Summer & outdoor theater / Traverse City / Muskegon
Cherry County Playhouse
Closed – archive entry · 1955–2003
One of Michigan's first professional theaters started in 1955 in a red-and-white striped tent in Traverse City with Hollywood stars, moved to Muskegon for big musicals and went quiet after 2003.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1955
- Closed
- 2003
- Seats
- 1,750 (Frauenthal, Muskegon years)
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Radio actress Ruth Bailey founded Cherry County Playhouse in Traverse City in 1955, and it became one of Michigan's first professional theaters. It started out in a red-and-white striped tent with Hollywood stars such as Joe E. Brown, Zasu Pitts and Frances Farmer. It later moved indoors under the dome of the Park Place Hotel, and in 1976 Bailey sold it to comedian Pat Paulsen and TV writer Neil Rosen, who brought in stars like Burt Reynolds and Florence Henderson. It was the first theater to produce Butterflies Are Free, before Broadway. After 36 years in Traverse City it moved in 1991 to the 1,750-seat Frauenthal Center in Muskegon to stage large musicals; its apprentices included Meredith Baxter and Peter Bogdanovich. The Equity company closed after the fall of 2003, when Muskegon could no longer sustain it and negotiations with the theater's owners failed.
- Started in a striped tent in 1955
- Stars like Burt Reynolds and Florence Henderson
- First to produce Butterflies Are Free
Plan your visit
The company hasn't performed since the fall of 2003; its website says it is still looking for a new venue. For live theater, check the open stages in our guide.
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