PHILADELPHIA: Quintessence Theatre Group announced last month that they have purchased the Sedgwick Theater, where the company has been in residence for 14 years. The theatre’s board of directors purchased the building for $2.3 million.
“It has been our long-held dream to make the Sedgwick our permanent home, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support, financial and otherwise, that we have received from the community,” board chair Patricia Stranahan said in a statement. “We are excited to begin to renovate this beautiful Art Deco building and we remain committed to Quintessence’s mission to bring classic theatre to Philadelphia, the region, and the nation.”
The Sedgwick Theater is in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia. It first opened as a cinema in 1928 and was purchased by David and Betty Ann Fellner in 1994, serving as the home of the Sedgwick Cultural Center until 2006. In 2010, Quintessence founder Alex Burns arranged for the new theatre company to rent the space.
Quintessence will renovate the Sedgwick with funds from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Funding Program. The theatre received $1.75 for renovation funds from the state program. They hope to complete renovations in time for the Sedgwick’s 100th anniversary in 2028.
“I can’t think of a better way to start our 15th anniversary season than with Quintessence’s commitment to the Sedgwick as our permanent home in Mt. Airy,” Quintessence executive director Erica Ezold said in a statement. “I look forward to realizing our ambitious plans for the Sedgwick and making it a space where Quintessence Theatre and the community can thrive for years to come.”
Quintessence will produce their 16th season off-site while the Sedgwick is being renovated, and will return to the building at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027. A group of private donors have financed Quintessence’s purchase of the Sedgwick.
Quintessence Theatre Group is dedicated to bringing epic works of classic drama and literature to the contemporary stage. As a text-based, actor-focused repertory theatre company, Quintessence re-envisions the classics to inspire their community to consider what is essential in theatre and in human nature. As of 2023, Quintessence had an approximate budget of $1.3 million.
