Welcome to the Urban Spectrum Theatre!

Winner of the 2019 TOSCA Award in Theater.

The Urban Spectrum Theatre exists to provide quality, multi-cultural, accessible theatre to the inner city, and to offer an opportunity for community residents, especially young people, to work with more experienced performers.

Founded in 1974, the company has produced over 75 stage plays ranging from high comedy, musicals, heavy drama, and children’s shows. Over the past ten years, the theatre has found its true “niche” in producing shows that offer historical drama, particularly surrounding people of color. Within that time frame, highly successful shows have been staged about the life of Josephine Baker, the birth of rock’n roll as it grew out of the blues in the south, and a show about the early blues featuring characterizations of Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, and Big Mama Thornton. Annual holiday children’s shows are usually adapted from folk tales from around the world.

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The theatre is currently working on restructuring its organizational capacity as we move into the future. Funding for this has been made possible by the Metro Regional Arts Council. Our next major production will be in the spring of 2027.