Kentucky Repertory Theatre
| Horse Cave Theatre | |
| Address |
107 E. Main St. Horse Cave, Kentucky United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Repertory |
| Capacity | 346 |
| Opened | June 10, 1977 |
| Years active | 1977-2013 |
| Website | |
| http://www.horsecavetheatre.com | |
Horse Cave Theatre (in its mid-life known as Kentucky Repertory Theatre) is a theater company located in Horse Cave, Kentucky, United States. The company is located in two former commercial buildings in the city's downtown area.
KRT was formed as Horse Cave Theatre in 1976, and was a novelty for its time: a professional theater company located in a small rural town, producing a series of plays in a repertory cycle. The theater's proximity to the Mammoth Cave National Park tourist area was hoped to help attract theatergoers, and that has been proven to be the case over the years, though the theater enjoys substantial support from the town's residents as well, as well as those in neighboring Cave City, Glasgow, Munfordville and other surrounding cities.
The primary season for KRT was originally in the summer, when tourism business in the area is at its peak. In recent times, the company shifted its season to a period between autumn and Christmas, while continuing to present a single production in the summer to attract tourists. Over the years, KRT productions have run the gamut of theater, from George Bernard Shaw to Neil Simon, with one play by William Shakespeare being featured nearly every season. The company has also encouraged works by Kentucky playwrights, including at least one such work in its repertory nearly every season. Sallie Bingham, a descendant of the Bingham family of Louisville (former owners of The Courier-Journal and numerous other media properties), has had three of her plays produced by KRT.
The theater is housed in two renovated buildings, and seats 139 people in its main auditorium. An entrance building, built to resemble a tobacco barn typically found in southern Kentucky, was added at the opening. In 1998, the company purchased a residential building for office space, and a nearby warehouse for scenery and prop construction. The main theater buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Warren Hammack was KRT's first artistic director, serving the company for 25 years until his retirement.
He was succeeded by director, Robert Brock and was succeeded by Christopher Carter Sanderson for one season. For the 2013 season, RepALLIANCE under the direction of Ken Neil Hailey took over the producing duties. In May 2013, the theatre was closed due to debt that had built up over a number of the later seasons. The theatre and its board suspended operations while the core directors and actors who produced the successful final season moved on and formed a new company, Kentucky Stage(s), in residence at Bowling Green's new SKyPAC (Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center during the 2013-14 season. Kentucky Stage(s) observed the process after closure and has retained a contract to reacquire and restore the theatre, re-re-branding the facility again as THE HORSE CAVE THEATRE. Plans to reopen the theatre by the summer of 2015 were unsuccessful.