The Cleveland Pioneer Players, later the Cleveland Irish Players, are an Irish American theatre ensemble that formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1960, performing their first play ("Professor Tim" by George Shiels) in 1961. Since then, they have performed the works of major Irish playwrights including Sean O'Casey ("Juno and the Paycock" and "The Plough and the Stars"), Brian Friel ("Philadelphia Here I Come!" and "Dancing at Lughnasa"), and Hugh Leonard ("Da"), as well as lesser known Irish and Irish-American authors. The group has performed in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Dayton and Marietta, Ohio, and traveled to Ireland in 1976, 1978 and 1980.
The Cleveland Pioneer Players Records, 1958-1999 and undated, consist mainly of playbills from performances of the Pioneer (later Irish) Players, playbills and programs from other theater groups including the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Play House, and various theater groups in the United States and Ireland. There is also a small amount of material from other Irish-American organizations, including newsletters and event programs.
The collection will be of interest to researchers investigating Irish-American theater and entertainment, particularly in Cleveland, Ohio. Those studying the history of the Irish immigrant community in Cleveland, arts and culture in northeast Ohio, and evolution of Irish-American performing arts in Cleveland will find this collection particularly useful.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Processed by Christine Borne in 2014.
None.
Copyright retained by donor.
[Container ___, Folder ___] MS 5289 Cleveland Pioneer Players Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Kevin McGinty in 2006.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.