The newly revamped and rededicated Julia Miles Theater began its illustrious history as a church built in 1898. It was occupied by the First Evangelical United Brethren Church for 64 years, and then converted by architect Louis Gardner and stage designer Hugh Hardy into Theater 4.
The Negro Ensemble Company purchased Theater 4 in the 1970s, producing the Pulitzer Prize winning A Soldier’s Play and the critically acclaimed, Zooman & the Sign, among many other groundbreaking works.Manhattan Theatre Club made Theater 4 its home for Brian Friel’s The Aristocrats. The Blue Light Theater Company revived The Seagull, with a new translation by Stoppard, and mounted the hilarious Filumena: A Marriage Italian Style by Eduardo DeFilippo and Amazing Grace by Michael Cristofer at Theater 4. Countless famous names have appeared on these boards, including Kevin Kline, Denzel Washington, Mary Alice, Giancarlo Esposito, and Marsha Mason. Women’s Project purchased the theater in 1998, providing a permanent home for the organization. In October 2004, the theater was renamed the Julia Miles Theater, after its visionary founder, and its stage was christened the Sallie Bingham Stage, after its longtime generous benefactor. Tweleve extraordinary years later, Women’s Project remains the only women’s theater company to hold the keys to its own stage.
Above: Rachel Axler's SMUDGE, directed by Pam MacKinnon, with Greg Keller (left) and Brian Sgambati (right). Photo by Carol Rosegg (January 2010). Photo of Julia Miles Theater exterior (top of page) by Ayhan Kimsesizcan (May 2010). |
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Opening with David Ross’s production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, this space housed a wide variety of productions beginning with the controversial and groundbreaking hit play, Boys in the Band, running for 2 1/2 years. Tom Stoppard’s double bill of The Real Inspector Hound and After Magritte followed, enjoying a successful 465 performances. 
