For more than sixty years, Theatre 40 has brought artists and audiences together through exceptional storytelling, professional craft, and an enduring commitment to live theatre.
For more than sixty years, Theatre 40 has brought professional artists and audiences together through intimate, ambitious live theatre.
From a bold idea in 1964 to a beloved home for live theatre today, Theatre 40 has spent six decades bringing stories to life and enriching our community—one performance at a time.
A bold new theatre company takes the stage.
Two decades of artists, productions, and audiences.
A new chapter in Theatre 40’s Beverly Hills story.
Five decades of performances, artists, and audiences.
New stories. New voices. The best is yet to come.
We believe live theatre should be beautifully made, deeply human, and shared at close range.
Every production is an invitation—to artists, audiences, and our Beverly Hills community—to gather around a story and experience something together.
We approach every production with professional discipline, thoughtful detail, and respect for the craft.
Our close connection between performer and audience makes every story immediate, personal, and alive.
We create a welcoming home where established and emerging theatre artists can collaborate, take risks, and grow.
Founded in 1964, we carry six decades of theatrical tradition forward while making room for what comes next.
Your gift helps us produce ambitious, intimate work with exceptional design, compelling storytelling, and meticulous craftsmanship.
ou empower artists to take creative risks, develop new plays, and bring fresh perspectives to the stage.
You help keep professional theatre thriving in Beverly Hills—accessible, welcoming, and connected to our community.
From a living room in the canyon to a beloved home on the stage, discover the moments, people, and places that shaped Theatre 40.
In 1964, a group of actors gathered at the home of Susan French at 40 Haldeman Road in Santa Monica Canyon to read the works of William Shakespeare. The address gave the company its name: Theatre 40.
By 1965, the group—led by Susan French and John Houlton—was ready to move from readings to production. Theatre 40’s first staged work was Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
In 1966, Theatre 40 presented Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice in MacArthur Park—Los Angeles’ first Shakespeare in the park.
The company soon formed an association with the Beverly Hills Unified School District, producing at the Horace Mann School auditorium and creating a theatre-appreciation course for the district’s adult-education program in 1969. When changes to Actors’ Equity waiver theatre cost the company its venue, Theatre 40 was without a home for nearly a year.
In 1974, Beverly Hills High School offered Theatre 40 a large storeroom—provided the company could transform it into a theatre. With grants from the City of Beverly Hills, the Beverly Hills Unified School District and the Ahmanson Foundation, together with the work of company members, the new theatre was created. The space was designed by acclaimed Broadway designer Ming Cho Lee.
Originally named in honor of Reuben Cordova, the theatre was renamed The Mary Levin Cutler Theatre in 2023. Mary Levin Cutler’s generous support helped Theatre 40 remain operational when many theatres were forced to close, and her commitment continues to sustain its future.
Theatre 40 is home to approximately 150 professional actors, directors, designers, and theatre makers.
Theatre 40 is a working company, a nonprofit organization, and a creative home.
The Board oversees operations; the Artistic Committee guides the work onstage.
Professional artists audition for membership and participate through dues, committees, ushering, and education.
Rep Plays, seminars, classics, premieres, and member-created work keep the company evolving.
