Plymouth Theatre
A former Boston theater and movie theater that operated from 1911 to 1957 and later became the Gary Theater.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Plymouth Theatre was a historic theater and later movie theater in Boston, Massachusetts. It stood on Stuart Street in the area now recognized as Boston's Theater District, near the intersection of Eliot Street and Tremont Street. The venue opened in 1911 and operated under the Plymouth Theatre name until 1957, when the building was converted into or renamed the Gary Theater. The theater was designed by architect Clarence Blackall for the theatrical producing firm Liebler & Co. Its original role was primarily that of a legitimate theater presenting plays, including touring productions and commercially important tryouts. In October 1911, shortly after the theater's opening period, the touring Abbey Theatre presented John Millington Synge's The Playboy of the Western World at the Plymouth. The performance had notable cultural associations: W. B. Yeats, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy were reported to have been in the audience. This event connected the Boston venue with the Irish theatrical movement and with prominent figures in Boston's cultural and civic life. The Plymouth hosted a broad range of performers and productions during its existence. Performers associated with the theater included Henry Jewett, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the young Sammy Davis Jr., and Bette Davis. Surviving records and images also identify presentations such as Mademoiselle, Reflected Glory, Blow Ye Winds, The Masque of Kings, Susan and God, Boys and Girls Together, and Kiss and Tell. These examples reflect the venue's function as a platform for touring drama, comedy, musical entertainment, and productions testing their viability before wider distribution. In 1927, The Shubert Organization of New York acquired the Plymouth. Under Shubert ownership, the theater was used largely for tryouts of plays intended for New York engagements or national tours, while also accommodating some longer-running performances. This positioned the venue within the commercial theater pipeline linking Boston with Broadway and touring circuits. Boston's location and established theater audience made the building useful as a testing ground for productions before their next commercial stage. The building's identity changed in 1957, when it became the Gary Theater. That change ended the Plymouth Theatre's independent operating period and marked a transition away from the venue's best-known legitimate-theater identity. The former theater is therefore remembered both as an early twentieth-century Boston playhouse and as part of the city's later movie-theater history. It is no longer an active venue under the Plymouth name.
History
The Plymouth Theatre was a Boston theater located on Stuart Street in the city's Theater District. The building was designed by Clarence Blackall for Liebler & Co., a theatrical producing and management firm. It opened in 1911 and operated under the Plymouth name for approximately four and a half decades, serving first as a legitimate theater and later also as a movie theater. The venue's early history included both local and touring theatrical activity. In October 1911, the touring Abbey Theatre brought The Playboy of the Western World to the Plymouth. The event was notable not only for the production itself but also for the reported presence of W. B. Yeats, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in the audience. The performance placed the new Boston venue within wider transatlantic theatrical and cultural networks. During the following decades, the Plymouth presented a variety of performers and stage works. Associated performers included Henry Jewett, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Bette Davis, and Sammy Davis Jr., who appeared at the venue as a child. Records and historical images reference productions including Mademoiselle, Reflected Glory, Blow Ye Winds, The Masque of Kings, Susan and God, Boys and Girls Together, and Kiss and Tell. The range of titles indicates a mixed repertory of drama, comedy, musical entertainment, and touring attractions rather than a narrowly specialized program. A major change came in 1927, when The Shubert Organization acquired the theater. The Shuberts used the Plymouth primarily as a tryout house for plays intended for New York or for later touring. In this role, the theater was part of a commercial production system in which new shows could be staged before audiences outside New York, allowing producers to assess and refine work before larger engagements. The venue also hosted some longer-running productions, so its programming was not limited exclusively to tryouts. The Plymouth Theatre name ended in 1957, when the building became the Gary Theater. This later identity reflected the building's continued use as an entertainment venue while marking a shift from its established legitimate-theater role. Historical documentation and photographs preserve the building's successive identities, including its Plymouth-era appearance and its later Gary Theater period. The Plymouth Theatre is now a defunct brand and venue, remembered as part of Boston's early twentieth-century theater infrastructure and as a link between Boston theatrical production, Broadway-oriented tryouts, touring theater, and cinema exhibition.
- 1957
Plymouth identity ends
[1]The building becomes the Gary Theater, ending the theater's documented operation under the Plymouth Theatre name.
- 1927
The Shubert Organization acquires the venue
[1]The New York-based Shubert Organization purchases the Plymouth and makes it principally a tryout venue for productions bound for New York or touring engagements.
- 1911
Plymouth Theatre opens in Boston
[1]The theater opens on Stuart Street in Boston's Theater District. Clarence Blackall designed the building for Liebler & Co.
- 1911
Abbey Theatre touring production visits Boston
[1]In October, the touring Abbey Theatre presents The Playboy of the Western World at the Plymouth, with several prominent cultural and civic figures reportedly attending.
Products and positioning
A historic Boston theater positioned as a commercial playhouse, touring-production venue, and tryout house, later functioning as a movie theater.
Live theater · 1911
Legitimate theater productions
The Plymouth presented plays and other live stage productions during its principal operating period. Its program included touring works, commercial productions, dramas, comedies, and other theatrical attractions associated with the Boston stage.
Production development · 1927
Theatrical tryouts
After the Shubert Organization acquired the venue in 1927, the Plymouth was used largely to try out plays intended for New York engagements or national tours. This function made the theater part of the broader Broadway and touring-production development network.
Cinema
Movie exhibition
The venue also operated as a movie theater during its broader history. Its later conversion or renaming as the Gary Theater in 1957 represents the building's transition into a subsequent cinema-oriented identity.
Brand decisions
1957
Conversion to the Gary TheaterStrategyBackground
After decades as the Plymouth Theatre, the building entered a new phase in Boston's changing entertainment market.
Action taken
The building became the Gary Theater and no longer operated under the Plymouth Theatre name.
Aftermath
The Plymouth Theatre brand became defunct, while the physical building continued under a different theater identity.
1927
Acquisition by The Shubert OrganizationM&ABackground
The Plymouth was acquired by The Shubert Organization of New York during a period when Boston theaters could serve as important venues for productions moving toward New York or touring circuits.
Action taken
The Shubert Organization purchased the theater and operated it primarily as a tryout house, while also presenting some longer-running performances.
Aftermath
The acquisition gave the venue a clearer role within the commercial theater pipeline connecting Boston with New York and touring markets.
Recent events
- 1957
The building becomes the Gary Theater[1]
Other
The building ceased operating under the Plymouth Theatre name and became the Gary Theater, ending the venue's documented Plymouth-era identity.
- 1927
The Shubert Organization acquires the Plymouth Theatre[1]
M&A
The Shubert Organization of New York bought the theater and used it primarily for tryouts of plays headed for New York or national touring engagements, while retaining some long-run performances.
- 1911
Abbey Theatre presents The Playboy of the Western World at the Plymouth[1]
Product launch · Other
In October 1911, the touring Abbey Theatre presented John Millington Synge's The Playboy of the Western World at the Plymouth Theatre. The reported audience included W. B. Yeats, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Sources3 sources
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