Maryland State Summer Theater - Olney Theatre
Olney Theatre Center for the Arts
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road (Route 108), Olney, MD 20832
(301) 924-4485; (301) 924-3400 (box office)
web: www.olneytheatre.org/
Olney Theatre, Olney, Maryland. Photo by Eric Stocklin,
courtesy of Olney Theatre Center for the Arts.
The Olney Theatre became the State Summer Theater of Maryland in 1978 (Chapter 1003, Acts of 1978; Code General Provisions Article, sec. 7-319(b)). Located in Montgomery County (12 miles from Washington, DC; 35 miles from Baltimore), the Olney Theatre is a nonprofit professional theater producing a nine-show season. Renovated in 1993, Olney Theatre then extended its season to year-round. Some 118,000 patrons attend the theater annually.
At the Olney, performances in the 2014 season emphasize 20th-century American classics, new works, area premieres, reinterpretations of classics, and musical theater. Each July and August, the Olney Theater also hosts the Potomac Theatre Festival, an annual festival of political theater.
Opened in 1941, the 450-seat Olney Theatre hosts several community projects. These include the free Summer Shakespeare Festival and the National Players Touring Company, a classical touring group of young actors.
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