The Kenley Players was an Equity summer stock theatre company which presented hundreds of productions featuring Broadway, film, and television stars in Midwestern cities between 1940 and 1995. Variety called it the "largest network of theaters on the straw hat circuit." Founded by and operated for its entire lifespan by John Kenley, it is credited with laying the groundwork for Broadway touring companies.
The company's success was predicated on booking big-name stars for their box =office potential, casting them in familiar plays and musicals, and keeping prices low, thereby attracting large crowds. In its heyday, Kenley Players productions drew crowds of 5,000 in Dayton, Akron, Columbus, Flint, Michigan, and Warren, Ohio. Kenley "pioneered the notion of putting TV stars in summer stock." In a 1950 interview Kenley told The Washington Post, "I only charge $1.50 top...I'd rather have full houses every night than be stuck with a batch of empty seats."
Headliners included Tallulah Bankhead, Cyd Charisse, Rosemary Clooney, Olivia de Havilland, Veronica Lake, Gypsy Rose Lee, Arthur Godfrey, Rudy Vallée, Tommy Tune, Burt Reynolds, George Maharis, Ethel Merman, Mae West, Billy Crystal, William Shatner, Betty White, Florence Henderson, Mickey Rooney, Roddy McDowall, Marlene Dietrich, Jayne Mansfield, Rock Hudson, and Gloria Swanson. Those who appeared in more than five productions included Edie Adams, Ed Ames, Vivian Blaine, Mitzi Gaynor, Vincent Price, Genevieve, Robert Goulet, Lois Hunt, Van Johnson, Carol Lawrence, Paul Lynde, Gordon MacRae, Ann Miller, Karen Morrow, John Raitt, Martha Raye, Alexis Smith, Betty White, Barry Williams, and Earl Wrightson. In 1972, 1973, and 1975, Karen Valentine appeared in Columbus, Ohio. In 1978, Sue Ane Langdon appeared in Chicago in Columbus, Ohio.
Backstage called the Kenley Players "a legendary summer stock circuit." Playbill called it "for decades, a renowned midwestern summer stock outfit." During the period The Phil Donahue Show was broadcast from Dayton, celebrities appearing in Kenley productions appeared regularly, giving Kenley national publicity.
Production history 1940 The Barker - starring Ann Corio Command of Love - starring Ramon Novarro The Hottentot - starring Arthur Treacher No More Ladies - starring Lila Lee and Pert Kelton On the Spot - starring Anna May Wong The Poor Nut - starring Buddy Ebsen Private Lives - starring Ruth Chatterton See My Lawyer - starring Teddy Hart Tit for Tat - starring Pert Kelton and Lila Lee Up Pops the Devil - starring Fifi D'Orsay Worth A Million - starring Charley Chase Young Sinners - starring Leon Janney
1947 Ah, Wilderness! - starring Frank McHugh Arsenic and Old Lace - starring Bela Lugosi Biography - starring Vera Vague Caprice - starring Ruth Chatterton Dream Play - starring Jean Parker A Goose for the Gander - starring Gloria Swanson Kiss and Tell - starring Peggy Ann Garner Ladies in Retirement - starring Fritzi Scheff The Little Foxes - starring Ruth Chatterton The Male Animal - starring Buddy Ebsen The Petrified Forest - starring Conrad Nagel The Philadelphia Story - starring Diana Barrymore Sailor Beware - starring Ann Corio A Slight Case of Murder - starring James Dunn Springtime for Henry - starring Edward Everett Horton Three's A Family - no featured performers Tobacco Road - no featured performers
1948 Fatal Weakness - starring Glenda Farrell Free Hand - starring Larry Parks Good News - starring Dean Havers (first musical) John Loves Mary - starring Guy Madison Kind Lady - starring Sylvia Sidney Kiss and Tell - starring James Dobson The Last of Mrs. Cheyney - starring Kay Francis Laura - starring Signe Hasso Made in Heaven - starring Richard Arlen Strictly Dishonorable - starring Edmund Lowe Ten Little Indians - starring Beverly Roberts and Beverly Bayne Twentieth Century - starring Mischa Auer and Haila Stoddard The Voice of the Turtle - starring Virginia Gilmore Years Ago - starring Nancy Carroll
