When the Jerry Herman Theatre opened in 1951, its circular design made national headlines. The building was one of the first U.S. theaters where audiences could sit in a ring around the stage and enjoy a 360° view of performances.
Originally named the Ring Theatre, its design was inspired by the configuration of the rotunda in the Anastasia building. The building was a hotel that UM purchased to serve as its temporary home until the Merrick building’s construction was completed. Theater students performed in the Anastasia building after it was used to train WWII air navigators.
Even during the war, theater thrived on campus. In 1942, the Miami Herald covered a student production of the Mexican comedy, “Sunday Costs Five Pesos,” at the then called University of Miami Theater. The play tells the story of a small northern Mexican town, Four Cornstalks, where women who fight on Sundays have to pay a five-peso fine.
Theater professor Frederick Koch Jr. spoke to the Herald, emphasizing the “need for arts in a war world.”
Performances moved to a circus tent until construction for the current facility finished in 1950.
After renovations in the 1990s, the theater had a 360-person seating capacity and was renamed after UM alumnus Jerry Herman. A Tony-award-winning Broadway composer and lyricist, Herman was known for “Milk and Honey,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “Mame” and “Dear World.”
In 2009, the theater department staged a production of “Hello, Dolly!” and received a heartfelt letter from Herman ahead of the opening night.
“I’d like everyone connected with Dolly to know that my heart is with you,” he wrote. “And what a special thrill it is to have it playing in my namesake theater. If you hear a strange voice singing along with the curtain calls – it’s me from Los Angeles.”
Joy Missey, a senior musical theater major, said performing in shows with the theatre-in-the-round configuration has enriched her education.
“Performing in the theater, which is one of the only theaters in the U.S. where audiences can sit around the stage, has taught me how to perform to people all around me,” Missey said. “It’s prepared me for performing in different settings after graduation.”
Graduating seniors have participated in the tradition of signing their names on the theater’s signature wall since the 1960s. E.V. Cummins, a senior musical theater major, is excited to add her name to the list.
“I’m really looking forward to leaving my mark on a space I’ve performed in so many times,” Cummins said. “I’m honored to have my name among so many notable alumni on the wall.”
Broadway actor Joshua Henry, known for starring as Billy Bigelow in the third Broadway revival of “Carousel,” and actress Dawnn Lewis, known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television show “A Different World,” are among the names of alumni on the wall.
Ramanjaneyulu Doosari, assistant professor of theatre arts, said the theater is critical to the department and University’s futures.
“Without it, how can we teach students where we started as a program and where the University was decades ago?” Doosari said. “It’s important to remember our roots so we can see how far we’ve come.”
Doosari also recognized the theater’s importance in the South Florida community.
“People going to live performances and not just watching entertainment on TV is important because of the human connection,” Doosari said. “For centuries, people have enjoyed the human connection in theater and that desire will never go away.”
The Jerry Herman Theatre’s not done making history yet. Check out its upcoming production of “Seussical: The Musical” from April 22-26, which draws from the worlds in Dr. Seuss’ books, “The Cat in the Hat,” “Horton Hears a Who!” and more. To purchase tickets, visit the Jerry Herman Theatre website.