SC National Heritage Corridor

Abbeville Opera House

 At the turn of the century there were many "road companies" producing shows in  New York City. Once the production was assembled, the show traveled throughout the country.  One of the more popular tours went from New York to Richmond to Atlanta.  For a number of years, Abbeville was an overnight stop for the entire touring company.  Several members of the community decided that if this area had a facility, since the traveling companies were coming through the area anyway, Abbeville could sponsor some of these touring productions.

On October 1, 1908, what was then the Abbeville District dedicated a new Court House and City Hall.  The grand old theatre now known as the Abbeville Opera House was a part of that splendid pair of buildings "equal in beauty of architecture and modern conveniences of any in the state," according to regional newspaper accounts of the day.  From that time on, all the "greats and near greats" played on the magnificent Opera House stage.  Vaudeville was in its "heyday" as was Abbeville and the famous Abbeville Opera House.

Today, most people who visit the historic Abbeville Opera House, see a building that represents a microcosm of the history of Abbeville, South Carolina, since the turn-of-the-century.  Efforts toward preservation and renewal of Abbeville (long known as the "birthplace and deathbed of the confederacy,") and the renewal of the Abbeville Opera House began some thirty years ago with the beautifully restored Abbeville Opera House continuing to be one of the strongest drawing cards for the tourism industry in the upstate of South Carolina. 

The theatre, under the Executive Direction of Michael Genevie, operates year round.  The 218 newly refurbished seats face a 7800 square foot stage.  The balcony has 92 seats and the turn of the century boxes seat up to 6 people in each of the four box seats.  The Abbeville Opera House's programming includes a broad range of material, presenting approximately 100 performances in the combined Winter and Summer Theatre Seasons.  Each play is directed and produced in Abbeville with the theatre operating over 36 weekends a year.  A typical season is filled with popular Broadway musicals, comedies, mysteries and dramas.