Bucks County Playhouse

For the second time in its two hundred year history the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA has been saved.

The building had come under foreclosure earlier this year. An unsuccessful sheriff's sale led to a grass-roots campaign to save the building.

The theater, close to the Delaware River, houses 450 seats and was originally built as a grist mill in the 1790's. Back in 1939, the building was saved the first time and converted into a theater.

This time a new nonprofit called the Bucks County Playhouse Conservancy is raising funds to remodel and re-open it by summer 2011.

"The list of actors and actresses that have appeared at Bucks County Playhouse is impressive. Kim Hunter, Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Sara Seegar, Lillian Gish, June Lockhart, Frances Reid, Peggy McCay, Grace Kelly, Bonnie Franklin, Kaye Ballard and Sandy Dennis have all appeared in performances. A list of actors includes Farley Granger, Robert Redford, Paul Lynde, Kevin McCarthy, Bert Lahr, Leslie Nielsen, Jack Klugman, Gale Gordon, Roddy McDowell, Walter Matthau, Merv Griffin and Larry Hagman.

In its 1960s heyday it was a place for Broadway and Hollywood actors to perform in summer stock.

"The entire theater community was aghast at the idea of permanently losing this legendary venue," said Jed Bernstein, producer of "Driving Miss Daisy" on Broadway and a lead figure in the preservation effort."

Official Website