Summit in Union County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson

Women’s Heritage Trail

— Summit Playhouse —

Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, May 3, 2016

1. Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson Marker

Inscription. Did you know that Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson: *Was a leader in the Little Theater Movement in the United States? *Co-founded this community theater in 1918? *Directed more than 130 productions in this theater? (She was its director for 51 years, from 1928-1979.) *Funded the Marjorie Jefferson auditorium in 1960? *Lived to be 100 years old (1887-1988)?

The name Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson is synonymous in Summit with this community theater. Her personality and her approach to theater were different and unique in many ways. She insisted that the audience must be seated on time and that the curtain rise at the precise time listed in the program. She wanted everything in each production to be authentic to the period of the play, including the set design and the costumes. She did not allow the actors to have understudies in order to keep the performances at a very high level. The theater group she helped found began as a local effort to raise funds for war relief and is one of the oldest active community theater companies in the nation.

“I never allowed the world amateur to be used in conjunction with the Summit Playhouse Association except in its true meaning: someone who does something for the love of it.”
–Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson.

(Inscription in the two boxes on the left) (Top box)

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The Summit Playhouse is on the New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail because of the significant contributions of Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson to the arts and culture in New Jersey.

(Bottom box)
The New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail highlights a collection of historic sites located around the state that represent the significant contributions women made to the history of our state. The Heritage Trail brings to life the vital role of women in New Jersey’s past and present.

Erected by New Jersey Historic Trust-Historic Preservation Office.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Women. In addition, it is included in the New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail series list.

Location. 40° 42.907′ N, 74° 21.908′ W. Marker is in Summit, New Jersey, in Union County. It is on New England Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10 New England Avenue, Summit NJ 07901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in New Jersey’s North Jersey, in Greater Newark, and in the New York City Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Summit Playhouse (here, next to this marker); Summit Opera House (approx. 0.3 miles away); Summit Downtown Historic District (approx. 0.4 miles away); Rahway Valley Railroad

Photographed by Don Morfe, May 3, 2016

2. Marjorie Cranstoun Jefferson Marker

(approx. 0.7 miles away); Florence Spearing Randolph (approx. 1.1 miles away); Wallace Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church (approx. 1.1 miles away); Signal Beacon and the “Old Sow” (approx. 1.2 miles away); Bonnel Town - Chatham (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Summit.

Summit Playhouse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, May 3, 2016

3. Summit Playhouse

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on May 9, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 567 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 9, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.