The Globe Theater of Odessa, TX

One of the things which has stuck me as I have lived in various communities is that its natives do not attend or even bother to visit the many sites which help create the character of a community. I have lived in Odessa and have only visited the Meteor Crater. Before I can venture outside of my new hometown, I must rectify that oversight, so the next few posts will be dedicated to visiting and photographing those sites which are open to the public and help make Odessa a rich experience to any curious traveler.

The Globe Theater of Odessa, TX is an exact replica of “the original Globe Theater built in 1599 on the Thames River in London, England” (quoted from the 2011 Festival Season brochure) This replica theater and its adjacent Anne Hathaway House sits next to Odessa College. The Drama and Music Departments supply the actors, instructors, and musicians required to produce its Shakespearean plays; as well as other plays produced during each season.

To date, The Globe Theater of Odessa is in its 43^rd year of production and has been in existence 53 years. They are in the middle of a fund raising campaign to sustain themselves for the next 50 years and beyond. They produce other plays besides Shakespearean plays such as a feature called New Plays and New Players series which is in their 8^th year of production. They also present an annual Patriotic play titled Happy Brithday USA! Which appropriately occurs around the 4^th of July.

The inside of the Globe Theater of Odessa is also a replica of the interior of the original Globe of London, England. It seats 410 patrons in both mezzanine and the balcony. The interior is constructed of wood and plaster and the acoustics are perfect. The brochure quoted above touts with 

with an “1800 square foot stage it thrusts into the audience to create an intimate actor-audience relationship as it was in Shakespeare’s day. . .(f)rom the balconies, the viewer has an unobstructed view of the entire stage at a 40 degree angle.” (ibid) The interior appointments attempt to re-create the theater of old down to London dock lanterns and British Red carpets and upholstered seats.

This is Odessa's second and oldest replica the city boasts, the other the Stonehenge on the campus of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB). But that is for another post.