Society Hill Playhouse

The Experience

This is theater for people who don’t like theater . . . or who think they don’t. Housed in the historic David Garrick Hall, once a rehearsal hall, this century-old building with its Victorian pressed tin walls and ceilings presents good, entertaining shows. No highbrow, high-falutin, artsy stuff here. Although most of the productions are new comedies or East Coast premieres, these shows are not only accessible, but they also reach out and pull you right in, sometimes literally. Shows like the long-running “Lafferty’s Wake” involve the audience; others let you sit back and enjoy the laughs.

History

Actress Deen Kogan and husband Jay launched Society Hill Playhouse in 1960 as Philadelphia’s “off-Broadway” theater for contemporary American and European playwrights. Gradually, it developed a niche in populist comedies, and Nunsense, scheduled for six weeks, ran for nine years; they added a cabaret space for additional productions.