The Players

Founded in 1910 and incorporated in 1911 by a group of prominent Detroit businessmen, the Players Club of Detroit is a non-profit [501(c)(3)] gentlemen’s club whose official purpose is to encourage amateur theater. On the first Saturday of the Season (October to April), Player members perform three one-act plays at what is called a “Frolic.” In the Shakespearean tradition, all roles on stage are played by gentlemen. Player members also do the costuming, directing, producing, set construction, makeup and other technical jobs, including those involving lights and sound. If you are interested in becoming a Player or would like to attend a Frolic as a guest, please call (313) 259-3385. From the founding of the club in 1910 until construction of this Playhouse in 1925, the gentlemen of Players lead a gypsy-like existence. Each month they were forced to find another Detroit stage in order to put on their three one-act plays. Venues included the Detroit Athletic Club, the University Club and the Twentieth Century Club. Designed by Player member and architect William Kapp, the Historic Players' Playhouse was constructed of what were, in 1925, revolutionary materials, i.e., cinder blocks. Look closely; that’s what they are! The building includes an upstairs formal meeting room with fireplace, a small commercial kitchen, a professional four-story high stage, dressing rooms, a back-of-the-house, state-of-the-art tech booth from which all lighting and sound may be controlled, and an assortment of basement storage and prop rooms. The Playhouse is both a Federal and State of Michigan designated historic site. The old bed of Parent's Creek runs under the northeast corner of the Playhouse. Parent's Creek was the site of the battle known as "Bloody Run" during Chief Pontiac's "Uprising" of 1763.