The Players Playhouse (The Players)

02 / The story of this place

Make time for these

The Players formed in 1911 as a gentlemen's amateur theatre club and performed on borrowed Detroit stages until it built its own playhouse on East Jefferson in 1925. Member and architect William Kapp of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls designed it in Florentine Renaissance style, with Corrado Parducci gargoyles on the facade and six Paul Honore murals of wandering troubadours in the Great Hall. In Shakespearean tradition, men play all the roles. A season has five 'frolics' of three one-act plays each, plus one full-length play, all for members and their guests. The Fine Arts Society of Detroit (1907) and the Theater Arts Club of Detroit (1910) share the playhouse, and it's available for event rentals.

• Florentine Renaissance playhouse built in 1925
• Parducci gargoyles and six Honore murals
• Shakespearean tradition: men play every role

Plan your visit

This is a private club: performances are for members and invited guests only. You can still see the building by appointment or rent it for an event; the office answers Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at (313) 259-3385.

Box office

Office manager Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., (313) 259-3385; tours and appointments on request.

Age policy

Private gentlemen's club: performances are for members and invited guests.