1949 Accent on Youth - starring Paul Lukas Anna Lucasta - starring Lizabeth Scott The Barretts of Wimpole Street - starring Susan Peters The Bat - starring Zasu Pitts Burlesque - starring Bert Lahr Dressed to Kill - starring Chester Morris Happy Birthday - starring Joan Blondell Her Cardboard Lover - starring Tom Drake Kiss and Tell - starring Peggy Ann Garner Let Us Be Gay - starring Kay Francis Light Up The Sky - starring Diana Barrymore My Sister Eileen - starring Billy Gilbert Petticoat Fever - starring Sonny Tufts The Philadelphia Story - starring Sarah Churchill Yes, My Darling Daughter - starring Ann Harding
1950 Angel Street - starring Laraine Day and Ernest Cossart Another Language - starring Martha Scott Apple of His Eye - starring Edward Arnold Born Yesterday - starring Shelley Winters Candle-Light - starring Jean Parker The Chocolate Soldier - starring Ernest McChesney Finian's Rainbow - starring Jerry Wayne For Love or Money - starring John Loder Goodbye, My Fancy - starring Sylvia Sidney Harvey - starring Bert Wheeler Over 21 - starring Eve Arden The Poor Nut - starring Lon McAllister Post Road - starring Zasu Pitts The Primrose Path - starring Ann Corio The Spider - starring Victor Jory Tobacco Road - starring John Carradine
1951 Brigadoon - no featured performers Candida - starring Olivia de Havilland The Curtain Rises - starring Veronica Lake Die Fledermaus - starring Ernest McChesney Glad Tidings - starring Melvyn Douglas and Signe Hasso Golden Boy - starring John Garfield Mirror, Mirror - starring Kay Francis Pal Joey - starring Carol Bruce and Bob Fosse Personal Appearance - starring Georgia Sothern Rain - starring Lawrence Tibbett Separate Rooms - starring Barbara Britton Skylark - starring Constance Bennett Springtime for Henry - starring Edward Everett Horton A Streetcar Named Desire - starring Richard Kiley Tonight or Never - starring Ilona Massey
1952 Anonymous Lover - starring Betty Garrett and Larry Parks Charley's Aunt - starring Francis Ballard Come Back, Little Sheba - starring Joan Blondell Come On Up (Ring Twice) - starring Mae West Gramercy Ghost - starring Angela Lansbury The Happy Time - starring Denise Darcel Kiss Me, Kate - starring Arthur Maxwell and Juliana Larson The Little Foxes - starring Ruth Chatterton Maid in the Ozarks - starring Gina and Burman Bodel A Night at Madame Tussaud's - starring Peter Lorre and Miriam Hopkins On Your Toes - starring Katharine Sergava, Bill Callahan and Yvonne Adair Private Lives - starring Alexis Smith and Victor Jory Remains to Be Seen - starring Veronica Lake and Jackie Cooper The Second Man - starring Franchot Tone and Betsy von Furstenberg Theatre - starring Kay Francis A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - starring Lanny Ross White Cargo - starring Rose La Rose
1953 Affairs of State - starring June Havoc Anna Lucasta - starring Sherry Britton Annie Get Your Gun - starring Sara Dillon Bell, Book and Candle - starring Alexis Smith and Victor Jory Call Me Madam - starring Patrice Wilkes and Jimmy Kirkwood Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - starring Rusti Salmon I Am a Camera - starring Evelyn Keyes Loco - starring Dagmar and Arthur Treacher Mister Roberts - no featured performers The Moon Is Blue - starring Jean Jory The Postman Always Rings Twice - starring Barbara Payton and Tom Neal The Respectful Prostitute - starring Amelia Corley Sassy Little Lassie - starring Chaz Chase
1955 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial - starring Chester Morris Finian's Rainbow - starring Susan Reed For Love or Money - starring Marie Wilson Guys and Dolls - no featured performers Member of the Wedding - starring Ethel Waters The Moon Is Blue - starring Donald Woods No Time For Comedy - starring Sarah Churchill Picnic - starring Gloria Vanderbilt and Jack Warden The Shanghai Gesture - starring Claire Luce A Streetcar Named Desire - starring Diana Barrymore Tobacco Road - starring Larry Barton White Cargo - starring Julie Gibson You Can't Take It With You - starring Charles Colburn
