In 1964 a small group of actors gathered at 40 Haldeman Road in Santa Monica Canyon to read Shakespeare. This group of actors evolved into the award-winning Theatre 40, which continues to put on four major productions each year, engaging 150 actors and drawing in renowned critics and awards – all from a converted storeroom at Beverly Hills High School.
Aside from its large-scale productions, the group presents smaller stage productions, classes for the Beverly Hills Adult School and workshops for middle school students. Theatre 40 prints a monthly newsletter, which serves to spread the word within the community about upcoming shows and to provide industry news and advertisements for the company members.
The group maintains its activities through sponsors, ticket sales, membership dues, fundraising and volunteer work by members.
As the only professional theatre in Beverly Hills, Theatre 40 enjoys overwhelming support and success within the local community and the acting community at large. Last season, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones met with the cast of the production Spin. Leonard Nimoy attended the production of Shakespeare’s Will, which was directed by his wife, Susan Bay Nimoy. The upcoming season promises to be just as exciting as the last, featuring the American premiere of Halo, an amusing yet compassionate look at a town’s transformation after an image of Jesus Christ appears on a local building. The theatre will also feature the Los Angeles premiere of Push, a dark, comedic story of a couple whose love is pushed into peril. Both performances are set to begin in October.
