The Thalian Association is the name of a succession of amateur theatrical companies active in Wilmington for more than 200 years. Wilmington gentlemen organized the first "theatrical corps" sometime around 1788, reportedly inspired by a local appearance by a traveling professional company. The name was derived from that of Thalia, the Greek muse of comedy. The troupe used the theater in the Innes Academy, at the northeast corner of Third and Princess Streets, as a stage for its performances.
Innes Academy was named for James Innes, who came to the Cape Fear area about 1735. In his will he bequeathed "all my books and 100 pound Sterling or the equivalent there unto in currency of the country for the use of a free school for the benefit of the youth of North Carolina." For this purpose he also willed a plantation. On 28 Apr. 1803, the trustees of the Wilmington Academy began advertising for bids for "a house in the town of Wilmington suitable for an Academy and Theatre." By December 1806 the academy building was sufficiently finished for the gentlemen of the Thalian Association to present the first of several performances in the new theater. The bill was the Lovers Vows, a comedy in five acts, and David Garrick's farce, Neck or Nothing. The performances were presented as a benefit for the completion of the academy.
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Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, Innes Academy was the predominant site for performances of drama in Wilmington. In addition to the Thalians, professional touring companies also played there. In 1850 the theater was leased for extended engagements of the Jefferson & Ellsler Company. Joseph Jefferson, at this time in his early twenties, would become one of the most beloved actors of the American theater. Of his arrival in Wilmington, Jefferson wrote, "the days were spent in preparing the dusty old rat-trap of a theatre for the opening."
On 12 Aug. 1856, the Thalian Association signed over its interest in the Innes Academy to the city of Wilmington, which was planning a new city hall on the site. In return, the Thalians were granted a lease on a municipal theater planned for the building's east wing, on condition that the group pay half the cost of equipping and furnishing the theater and agree to an annual rent. On 12 Oct. 1858, the new Thalian Hall had its gala opening.
The modern Thalian Association has presented at least one production each year since World War II. Members of the group have also been active in the preservation of Thalian Hall. Thalians successfully lobbied for funds for major restorations of the theater in 1938-41, 1947-52, and 1974-75. After several renovations and additions, the most recent completed in 1990, the building still serves Wilmington in its intended capacity.
In 2007, the North Carolina General Assembly designated the Thalian Association of Wilmington as the Official Community Theater of North Carolina:
North Carolina Session Laws, 2007-68
S. B. 872 CHAPTER 145-28
AN ACT TO ADOPT THE THALIAN ASSOCIATION AT WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, AS THE OFFICIAL COMMUNITY THEATER OF NORTH CAROLINA
Whereas, the Thalian Association was organized in 1788 in Wilmington, North Carolina; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association is the oldest community theater in the State of North Carolina; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association was organized for the purpose of providing a foundation for the artistic, cultural, and social development of the Wilmington community; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association participated in the endowment of the Innes Academy, the first public school in Wilmington, and supported that endowment by organizing a community theater company, the proceeds from which supported the public school and the poor of Wilmington; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association was first chartered by the State of North Carolina in 1814 to provide "learning and the promotion of literature" to the people of Wilmington; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association community theater became an enduring tradition in the Wilmington community that has lasted from 1788 to the present day and from its beginning has attracted the support and participation of the most public-spirited of Wilmington citizens; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association contributed in 1851 to the building of the Washington Monument, and its public-spirited generosity is displayed to this day in a memorial stone on Landing 23 that reads "Wilmington, North Carolina, Thalian Association"; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association, championing the need for a large and beautiful public theater, conceived the original idea of a civic union of culture and government and formed a partnership in 1854 with the City of Wilmington to build a combination theater and City Hall; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association in 1854 sent its president, Robert H. Cowen, to New York City to commission America's premier theater designer, John M. Trimble, to design a theater and City Hall building; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association in 1857 to 1858 supervised the construction of the theater and City Hall building, named Thalian Hall; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association in 1860 gave its ownership interest in Thalian Hall to the City of Wilmington; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association in the Civil War years of 1861 to 1865 committed itself to fund-raising performances in Thalian Hall to help alleviate sufferings from yellow fever and smallpox epidemics; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association in the Reconstruction years of 1865 to 1871 struggled against political partisanship and provided a bridge over the chasm of bitterness; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association in the post-Civil War era supported popular education in a nonpartisan manner despite opposition, continued the tradition of theater despite economic decline and poverty, opened Thalian Association membership, and allowed onstage participation in the theater for the first time to females; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association maintained through the years of poverty the spirit of culture and provided a focal point for the revival of the performing arts in the early 20th century; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association rescued Thalian Hall from neglect and possible destruction and restored it to its original beauty; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association inaugurated children's theater in Wilmington; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association is fully committed in the present and in the future to the historic and cultural preservation of Wilmington and Southeastern North Carolina in the face of rapid development and irreversible change; and
Whereas, the Thalian Association stages each year five productions of drama and musical theater in the Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, six productions of children's theater in the Hannah Block Historic USO and Community Arts Center, a street fair showcasing locally produced visual art, and a bluegrass musical festival; and
Whereas, for no monetary consideration, the Thalian Association promises to further assist the State of North Carolina in its work of advertising and promoting the educational, cultural, and economic interests of the State, and in attracting and encouraging people from other states and countries to visit the State where so many shrines and historical sites are located; and
Whereas, the General Assembly wishes to recognize the Thalian Association for its contributions to the cultural life of this State over the last 218 years by recognizing it as the official community theater of North Carolina...