1957 Annie Get Your Gun - starring Vaughan Monroe and Constance Moore Anniversary Waltz - starring Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling Brigadoon - starring Susanna Foster and Virginia De Luce Bus Stop - starring Tempest Storm Can-Can - starring Dolores Gray Guys and Dolls - starring Maxie Rosenbloom The Moon Is Blue - starring Donald Woods Natural Urge - starring Dorothy Lamour and Robert Alda Petticoat Fever - starring Red Buttons The Primrose Path - starring Lillian Roth Show Boat - no featured performers South Pacific - starring Juanita Hall A Streetcar Named Desire - starring Nina Foch Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? starring Marie Wilson
1958 Anything Goes - starring Martha Raye and Keefe Brasselle Can-Can - starring Genevieve Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - starring Diana Barrymore Damn Yankees - starring Bert Wheeler Fallen Angels - starring Hermione Gingold and Carol Bruce House on the Rocks - starring Tallulah Bankhead Kiss Me, Kate - starring Patricia Morison The Moon Is Blue - starring Peggy King and Keefe Brasselle No Time for Sergeants - starring James Holden Show Boat - starring Allan Jones and Bert Wheeler Tonight at 8.30 starring Faye Emerson Wonderful Town - starring Kaye Ballard
1959 Bells Are Ringing - starring Anne Jeffreys Bitter Sweet - starring Jeanette MacDonald Born Yesterday - starring Peggy Cass Dream Play - starring Dorothy Collins Guys and Dolls - starring Robert Horton The King and I - starring Betty White Li'l Abner - starring Stephen Douglass Mister Roberts - starring Howard Keel Once More, With Feeling - starring Dorothy Malone The Pajama Game - starring Debra Paget The Seven Year Itch - starring Dick Shawn The Tunnel of Love - starring Virginia Mayo and Michael O'Shea
1960 Annie Get Your Gun - starring Ginger Rogers Anniversary Waltz - starring Hugh Downs Auntie Mame - starring Gypsy Rose Lee Can-Can - starring Genevieve Carousel - starring Betty Johnson and Robert Goulet John Loves Mary - starring James Garner Kismet - starring Jose Duval Meet Me in St. Louis - starring Jill Corey The Merry Widow - starring Edie Adams Redhead - starring Gordon and Sheila MacRae Rose-Marie - starring Anna Maria Alberghetti Silk Stockings - starring Genevieve South Pacific - starring Jeanne Bal and Alan Gerrard Susan and God - starring Joan Fontaine
1961 Auntie Mame - starring Gypsy Rose Lee Bells Are Ringing - starring Gordon and Sheila MacRae Blithe Spirit - starring Zsa Zsa Gabor Destry Rides Again - starring Hugh O' Brian Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - starring Betsy Palmer The King and I - starring Patricia Morison Naighty Marietta - starring Kathryn Grayson Oklahoma! - starring John Raitt Pal Joey - starring Andy Williams and Julie Wilson Sextette - starring Mae West A Streetcar Named Desire - starring Vivian Blaine and John Ericson The Student Prince - starring Robert Rounseville Take Me Along - starring Jack Carson and Betty White Under the Yum Yum Tree - starring Hugh Downs West Side Story - starring Carla Alberghetti The World of Suzie Wong - starring Karl Fredericks
1962 Brigadoon - starring Johnny Desmond Bye Bye Birdie - starring Andy Williams, Selma Diamond and Carmen Alvarez Carousel - starring John Raitt Father of the Bride - starring Art Linkletter Fiorello! - starring Bob Carroll Flower Drum Song - starring Ramon Novarro and Juanita Hall Girl Crazy - starring Mike Douglas Gypsy - starring Betty Hutton The Marriage-Go-Round - starring Ozzie and Harriet Nelson The Merry Widow - starring Patrice Munsel The Most Happy Fella - starring Jane Powell The Music Man - starring Van Johnson Oklahoma! - starring Robert Horton Picnic - starring Robert Horton Roman Candle - starring Arlene Dahl and Lee Patterson Say, Darling - starring Orson Bean, Don Cornell,k and Gretchen Wyler Wildcat - starring Martha Raye
1963 Carnival! - starring Ann Blyth Come Blow Your Horn - starring Merv Griffin and William Bendix Fanny - starring Anna Maria Alberghetti Irma La Douce - starring Genevieve The Music Man - starring Van Johnson