Dock Street Theatre

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Dock Street Theatre

135 Church St.
Charleston, SC

Dock Street Theatre Management Office
Temporarily Located at the
Gaillard Municipal Auditorium
77 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 720-3968

Charleston's Historic Dock Street Theatre is currently undergoing a major renovation which is anticipated to be complete in the spring of 2010. Charleston Stage Company and Spoleto Festival USA will be operating out of other venues in the city until their return to the Dock Street (see links below).

The original Dock Street Theatre opened in 1736 and was the first building designed for theatrical use in the Americas. The Theatre opened in Charleston on February 12, 1736 with the play “The Recruiting Officer”. One month after the theatre was opened the name of Dock Street was officially changed to Queen Street, but the theatre retained its original name. The building and its uses were numerous during the next 200 years. In the 1930's, the derelict building, a shell of the former Planters Hotel, was restored by the Works Progress Administration. Then Mayor Burnet R. Maybank secured the necessary federal funds for the restoration. The current theatre seats 464 patrons. The Charleston Stage Company creates a series of annual performances at the theatre and perform from September until the end of April. The Spoleto Chamber Series is also housed at this historic theatre.