, Mary Mace, Robert E. Perry. |
| 1957 | Witness for the Prosecution | Luther Kennett | Richard Charlton | Geoffrey Lumb, Jorja Curtwright, Oliver Cliff, Chester Stratton, Milton Parsons, Margaret Brewster, Robert E. Perry. |
| 1957 | Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? | Luther Kennett | Richard Charlton | Wally Cox, Carol Kelly, Herb Vigran, Seth Fitchet, Carl Betz, Robert E. Perry, Jean Hopkins, Keith Watson. |
| 1957 | Glad Tidings | Robert E. Perry | Richard Charlton | Faye Emerson, Murray Matheson, Shirley Mitchell, Marion Fernandez, Keith Watson, Kay Crum, Robert E. Perry, Anthony Rich. |
| Fall 1957 | An Evening with Noel Coward | Paul Godkin | Ruth Burch Russell B. Orton | Sarah Churchill, John Archer. |
| Fall 1957 | At Home with Ethel Waters | | Richard Charlton | Ethel Waters, Reginald Beane (accompanist). This was an all-musical program of songs. |
| Fall 1957 | The Great Sebastians | Harry Ellerbe | Richard Charlton | Imogene Coca, Jules Munshin, Kurt Katch, Donald Freed. |
| 1958 | Blithe Spirit | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Eva Gabor, Peter Forster, June Taylor, Katherine Squire, Elizabeth Barber, George Mitchell, Maurine Cookson. |
| 1958 | You Can't Take It with You | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Charles Coburn, Katherine Squire, Chris Gordon, Ann Daniels, Anthony C. Rich, Gerri Solomon, George Pembrook, Peter Forster, Jim Hurley. |
| 1958 | Claudia | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Terry Moore, Carl Betz, Beverly Bayne, Katherine Squire, George Mitchell, Peter Forster, Elizabeth Talbot-Martin, Maurine Cookson. |
| 1958 | Three Men on a Horse | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Buster Keaton, Chris Gordon, Bob Aden, Jim Hurley, George Mitchell, Katherine Squire. |
| 1958 | Separate Tables | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Signe Hasso, Don Porter, Maurine Cookson. |
| 1958 | Bus Stop | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Marie Wilson, Robert Gist, Maurine Cookson, Wilton Graff, James Hurley, Sally Fraser, George Mitchell, Bob Aden. |
| 1958 | Holiday for Lovers | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Richard Arlen, Holly Harris, Gail Ganley, Ann Daniels, Katherine Squire, Anthony C. Rich, Henri Berchard, George Mitchell, Jeanne Clark. |
| 1958 | Duke Ellington | | Richard Charlton | Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Ozzie Baily, James Truitt, Lester Horton Dancers. An all-musical concert with songs and dancing. |
| 1958 | Inherit the Wind | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Sidney Blackmer, Coleman Francis, Anthony C. Rich, Joe Flynn, Bob Pollard, George Mitchell, Ann Daniels, Katherine Squire. |
| 1958 | The Time of the Cuckoo | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Miriam Hopkins, Stephen Bekassy, Brett Halsey, Ann Daniels, Maurine Cookson, George Mitchell, Karerine Squire, Bobby Swindle, Mel Stevens Jr. |
| 1958 | Laura | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Diana Barrymore, Anthony Eustrel, Dean Harens, Clement Brace, Anthony C. Rich, Maurine Cookson, Katherine Squire, Keith Watson. |
| 1958 | The Silver Whistle | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Burgess Meredith, Katherine Squire, Hope Summers, Lynn Bernay, Oliver Cliff, Maurine Cookson, Jeanne Clarke. |

### 1959-1968, 1976

| Year | Play | Director | Producer | Leading Cast and Notes |
| 1959 | Kind Sir | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, Maurine Cookson, Earle MacVeigh, Gail Hillson, Alex Petrie. |
| 1959 | Jane | Ramsey Burch | Richard Charlton | Ruth Chatterton, Wilton Graff, John Ward, King Moody, Sally Fraser, Maurine Cookson, Earle MacVeigh. |
| 1959 | The Happiest Millionaire | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Walter Pidgeon, Sue Randall, Maurine Cookson, Ed Caldwell, Earle MacVeigh, King Moody, Ken Boyer, Paul Jasmin, Jay Fineberg. |
| 1959 | The Boy Friend | Gus Schirmer Jr. | The New Process Company | Barbara Ruick, Holly Harris, Sharon Randall, Bill Mullikin, Roy Fitzell, June Squibb, Lydia Stevens. |
| 1959 | Happy Birthday | Ramsey Burch | Richard Charlton | Joan Blondell, Oliver Cliff, Maurine Cookson, Earle MacVeigh, Ed Caldwell, Cheerio Meredith, Dodie Baurer, Perry Ivins, Roberta Blalock. |
| 1959 | The Bad Seed | Ramsey Burch | Richard Charlton | Jan Sterling, Patty Ann Gerrity, King Moody, Louise Lorimer, Robert Aden, Harvey Stephens, Jean Wood, Oliver Cliff. |
| 1959 | Dear Liar | Jerome Kilty | Guthrie McClintic Sol Hurok | Katharine Cornell, Brian Aherne. This was the world premiere for this original production. |
| 1959 | Fallen Angels | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Nancy Walker, Margaret Phillips, Oliver Cliff, Molly Roden, Earle MacVeigh, King Moody. |
