Timeline

Built by local realtors Irving J. Thomas and Fin L. Pierce, the building also includes shops, offices, and apartments. The cost in 1926: $500,000 ($8.5 M in 2024 dollars), plus land costs.

It claims to be the largest theater in Miami with well over 1000 seats. It has the country’s largest Wurlitzer organ, and it is air conditioned -- rare in that era.

and the Depression begins.

In 1933 the building faces foreclosure, and in following years is only occasionally used.

Following the war, the building is shuttered.

He hires the architect Alfred Browning Parker to transform the theater (at great expense) into an elegant showplace, complete with cocktail lounge,restaurant and single level orchestra seating for 800.

He hires the architect Alfred Browning Parker to transform the theater (at great expense) into an elegant showplace, complete with cocktail lounge,restaurant and single level orchestra seating for 800.

He hires the architect Alfred Browning Parker to transform the theater (at great expense) into an elegant showplace, complete with cocktail lounge,restaurant and single level orchestra seating for 800.

The play Engle bills as “the laugh sensation on two continents” is the US premier of Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” The audience is not amused; the play is a stunning flop.

giving audiences works by prominent playwrights like Tennessee Williams, and performances by prominent stars, like Joan Fontaine, Carol Channing, and Paulette Goddard.

In the spring he turns over the theater leadership to Owen Phillips, who has been working for two years as the Playhouse’s managing director.

He presents excellent shows, including the premiere of “Night of the Iguana” by Tennesse Williams. But he has financial woes– he faces a tax lien of more than $80,000. His last show is in May 1961. He later resigns.

and hires a director, but the shows do not sufficiently attract audiences. The playhouse is intermittently closed and then is shuttered.

The theater where it is to play burns to the ground and Bufman needs a new venue—fast. Shown the Coconut Grove Playhouse, he books it for five weeks, and “Pajama Tops” opens on October 9, 1962.

He books the Playhouse for a year, and enjoys success.He then takes a five-year lease with an option to buy the Playhouse from George Engle, which he does in 1965.

To create buzz for the show “Irma la Douce,” Charlie Cinnamon, Bufman’s publicity director, transforms Coconut Grove. He fills the streets with artists to give it a “Left Bank” feel. The art show is still a hit 60 years later!

so much so that he adds a 300-seat mezzanine. Now he wants new opportunities. He runs into Eddie Bracken, famed actor and recently-turned producer, who is interested in buying the theater.

for ~$750,000; Bufman stays on as an adviser. Bracken had purchased the theater not understanding that the coming season’s subscriptions had already been spent, so there is little revenue generated. He is plagued with financial problems.

and the Coconut Grove Playhouse is set to be auctioned on the steps of the County Courthouse on November 10; this is extended to January 26, 1972.

at the last possible moment with the backing of a major Canadian investor. These two New York producers renovate the theater and in December 1972 open with “Man of La Mancha.”

such as “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Purlie,” “Grease,” and “Equus.” The investor pulls out, though, and Fishko recognizes that he cannot sustain the theater on its revenues alone. He decides to sell.

The new Players State Theatre becomes the second State theater in Florida. In August, David Robert Kanter is hired as director and the play “Cyrano de Bergerac” opens. Finances are a constant problem.

the deal goes through in August 1980. With the proceeds, Players pays off its debts and leases back the theater for $1 per year from the State.

accepting the job for a $1 token salary. In late September, Kanter and the Board had “mutually decided” to part ways.

bringing prominent actors to perform there and introducing Spanish-language productions. He acts, directs and predominantly presents classic American plays. The work -- and frustration -- is more than he bargained for.

The Board embarks on a national search. Ferrer recommends Broadway producer and director Arnold Mittelman, former producing director of New Jersey’s acclaimed Whole Theatre Company.

They hire his wife, Judith Delgado, an actress with strong theater education experience, to develop and head an education program. Ferrer stays on during the transition.

making strong inroads in the business, governmental, and private philanthropic community.

Before 1985 ends, Mittelman opens an additional theater, a new Encore Room, a 200-seat cabaret-style venue.. He paints the main auditorium’s gold proscenium black to avoid distracting reflections. He repaints the Playhouse exterior a vibrant blue.

performed on two stages (1100 & 200 seats). He establishes scene shops so in-house employees could do this work, ending reliance on outside firms.

The annual touring plays presented in schools all aim to be “theater that makes a difference.” Delgado leaves in 2000 to resume acting; Christopher Bishop assumes leadership of the department.

and reinterpreted revivals, many of which he directs. Forty Playhouse productions transfer directly to Broadway or to other national and international venues.

Edward Albee, “Seascape”; David Auburn, “Proof”; and Nilo Cruz, “Anna in the Tropics.”

This award-granting organization for South Florida theatre and art presents the President’s award to the Playhouse in honor of its 50 years of service to South Florida

on April 10 with the prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts.

The Board orders this because of its “grave concerns about the Playhouse’s financial situation and potential liability issues.” The season finale, however, finishes its run.

Since it closed in 2006 there have been various proposals for re-development of the theater and its property, but the Playhouse remains shuttered.As of 2025 the Playhouse remains closed. The not for profit board was dissolved. The State of Florida, Miami Dade County Government and Florida International University have assumed control of the building and its surrounding vacant land. For almost two decades, despite some community protests and legal disputes to the contrary, various officials and architects proposed development for the Playhouse site that would demolish the 1100-seat main auditorium and 200-seat Encore Room and replace them with one new 300-seat theater. This plan is currently seen as the best way to secure the future of the renowned Coconut Grove Playhouse.