The Old Globe’s 90-year history timeline

The Old Globe, San Diego’s oldest and largest theater, turned 90 years old in May 2025. With an annual budget of $40 million, it’s the county’s second-larget arts nonprofit after the San Diego Symphony. And through its work, it provides entertainment to 250,000 people each year.

But did you know the Old Globe’s story? It started in 1935 with pared-down plays by William Shakespeare in Balboa Park. Here’s the Old Globe’s historical timeline.

May 29, 1935 — Co-directors B. Iden Payne and Thomas Wood Stephens present the first performance of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” trimmed to 50 minutes and performed by 24 actors, in the newly constructed Globe Theater, a drum-shaped, 650-seat open-air “Merrie England”-style theater on opening day of the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park. The players continued to perform through November of that year, and again during the Expo’s second and final year, from Feb. 12-Sept. 9, 1936.

1937 — Community support encourages the formation of the San Diego Community Players, who perform year-round at the newly renamed The Old Globe Theatre (which now has a roof and proscenium arch stage). Their first production is John Van Druten’s “The Distaff Side,” featuring 21-year-old San Diego actor Craig Noel.

April 23, 1940 — Noel, now an in-demand stage director, is appointed founding director of the Globe.

November 1941 — Noel, 25, resigns to move to Hollywood where he plans to work as an assistant director and talent scout for 20th Century Fox.

Dec. 8, 1941 — The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. enters World War II. Balboa Park buildings are immediately requisitioned by the Navy, including the Globe, which becomes a wartime lecture hall.

1944 — Noel is drafted into the U.S. Army and serves in combat in the Philippines. Afer the war, he serves in the J U.S. occupational force in Japan, directing entertainment for overseas troops.

 August 1947 — The Old Globe reopens in Balboa Park with now artistic director Craig Noel back at the helm. The first production is William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life.”

1949 — The Globe launches its first San Diego National Shakespeare Festival in conjunction with San Diego State College (later renamed San Diego State University). The Globe becomes the fest’s sole producer five years later.

1953 — Landmark production of “Mister Roberts” sells out 13-week engagement and creates a windfall for the theater.

1959 — The first Equity actors are hired to perform in the annual Shakespeare festival, beginning the Globe’s transition toward becoming a professional theater.

1965 — New administrative offices, technical, rehearsal and storage facilities are completed.

1969 — The Falstaff Tavern is remodeled to create the 225-seat Cassius Carter Centre Stage, a new in-the-round arena-style theater, adding a second stage to the Globe campus.

1978 — An arson fire destroys the 43-year-old Globe Theatre on March 8 (the arsonist was never caught, but a firebug had set several blazes in the park that winter). The Globe quickly reorganizes, moving ongoing productions to other theaters around town and builds a 620-seat outdoor Festival Theatre in just 52 days. The Shakespeare festival opens on the new outdoor stage June 16 with “Henry V.”

1981 — Craig Noel appoints the succession team of Jack O’Brien as artistic director and Tom Hall as managing director, but stays on for an additional 22 years as an executive producer.

1982 — Four years after the fire, the Old Globe Theatre reopens on Jan. 5. This year also marks the company’s first winter season with Equity actors.

Jan. 18, 1983 — O’Brien’s production of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” is telecast live on PBS stations, bringing national attention to the Globe. On Feb. 26, Queen Elizabeth visits the theater to unveil a Shakespeare bust.

1984 — O’Brien’s revival of the musical “Kiss Me, Kate” breaks attendance records and draws national acclaim. The company is awarded a Special Tony Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Regional Theatre.

Oct. 29, 1984 — The outdoor festival theater is destroyed by fire (apparently ignited by a cooking fire caused by transients living under the stage).

1985 — The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, a new outdoor stage named after the Globe’s volunteer board president from 1945-1976, opens on June 7 with O’Brien’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” On July 26, the Globe opens its 500th production, “Richard III” directed by John Houseman.

1986 — The Globe produces the world premiere of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods,” the first of 27 Old Globe-born shows that will transfer to Broadway by 2025.

1987 — The Old Globe and the University of San Diego launch the Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. The prestigious MFA program provides full tuition to 14 students for a two-year term.

1989 — The Globe presents the U.S. premiere of Maly Drama Theatre of Leningrad’s “Brothers and Sisters,” a risky financial gambit that paid off with huge ticket sales.

1993 — O’Brien’s “Damn Yankees” revival premieres at the Globe, move to Broadway in 1994 and goes on a national tour in 1995.

1994 — Sheldon Epps hired as associate artistic director, prior to becoming the Pasadena Playhouse artistic director in 1997.