| 1959 | Not in the Book | Richard Bender | Gilbert Miller | Edward Everett Horton, Reginald Owen, Renee Gadd, Ralph Purdom, Claude Horton, Herbert Voland, John Irving, Lawrence Berger. |
| 1959 | Diary of Ann Frank | Francis Lederer | Richard Charlton | Francis Lederer, Denise Alexander, Maurine Cookson, Janet Brandt, Jack Hamel, Carla Hoffman, Jay Adler. |
| 1960 | The Late Christopher Bean | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Shirley Booth, Don Beddoe, Jacklyn O'Donnell, Maurine Cookson, Carolee Campbell, Robert Curtis, Eric Sinclair, Jay Jostyn. |
| 1960 | A View from the Bridge | Luther Adler | Richard Charlton | Luther Adler, Alan Mixon, Kathleen Widdoes, Mary James, Paul Haney |
| 1960 | The Cherry Orchard | Daniel Petrie | Richard Charlton | Helen Hayes, John Abbott, Tom Clancy, Peggy McCay, Ronald Long, Woodrow Parfrey, Cathy Willard, John Colicos. |
| 1960 | The Girls in 509 | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Fay Bainter, Ann B. Davis, Lynn Shubert, Joseph Holland, Burt Mustin, Jack Welles, Maurine Cookson, Fred Cahill. |
| 1960 | Biography | Luther Kennett | Richard Charlton | Faye Emerson, Michael Sivy, Sol Frieder, Larry Bockius, Harry Mehaffey, Ann Folger, Jean Cameron, Keith Harrington. |
| 1960 | Who Was That Lady I Saw You With? | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Wendell Corey, Hugh Marlowe, Phyllis Avery, Jerome Cowan, Ted Knight, Roy Sorrells, Maurine Cookson. |
| 1960 | Once More, with Feeling! | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | June Havoc, Roy Roberts, Oliver Cliff, Don Shelton, Sam Hearn, Howard Wendell, Paul Hudson, William Pullen. |
| 1960 | Tonight at the Opera | Val Rosing | Richard Charlton | Kathryn Grayson, David Poleri, Jean Cook, Gilbert Russell. Selection of arias from seven grand operas, with chorus and orchestra. |
| 1960 | Father of the Bride | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Joe E. Brown, Olive Sturgess, Maurine Cookson, John Craig, Dayton Osmond, Julie Sommars, James Stapleton, Malcolm Cassell. |
| 1960 | Two for the Seesaw | | Richard Charlton | Ruth Roman, Hugh Marlowe. The reviewer praised the acting but criticized long curtains between acts. |
| 1960 | The Pleasure of His Company | Oliver Cliff | Richard Charlton | Francis Lederer, Vivian Vance, John Emery, Lori Nelson, Lewis Martin, Robert Gothie, Robert Kino. |
| 1961 | Candida | Guthrie McClintic | Richard Charlton | Jane Wyatt, Gene Raymond, Reginald Denny, Burt Brinckerhoff, Richard Grant, Maurine Cookson. |
| 1961 | The Marriage-Go-Round | Warren Enters | Richard Charlton | Hugh Marlowe, Constance Bennett, Anna-Lisa, Tom Palmer. |
| 1961 | The World of Suzie Wong | Aaron Frankel | Richard Charlton | Lani Miyazaki, Jack Ryland, Alan Marshal, Victor Sen Yung, Harvey Stephens, Sally Fraser, Joe Wong, Chuck Lee, Jack Song, Tiko Ling, Judy Wong, Linda Ho. |
| 1962 | | | | |
| 1963 | | | | |
| 1964 | | | | |
| 1965 | Absence for a Cello | Charles Olsen | | Hans Conried, Florida Friebus, Dolores Michaels, Nydia Westman, William Christopher, Julie Parrish, Dennis Patrick. |
| 1965 | Mary, Mary | Wayne Carson | | Julia Meade, Scott McKay, Edward Mulhare, Irene Kane, Clinton Sundberg. |
| 1965 | Never Too Late | George Abbott | | Milton Berle, Joy Hodges, Donna Jean, Anthony Roberts, Douglas Rutherford, Kay Elliot |
| 1966 | | | | |
| 1967 | | | | |
| 1968 | Generation | Robert Cummings | Guy S. Little Jr | Robert Cummings, Howard Platt, Pamela Shoop, Jerry Hausner, Bob Osborne, David Rosenbaum. |
| 1968 | Everybody's Girl | | Guy S. Little Jr | Vivian Vance, Michael Quinlivan, Kay Frye, Hub Henderson |
| 1968 | The Fantasticks | William Francisco | Guy S. Little Jr | Howard Keel, Susan Watson, Jack Blackton, Dean Dittman, Gwyllum Evans, Lionel Wilson, Edward Garrabrandt, Don Miller. |
| 1968 | The Odd Couple | Ernest D. Glucksman | Guy S. Little Jr | Jesse White, Ray Walston, Arthur Hanson, Louis Guss, Benjamin Stone, Patrick Campbell, Marci Mann, Carol Thomas. |
| 1968 | Glad Tidings | Leslie B. Cutler | Guy S. Little Jr | Ann Sothern, John Himes, Eve McVeagh, Elizabeth Kerr, Anne Archer, Tom Basham Jr., Arthur Hanson, Elizabeth Lee, William Hudnut. |
| 1968 | The Owl and the Pussycat | | Guy S. Little Jr | Pat Suzuki, Robert Reed. Reed replaced an actor who broke his leg during rehearsal. |
| 1968 | The Guardsman | Christopher Hewitt | Guy S. Little Jr | Kathryn Crosby, Edward Mulhare, Ronald Drake, Lucy Landau, Norma Doggett, Tom Bate, Grace Etchen. |
| 1968 | The Torch-Bearers | George Kelly | Guy S. Little Jr | Cornelia Otis Skinner, Mildred Natwick, Joe Flynn, Marion Moses. The then 81-year-old Kelly directed his own play. |
| 1976 | Sleuth | | Richard Charlton | Michael Allinson, Jordan Christopher. |