Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city since 1871. The city's population in the 2020 census was 226,610, up from 204,214 in 2010, making it Virginia's fourth-most populous city. The Richmond metropolitan area, with 1,260,029 people, is the Commonwealth's third-most populous.
In theatre, a thrust stage is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area. Entrances onto a thrust are most readily made from backstage, although some theatres provide for performers to enter through the audience using vomitory entrances. A theatre in the round, exposed on all sides to the audience, is without a backstage and relies entirely on entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage. As with an arena, the audience in a thrust stage theatre may view the stage from three or more sides. Because the audience can view the performance from a variety of perspectives, it is usual for the blocking, props and scenery to receive thorough consideration to ensure that no perspective is blocked from view. A high backed chair, for instance, when placed stage right, could create a blind spot in the stage left action.
C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, including the Chicago Theatre (1921), Bismarck Hotel and Theatre (1926) and Oriental Theater (1926) in Chicago, the Five Flags Center (1910) in Dubuque, Iowa and the Paramount Theatres in New York City (1926) and Aurora, Illinois (1931).
A movie palace is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. With the advent of television, movie attendance dropped, while the rising popularity of large multiplex chains in the 1980s and 1990s signaled the obsolescence of single-screen theaters. Many movie palaces were razed or converted into multiple-screen venues or performing arts centers, though some have undergone restoration and reopened to the public as historic buildings.
Thomas White Lamb was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas of the 20th century.
Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City. Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, the theaters became a major entertainment hub for the city for much of the 20th century. However, by the late 1960s, the district had fallen into decline and its theaters had closed down. In the 1970s, the district was revived through a grassroots effort that helped usher in a new era of downtown revitalization. For this reason, the revival of Playhouse Square is often locally referred to as being "one of the top ten successes in Cleveland history."
The Ohio Theatre is a performing arts center and former movie palace on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Known as the "Official Theatre of the State of Ohio", the 1928 building was saved from demolition in 1969 and was later completely restored. The theater was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977 as one of the nation's finest surviving grand theaters.
Blumenthal Performing Arts is a non-profit, multi-venue performing arts complex located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It opened in 1992 and is named in honor of the people of the state of North Carolina and the Blumenthal Foundation established by I.D. Blumenthal who founded RSC Brands, the largest private donor to the capital campaign. The idea for the center dates back to the late 1970s. Momentum for the project grew in the 1980s resulting in a $15 million allocation from the state of North Carolina, approval of a $15 million bond by the citizens of Charlotte and an additional $32 million contributed by individuals, corporations and foundations. In 1987 the Belk Brothers donated a valuable piece of land as the site of the new theatre complex. Total construction cost for the Blumenthal Center was over $62 million.
The Olympia Theater is a theater located in Miami, Florida. Designed by John Eberson in his famed atmospheric style, the theater opened in 1926. Throughout its history, the venue has served as a movie theater, concert venue and performing arts center. In 1984, it received historical designation by the NRHP. The Olympia Theater and its sister venue, the Tampa Theatre are the only remaining atmospheric theatres in Florida.
Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts is the premier location for cultural arts and entertainment in Raleigh, North Carolina. The center consists of four unique venues, Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, Meymandi Concert Hall, A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater, and Kennedy Theatre.
John Adolph Emil Eberson was an Austrian-American architect best known for the development and promotion of movie palace designs in the atmospheric theatre style. He designed over 500 theatres in his lifetime, earning the nickname "Opera House John". His most notable surviving theatres in the United States include the Tampa Theatre (1926), Palace Theatre Marion (1928), Palace Theatre Louisville (1928), Majestic Theatre (1929), Akron Civic Theatre (1929) and Paramount Theatre (1929). Remaining international examples in the atmospheric style include both the Capitol Theatre (1928) and State Theatre (1929) in Sydney, Australia, The Forum, the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater (1932) at Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts and Le Grand Rex.
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting.
The Orpheum Theatre is a historic theater in downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was designed by renowned theatre architect John Eberson with funding from a group of local investors and opened on September 4, 1922.
The National Theater is a historic theater in Richmond, Virginia. Part of a section of Broad Street once known as Theatre Row, the National is the only one of the three original auditoriums still standing. Built in 1923, the theater was constructed with an adaptable stage that allowed it to show early motion pictures as well as live performances. It experienced a 1968 conversion to a dedicated cinema house and was renamed the TowneTheater, in which capacity it operated until closing in 1983. After an extensive renovation, the theater reopened in 2008 as The National, serving as a live music and performing arts venue.
Theater in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past several decades.
United States 
