New Freedom Theatre

Founded by John E. Allen, Jr. in 1966, Freedom Theatre is Pennsylvania's oldest African-American theatre. In 1968 Robert E. Leslie joined Freedom Theatre and founded the Performing Arts Training Program in 1971. After John E. Allen, Jr.'s death in 1992, nationally acclaimed director Walter Dallas became Freedom's Artistic Director.

In 1993, Mr. Dallas created Freedom Rep, the professional performing company of Freedom Theatre. Since then, Freedom has grown from a small community theatre to an award-winning, nationally recognized regional theatre, only the second African-American theatre to have joined the prestigious League of Resident Theatres (LORT).

In 2001, after receiving multiple accolades including awards for Best Drama, Original Music, Set Design, Choreography, Lead Actress in a Drama, Supporting Actress in a Musical, Costume Design, and Direction, Freedom Theatre was named "Theatre of the Year" by the Philadlephia Weekly.

Today, Freedom Theatre consists of two components: the Barrymore Award-winning Performing Arts Training Program, (Patricia Scott Hobbs, Director) and Facilities Rental (Gail Leslie, Director). These components work hand-in-hand to provide training in the performing arts and comprehensive customer service and community access