Photos: Plays & Players house; street facade Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Accessibility notice: Unfortunately, our historic building does not have an elevator. Limited wheelchair seating is available in the mainstage. No wheelchair accessible restrooms.
Now & coming soon
On our stages
Productions in the next six weeks, with posters, dates, and a ticket link. The calendar below has every night in the house.
Pick a month, then scan the nights below. Filter by productions, readings, or special events.
Venue
Our historic home
1714 Delancey Place. Two theatres, a private club, and a basement gallery. Click a room for the tour.
Mainstage
Jewel-box proscenium with balcony, Emerson murals, and about 296 seats. Limited wheelchair seating in the orchestra. Stairs to balcony and basement.
Theatre rentals
One house, three spaces
Whether you want the jewel-box Mainstage, the Skinner Studio black box, or Quig’s Pub, we have a space for your next event.
Mainstage
296 capacity including balcony, across the 1st, 2nd, and basement levels. Proscenium, repertory lighting and sound, full stage black, three sets of legs, hangable cyc, dressing rooms for 10. Limited wheelchair seating in the orchestra.
Skinner Studio
55 seats on risers, 3rd floor. Dressing room for 4, repertory lighting and sound. Stairs only. Next to Quig’s and third-floor restrooms.
Quig’s Pub
28 seated. Members have priority for small performances and private events. Stairs only.
Our rates are based on a sliding scale.
Mainstage rentals start at $1,200/night*
Skinner Studio rentals start at $300/night*
Quig’s Pub varies based on event
Active Plays & Players members, local non-profits, and education or community organizations are provided discounted rates. More complex rentals may incur higher rates. Hourly and weekly rates are also available based on the scale of the rental request.
*Rental rates subject to change at the discretion of the P&P Board of Directors
What events do we allow / not allow?
Plays & Players is open to a wide variety of rental events from concerts to traditional plays, from film screenings to comedy shows — if it’s live entertainment we’re likely to allow it. We’ve also hosted a smattering of film shoots, fundraisers, workshops, and even a couple summer camps. Personal events such as birthdays, anniversaries, and reunions are limited to longtime members of our Plays & Players community.
We do not offer wedding rentals at this time.
What does my rental include / not include?
Plays & Players can be considered a “four-wall” rental. Both performance spaces include modest lighting and sound packages suitable for most one-day rentals. Our current packages do not include LED lighting; everything is incandescent and not-colored. We provide one Plays & Players representative (our venue supervisor) to provide information and handle any venue related issues that may arise on the day of your event.
Renters are responsible for providing stage crew and box office services and staff.
Private club
Quig’s Pub
The theatre’s members’ bar on the third floor, beside Skinner Studio. Jazz, $5 comedy, open mics, craft nights, and a drink before or after most shows. Named club nights include the Hooley, Spookeasy, and Burns Night.
Typical hours: Tuesday–Saturday, about 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Ring the bell for entry. Stairs only. Third-floor restrooms.
Every member gets Quig’s, the monthly social-club newsletter, and invites. The Social Committee reviews applications monthly.
$50/yr
Social
Quig’s access, discounted entry to public club nights (Hooley, Spookeasy, Burns Night, and more), member-only invites, and the digital newsletter.
$100/yr
Artistic
Built for working artists: one free 8-hour Skinner day, rental discounts, Melissa Lynch Library for meetings, voting rights, plus all Social perks — including free entry to public club events.
$250/yr
Cornerstone
Two comps to Plays & Players opening nights, program listing, Fancy on Delancey early bird, rental discounts, voting rights, and all Social perks with free club-night entry.
We’re raising $25,000 to renew the marquee. The original glass-and-steel work was replaced with the current wooden structure in the late 1960s or early 1970s. It has been painted and patched for decades; wood is not meant to last forever. This season’s campaign is toward a near-replacement.
Plans are being drafted for release in early 2027, with construction once the goal is met. A portion of Plays & Players event and performance sales goes to the fund. Gifts also keep more than 15 visiting companies and dozens of independent artists in the house at affordable rates.
$5 a lightbulb
$15 a box of screws
$30 a gallon of paint
$60 a sheet of plywood
$120 a roll of roofing
$300 a day’s labor
Tax-deductible 501(c)(3), TIN 23-0979585. To give in honor or in memory of someone, include their name with your gift.
Gently used lights, mics, and soft goods are welcome. Costumes, props, and scenery case by case. No books (the library is full) and no instruments. Email to usher, check guests in, or help around the house.
Plays & Players Theatre is a membership collective of theatre artists and enthusiasts dedicated to producing innovative theatre, engaging diverse audiences, nurturing local talent, and preserving our historic landmark home for future generations.
Our History
Plays & Players began in 1911 as a social club devoted to expanding and developing new theatre experiences for and by its membership. The first President, Maud Durbin Skinner, was the wife of the famed American actor Otis Skinner. This building has been our home since 1911.
The Plays & Players Theatre, then called the “Little Theatre of Philadelphia,” was designed by architect Amos W. Barnes and first opened its doors in 1913. The theatre was founded by Beulah E. Jay and her husband, Edward G. Jay, Jr., with the assistance of acquaintance F.H. Shelton, in an effort to produce “American plays of ideas,” an underrepresented genre at the time.
A competition was held in 1918 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to determine who would create the murals for the auditorium. Edith Emerson, a student of Violet Oakley, was the winner. The panels depict the classical myth of Ariadne and Dionysos.
Plays & Players Theatre was the site of the First Korean Congress, from April 14–16, 1919, in support of Korean independence from Japan.
Plays & Players purchased the theatre in 1922. Since 1911 the company has produced innumerable notable performances — among them the world premiere of the acclaimed Broadway play Stalag 17 in 1949 and a childhood performance by actor Kevin Bacon in A Member of the Wedding in 1974. The first season of Plays & Players included An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde and The Learned Ladies by Molière, both still popular plays today.
In the 1960s, Plays & Players decided to grow from being a members-only performing club to an all-inclusive one. They opened their productions to the entire community. In the 1970s, the Plays & Players Children’s Theatre was added to its busy schedule.
On March 14, 1973, Plays & Players Theatre was entered in the National Register of Historic Places. Over the course of the twentieth century, Plays & Players expanded its repertoire beyond community theatre to include workshops and classes for theatre artists.
From the mid 1980s to the mid 2000s, Plays & Players Theatre was best known as the home of Philadelphia Theater Company, which produced Broadway-bound productions, including the World Premiere of Terrence McNally’s Master Class, which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Play.
In 2009, Plays & Players became a coalition of artists and members working in this house — producing, hosting visiting companies, and keeping the landmark in use.
Our growing membership enjoys using P&P’s spaces, such as the popular Quig’s Pub, as a gathering place for local artists. Plays & Players has become the home for 1812 Productions and also hosts a variety of other new and established rental groups throughout the season.
Maud Durbin Skinner, first president, 1911.The First Korean Congress met here April 14–16, 1919.The house and its history, still in use.Work on the Mainstage.1919: the First Korean Congress, when this building was the Little Theatre.Edith Emerson’s Ariadne and Dionysos murals, 1918.
