HISTORY  -  MISSION STATEMENT   -  STAFF

ABOUT THE CALDWELL THEATRE COMPANY

Caldwell Theatre Company opened its doors in December 1975 at the suggestion of James R. Caldwell, inventor of the rubber dustpan and founder of the Rubbermaid Corporation.  During the past 33 years in four different locations, and now in its own, permanent theater facility on U.S. 1 in north Boca Raton, the Caldwell has been called South Florida’s “Cinderella Theatre” and Boca Raton’s “Jewel in the Crown.”  Artistic director Michael Hall, who co-founded the theater with the late Frank Bennett, continues as artistic director, and company manager Patricia Burdett marks her 32nd season this year.

HISTORY.  In 1975, Mr. Caldwell, a prominent Boca Raton retiree, persuaded the College of Boca Raton (now Lynn University) to offer the use of its small auditorium, office space and six dormitory rooms, and urged Boca Raton residents to support a new endeavor.  In four years, the “Caldwell Playhouse” (as it was called) built an audience of 3,000 subscribers and won the first of its 73 Carbonell Awards for theatrical excellence.

Thirty-three years later, Caldwell Theatre Company continues to entertain more than 70,000 patrons annually with a variety of classics, revivals, small musicals, and original plays.  Designated as one of Florida’s four State Theaters, the company sponsors a Play Reading Series to introduce new works. and a Professional Adult Storytelling Series (in conjunction with Florida Atlantic University).   Ursula Kalt and Etta Schaffer co-chair Caldwell’s volunteer Friends of Caldwell; Rich Kasser is head of PACT, a group of young business professionals created to advance the Caldwell; and Clive Cholerton is chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Known for its outstanding acting ensembles and attention to production details, Caldwell has delivered award-winning productions of such plays as Gross Indecency:  The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde; The Laramie Project; Fortune’s Fool, Bent and The Middle Ages.  Other highly-praised Caldwell productions include the recent Doubt: A Parable, Lend Me A Tenor, Take Me Out, The Clean House and Tuesdays with Morrie.  Four plays created at Caldwell appeared Off Broadway (Even in Laughter, Cowgirls, Papa starring Len Cariou, and Charles Nelson Reilly’s autobiographical The Life of Reilly) and recent world premieres at Caldwell include Michael McKeever’s farce Suite Surrender, Susan Sandler’s senior citizen comedy Under the Bed and Joel Gross’ drama Marie Antoinette:  The Color of Flesh. 

Also created at Caldwell:  Paul Harvey Aurandt’s one-man Burton about the famous film and stage actor; and Oscar Moore’s The King’s Mare about the fourth wife of Henry the Eighth. 

Broadway actor Marc Kudisch received his Equity card at Caldwell.  Other well-known players who have appeared here include Len Cariou, Rosemary Prinz and Beth Fowler.  Caldwell’s new 333-seat proscenium theater facility, the Count de Hoernle Theatre, has a spacious lobby, a beautifully furnished Founder’s Room, and a large rehearsal room.  Tim Bennett is the resident Scenic Designer; Ursula Stanton the Business Manager; and Nedra Simpson the Box Office Manager.

For more information, write Caldwell Theatre Company at 7901 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL 33487 or call (561) 241-7380. 

Box Office (561) 241-7432 or Toll Free (877) 245-7432
Fax (561) 997-6917