Bucks County Playhouse

Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the 13th anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 80,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler took the helm of the Playhouse, and it has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of “Company” starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named by Wall Street Journal to its “Best of Theatre” list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of “42nd Street” and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse “one of the best regional theaters on the East coast.” Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” directed by Marsha Mason, “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42nd Street,” and “Guys & Dolls” (all directed by Hunter Foster) and “Mamma Mia!” directed by John Tartaglia and choreographed by Shannon Lewis. The 2023 season was the brightest yet, featuring hit productions of Jonathan Larsen’s “Tick, Tick Boom” directed by Eric Rosen, “Bridges of Madison County” directed by Hunter Foster, who also led “The Rocky Horror Show” starring Frankie Grande. “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” became the top-selling show in Playhouse history. In 2024, more than 40% of the audience was new — flocking to record-breaking productions of “Grease!” and “Anastasia: The Musical.” The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.