Jupiter Theatre
1001 East Indiantown Road
Jupiter Florida
Originally
opened in 1979 as the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre, the 28,000 square foot
historic theatre was changed to the Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theatre in 1984. Many
dramas, comedies, musicals, classics and world premieres with internationally
renowned stars appeared at the Jupiter. Teachers had a place to teach in all
capacities of the arts at the Burt Reynolds Institute for Theater Training,
which together attracted major stars to act and teach in Jupiter.
The Jupiter also had a delightful Children’s Theatre designed especially for their "discriminating" tastes. In 1994, while the play Peter Pan was being conducted for schoolchildren, fireworks on the stage ignited curtains and caused approximately $100,000 worth of damage to the theatre. All of the children were safely evacuated.
Farrah Fawcett
had a rather strange opening night in Butterflies Are Free at the Burt
Reynolds Dinner Theater in Jupiter, Florida, on 30 July 1980. An obese lady in
the front row of tables began yelling insults at her and making bird calls
during the performance. Later, this unidentified lady raised her dress and
flashed the performers, causing co-star Dennis Christopher to take notice,
although the character he was playing was a blind man. Nearby, a male patron
began vomiting, and yet another patron fainted. Incredibly, the reviews for
Farrah's performance were positive. (Edited from the Farrah Fawcett sight.)
Sadly the Jupiter Theatre closed its doors in 1997 after Reynolds declared bankruptcy in 1996.
In 2002 the theatre reopened as the Palm Beach Playhouse at Jupiter Theatre.
NEWS: The revitalization of the landmark Jupiter Theatre is
an idea whose time has come. Phase I of the remodeling project has begun, with
an estimated completion and grand re-opening tentatively scheduled for February
2004. The theatre will be renamed Maltz Jupiter Theater at the opening.