civic theatre

civic theatre, professional or amateur theatre that is wholly or partly subsidized by the city in which it is located.

The term is sometimes used interchangeably with community theatre, meaning a noncommercial, locally based group. European countries such as France, Denmark, and Germany have a long tradition of both national and municipal support for local theatre. In Great Britain, city governments are empowered to levy a tax to support theatrical productions. In contrast to the generally professional theatres of Europe, most civic theatres in the U.S. were at one time amateur, with a professional manager-director; later, the resident professional theatre became a civic theatre in effect. The first major U.S. civic theatre was Le Petit Théâtre de Vieux Carré, established in New Orleans in 1919. By the mid-20th century, civic theatres were often an important part of cultural centres.