AMERICAN THEATRE -- The storied Eureka Theatre announced today that 45 years after its founding, the nonprofit company will cease operations on July 5. The theatre venue itself will remain open and operating under new management and will be renamed Gateway Theatre.
The Eureka Theater Company, originally called the Shorter Players, was founded by Chris Silva (then a theatre graduate student at San Francisco State University), Robert Woodruff and Carl Lumbly in 1972. It began as a creative outlet for “non-tall” actors who had experienced casting difficulties as a result of their physical stature. It assumed its current name in 1974 when the feisty young company was joined by directors and actors, including Richard E.T. White, Danny Glover and Julie Hebert. In its first three decades the company launched the careers of many well-known actors and directors and staged more than 70 world, West Coast and Bay Area premieres.