1996
In September of 1996, ACT officially opened its new home in downtown Seattle.
After a $30 million makeover, Kreielsheimer Place made its debut to the public at ACT’s opening night. The elegance and beauty of the historic Eagles Auditorium was rediscovered after years of neglect and abandonment.
The Eagles Auditorium was renamed Kreielsheimer Place, after Leo Kreielsheimer and the Seattle-based Kreielsheimer Foundation, which has dedicated more than $30 million in gifts over the past 25 years to local arts groups. The building’s renovation signaled the beginning of a renaissance in the Pike/Pine area of downtown Seattle. Today, the once rundown landmark building shines as a thriving cultural center with four performance spaces, administrative offices, rehearsal spaces, and scene and costume shops.
1997
In 1997, Gordon Edelstein joined up with ACT as artistic director.
Gordon Edelstein, an east coast director, was appointed artistic director of ACT in September, 1997. He had spent the previous seven years working as the associate artistic director of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, where he spearheaded efforts to commission and present new works.
“I intend to welcome into this beautiful new home the very best of theatre artists from around the country to collaborate with the Seattle-based artists,” Edelstein said in 1997. “I would like to create a situation where new writers can thrive and we as an institution can support their work. I have a deep commitment to finding ways to dramatize the diversity of our culture. For far too long our theatres have been dominated by voices from the same pool.”
2003
In April of 2003, Kurt Beattie was named artistic director as ACT entered an era of stabilization.
January of 2003 brought the news that ACT, like many not-for-profit arts organizations, was facing a staggering deficit that threatened the company’s future.
During that time, then-associate director Kurt Beattie began planning the hoped-for season. When the news was released that through the generosity of a very large number of people, locally and nationally, the funds had been secured and the season would open in July, the board unanimously appointed Beattie artistic director and Susan Trapnell, ACT’s managing director from 1982 to 2000, returning managing director.
Announcing his first season as artistic head, Beattie said, “We need to build a new theatre out of the ashes of the old, and not just a refashioned, cut-down version of what we had last year. It’s a great opportunity and I’m totally excited by it.” Beattie’s focus remains true to ACT’s mission of presenting great contemporary stories told through the voices of the uniquely talented community of Seattle’s actors, designers and artisans.
As the astonishing 2003 season ended, ACT was able to report that not only had the artistic achievements been staggering, but that the theatre had closed “in the black” for the first time in years. ACT was able to pay off all its vendors and one half of its credit line to the bank. The 2003 season will always be remembered as the “miracle season” at ACT.
With confidence, humility and gratitude, Beattie announced the 2004 season, ACT’s 40th anniversary season; the return of the Flying Karamazov Brothers; and the beginning of “Winter Thrills,” a series of mysteries, ghost stories, and fun entertainment for audiences of all ages.
To date, ACT has staged more than 80 contemporary plays at Kreielsheimer Place.
Contemporary playwrights whose work has been performed at the new location include Caryl Churchill, Christopher Durang, Philip Glass, David Hare, Elizabeth Heffron, Michelle Lowe, Donald Margulies, Steve Martin, Martin McDonagh, Becky Mode, Todd Jefferson Moore, Randy Newman, Joyce Carol Oates, Dael Orlandersmith, Theresa Rebeck, Wallace Shawn, Claudia Shear, Neil Simon, Stephen Sondheim, Lydia Stryk, Alice Tuan and Lanford Wilson.