president had been to Gadsby’s Tavern since Andrew Jackson. president visited LTA and the first time a U.S. The first presidential visit was President Harry Truman and his wife, Bess, who came to a Gadsby’s Tavern production in 1947. LTA produced its first musical, The Boyfriend, opening the door to over 60 years of musicals and plays at the new location. ![]() The first performance at 600 Wolfe Street took place in November 1961 with Send Me No Flowers. In November 1960, ground was officially broken on the structure – once a vacant lot used by neighborhood children for pick-up games of softball and kickball. Legend has it that the beautiful wrought iron gates enclosing the garden courtyard are from either the Truman White House or Old Executive Building – a mystery the theater is researching. Asaph Streets to construct a permanent structure. In 1957 the Alexandria City Council granted the group a property lease at the corner of Wolfe and St. Once performances were opened to the public, the LTA mounted productions in Gadsby’s Tavern, Carlyle House, and during the war years at the Alexandria Cameron Street USO Center. For the rest of the first year, one-act plays were interspersed with full-length plays, some recent Broadway hits. Initially, the Lyceum was the primary staging point for the theatre. The following year they incorporated as The Little Theatre of Alexandria, premiering with Holiday by Phillip Barry, which was performed at The Lyceum Hall for two consecutive nights. ![]() ![]() Formerly known as the Peacock Players, the 200-person strong membership met several times at Gadsby’s Tavern to plan three one-act plays. In 1934, inspired by a community theater in Lynchburg, VA, Alexandria resident Mary Lindsey mounted LTA’s first production at the height of the Great Depression by inviting a drama group through St. With help from the theater’s historian Kim Smith-Salmon and LTA President Frank Shutts, we dug into the archives to reveal the history of the small yet mighty theater that continues providing an extraordinary contribution to the arts in Alexandria. This year alone the theater earned a whopping 58 nominations from the Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH Awards). Support Good News Journalism, Subscribe >
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