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The 478-seat recently renovated theater at USF's School of Education was previously known as the Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Theater, Presentation Theater and, prior to that, the Little Theater. In 2002, the University of San Francisco once again renamed it University of San Francisco Presentation Theater. The School of Education Building was constructed in 1930 on land purchased by the Sisters of Mercy in the early 1800s. It was later purchased by the Sisters of Presentation, whose two city convents had been destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Here, the Sisters, headed by Mother M. Reginald Leahy, opened the Academy of the Presentation (later known as Presentation High School) in 1930. The facilities were designed by architect Edward Eames and built by contractor J.A. Bryant. Based on Mother Reginald's belief that a school "should also be a friendly place for young women" she chose Tudor Gothic architecture because it lent itself to "handsome massing of the different elements of the building the beautiful garden, the classroom area, the Little Theater, the gym." |
The Little Theater
was built in the Adam manner, named after Robert Adam, an eighteenth-century
Scottish architect who made a special study of Greco-Roman architecture
and decoration. This style is particularly prominent in the ornamental
plasterwork around the proscenium arch and around the stage. Several motifs
in the plasterwork show the influence of Greece and Rome: urns, cameos,
winged sphinxes and flowers in the Corinthian style. In the center of
the proscenium are the three graces. Adam believed the audience should
be near the performance, so the seats in the Little Theater were positioned
"for the greatest visibility."
Presentation Theater
is probably best known as the home of the Lamplighters Music Theatre,
beloved performers of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. In 1968, they moved
to Presentation Theater from the Harding Theater where they had performed
without interruption since 1961. In June 1991, the University of San Francisco
purchased the Presentation campus, and Presentation High School vacated
the facilities at the end of the year. An extensive renovation began,
making it necessary for The Lamplighters once again to look for a new
home. Their last performance in Presentation was held in Spring of 1995.
For more information on The Lamplighters, please see www.lamplighters.org
Thanks to the generosity of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts, Presentation Theater underwent extensive remodeling, including new technical systems. The theater opened in December 1996, managed by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, with the San Francisco Opera Center's production of Hansel and Gretel; the Center returned in Spring of 1997 with Handel's Ezio.
In 1999, the University resumed operation and management of the theater with the same commitment to providing a venue for artistic and cultural events that will enrich the community and University. The theater is managed by the Performing Arts Department in the USF's College of Arts and Sciences.