Brown County Playhouse
Old and New Beginnings
A Some IU student players from the 1950s.
24 Our Brown County March/April 2022
~by Julia Pearson
prominent mainstay of the area’s artscape is the Brown County Playhouse. Following World War II, it was the first summer stock theater in Indiana, and became one of the longestrunning professional summer stocks in the Midwest. It brought well-known seasoned actors from around the country and served as a training ground for student actors, directors, and designers. A non-profit “strawhat” theater, the Playhouse was built on property donated by Brown County businessman, Jack Rogers, who also financed the initial construction. Indiana University Theatre director, Lee Norville, agreed to oversee productions from the Bloomington campus, where the company was comprised of drama students and provided the workshop where scenery was built. In the early days, company players jumped into the open back of a truck and traveled the 16 miles on Route 46 to Nashville where their enthusiastic audiences awaited. In time, red and white vans provided transportation for the company. The first Playhouse was a barn structure with a proscenium opening 26 feet wide. The stage was 39 feet wide, 32 feet deep and was overtop the dressing rooms. It remained unchanged for 28 years. When summer cloudbursts caused damp floors in the dressing rooms, costumes were hung on the walls to prevent water damage. A tent sheltered seating for an audience of 300. It was replaced with a tin roof when the tent kept falling victim to sparks from a nearby potter’s kiln resulting in charred holes. Restroom facilities were available at the Nashville House across the street until 1965, when a new restroom and roof extensions for 200 more seats were built.