1998 — The “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” musical premieres and becomes an annual holiday tradition that continues to this day.

2000 — O’Brien directs Tom Stoppard’s translation of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and world premiere of David Yazbek’s “The Full Monty,” which moves to Broadway that same year. Tom Hall steps down as managing director and is replaced by Doug Evans, whose idea to modernize the theater’s name from The Old Globe to The Globe is quickly rescinded.

2001 — With O’Brien often away directing in New York and London, Karen Carpenter is appointed associate artistic director, the first woman appointed to a top leadership position at the Globe (she left in 2005).

2002 — Lou Spisto is named executive director of the Globe, a position that will eventually grow to include virtually all management, production and artistic responsibilities. Yugoslavian-born director Darko Tresnjak debuts with an award-winning festival production of Shakespeare’s “Pericles.”

2003 -— O’Brien wins his first of three directorial Tony Awards for the Broadway musical “Hairspray.” In 2024, he will also receive a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.

2005 -— Jerry Patch, widely regarded as the top developer of new plays in the country, is hired as resident artistic director. The longtime South Coast Rep staffer brings in edgy new plays that win multiple critics’ awards, but will leave for Manhattan Theatre Club in 2008.

2006 — Tresnjak stages William Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” for the first time in Globe history.

2007 -— Craig Noel, now 90, receives the National Medal of Arts from Pres. George Bush. O’Brien officially retires as artistic director. Patch and Tresnjak are appointed co-artistic directors but both will leave within a few years. The Old Globe relocates its scenery and prop production workshops offsite to a new warehouse in Southeast San Diego, allowing all technical departments, including those left behind in Balboa Park, to expand.

2009 — The Old Globe unveils its redesigned campus with the opening of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, which includes the modernized Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre (formerly the Cassius Carter Centre Stage), the Cohn Education Center and Hattox Hall.

2009 — Adrian Noble, who spent more than 20 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, is named the artistic director of the Globe’s Shakespeare Festival. He will stay for three years. The Old Globe launches a theater education program in Southeast San Diego.

2010 — Craig Noel dies on April 3 at the age of 94. The Globe celebrates its 75th anniversary.

2012 — Barry Edelstein, director of the Shakespeare Initiative at The Public Theater in Manhattan from 2008 to 2012, is hired as the Globe’s new artistic director.

2013 — The Old Globe launches its Powers New Voices Festival, a weekend of readings of new American plays by professional playwrights, as well as short works by San Diego playwrights.

2014 — To replicate the touring Shakespeare programs he oversaw in New York City, Edelstein launches Globe For All, which brings free Shakespeare performances to libraries, community centers, gyms and other venues for four weeks each fall.

2015 — Under the leadership of Freedome Bradley-Ballentine, the Old Globe creates its Department of Arts Engagement, with the goal of making the Old Globe accessible to all and expanding outreach into San Diego communities. A new parking garage built by the San Diego Zoo behind the Old Globe opens, offering nearby paid evening parking for the first time.

2016 — The Old Globe launches its AXIS Events series, offering a year-round program of nine free public events on its campus, including  Dia de los Muertos, Pride and Juneteenth celebrations.

2017 — Timothy J. Shields, who brings four decades of nonprofit theater administrative experience to the Globe, is hired as its new managing director.

2018 —The Old Globe stages the world premiere of the Huey Lewis and the News jukebox musical “The Heart of Rock and Roll.” In 2024, it will become the 27th show the Globe sent to Broadway since the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical “Into the Woods” in 1987.

2020 — The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 shutters theaters nationwide. The Old Globe continues engaging San Diegans virtually with online performances, play-writing workshops and other initiatives. It also creates a Social Justice Roadmap in collaboration with San Diego communities of color.

2021 — The outdoor Festival Theatre reopens June 4, 2021, with a production of the musical “Hair.” Both indoor theaters reopen in September.

2024 — Thanks to a multimillion-dollar gift from philanthropist Roy Cockrum, The Old Globe stages Barry Edelstein’s two-play adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Henry 6.” With more than 1,000 community members involved, it will be the largest production in Globe history. And with this production the Globe has finally produced all of Shakespeare’s plays.

2025 — Kim Montelibano Heil, with more than 20 years of theater administrative experience, is named associated artistic director at The Old Globe. On Oct. 6, The Old Globe’s Technical Center in Southeast San Diego is renamed in honor of longtime community leader Rosemary Pope.The Old Globe marks its 90th anniversary by announcing plans to present an alternate Spanish-language version of its popular “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” musical. The first musical reading will take place in November. Managing Director Timothy J. Shields announces plan to retire in 2026 once a successor is named.