Creede Repertory Theatre

Founded in 1966, Creede Repertory Theatre is a professional theatre company located at 9,000 feet in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. CRT’s award-winning company produces big city quality productions in this spectacular location from May through September. Each season, CRT produces multiple plays in rotating repertory, hosts numerous musical events and concerts, develops new works through the Headwaters New Play Program, and offers nationally recognized educational programming. USA TODAY called us “one of the 10 best places to see the lights way off Broadway” and THE DENVER POST hailed CRT as “legendary” and “one of the state’s top five theatre companies.”

Creede Rep’s MISSION

From its Rocky Mountain roots, Creede Repertory Theatre serves as an artistic home to our rural community and beyond, through the creation of repertory seasons, dynamic educational programs, and compelling new works.

Creede Rep’s HISTORY

Place: Creede Colorado

Time: 1966

As the future of silver mining in Creede became uncertain, The Jaycees of Creede (Junior Chamber of Commerce), along with pastor Jim Livingston, brainstormed about how to secure an attraction for summer visitors with the hope of stimulating business activity. Pastor Livingston loved the theatre and, out of that love, a vision for Creede was born. They agreed to bring performances to the old opera/movie house. The Jaycees sent a letter to various universities, hoping that some excited students would answer the call to help build a summer theatre. One of those letters was posted on a bulletin board at the University of Kansas. Steve Grossman, a theatre student, saw the letter, took it down and answered it.

Under the direction of Steve Grossman (age 19), twelve students drove from Kansas to Creede. Joining forces with the Jaycees (and with $32 in the bank) they mounted the first season. Program ads were sold, the hardware store established an open line of credit, and the twelve tireless students rehearsed. When they weren’t rehearsing, the KU students built the scenery, sewed the costumes, found or made props, lit the stage and sold tickets for $1.00. The opening show, Mr. Roberts, electrified the Creede audience and received an enthusiastic standing ovation. Most people in that audience had never seen live theatre. The KU students went on to mount four more plays: The Bat, Our Town, The Rainmaker, and Born Yesterday (a new play every week!) And of course, they ran them all in repertory.

This founding company of twelve established the four important keystones of CRT: the artistry of the repertory format, a resident company united in creating a diverse collection of plays, dynamic education programs, and a meaningful connection to the town of Creede. This still holds firm over half a century later. The rotating repertory schedule constitutes one of the most exciting and challenging ways to present a season of plays. It allows a visitor to Creede to see five or more different plays in a week. Such programming is difficult to do, however, and only a handful of theatres in the United States currently attempt this rigorous schedule.

Place: Creede Colorado

Time: Now

Since 1966, visitors and theatre professionals alike have made their pilgrimages to Creede for the beauty and the artistry of Creede Rep. With the closing of the Homestake Operation in 1984, Creede’s last mine, the theatre has become the largest summer employer with over 100 company members in 2022. The economic goals of the Jaycees have been realized as well. Today CRT has an annual economic impact of $2,749,000 locally and $4,114,000 to the state of Colorado.

Artistically, Creede Rep has grown, presenting acclaimed productions each season, and is now a nationally-recognized theatre. We still dedicate ourselves to a variety of plays in one season. Annual, Creede Rep sees nearly 20,000 patrons and in 2022, our robust educational programs reached over 31,000 young people, many in historically neglected communities.

In 2020, Creede Repertory Theatre received the Colorado Theatre Guild’s Henry Award for Best New Play for its 2019 World Premiere production of Hazardous Materials by Beth Kander. In 2016, Creede Rep received a Henry Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and in 2015, a True West award for our 50th season. August 31st was proclaimed “Creede Repertory Theatre Day” by the governor of Colorado, and 5280 Magazine named Creede, Colorado one of the state’s “7 Spectacular Small Town Getaways.”