Olney Theatre Center in Montgomery County, Maryland
September 25, 2026
Architects: EskewDumezRipple
Location: Severn River, Maryland, USA
Photos © Michael Mantese, courtesy of EskewDumezRipple
As regional theaters across the country grapple with evolving audience expectations, funding pressures, and aging facilities, Olney Theatre Center spent nearly a decade quietly reimagining what a modern performing arts institution can be.
Rather than designing a standalone theater building, EskewDumezRipple partnered with Olney on a long-term master plan that reimagined the entire ecosystem of theater-making.
The project embraces the campus’s layered history, an eclectic collection of theaters, barns, courtyards, and additions accumulated over nearly nine decades, and builds upon that character rather than replacing it.
The design team honored the institution’s identity, and allowed the campus to evolve organically rather than imposing a singular architectural vision.
Working within a fully operational campus that continued hosting productions, rehearsals, educational programming, and public events throughout construction, the team carefully choreographed a series of renovations and additions that collectively strengthen Olney’s role as a producing theater, educational institution, and community gathering place.
In September, the center debuted the first regional production of Some Like It Hot, the Broadway musical based on the classic film.
The four-time Tony Award winner will run through November 8, 2026. It marks a milestone for the Bernard Family Theatre, the centerpiece of an eight-year campus transformation.
Olney Theatre Center in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA – Building Information
Architects: EskewDumezRipple – www.eskewdumezripple.com
- Location: Olney, MD
- Size: 13.5 Acres
- Year Of Completion: 2026
Collaborators
- Landscape Architect: Design Workshop
- Acoustics: Akustiks
- Theatre Consultant: Theatre Projects Consultants
- Mep Engineer: Cmta Consulting Engineers
- Structural Engineer: Holbert Apple Associates
- Structural Engineer: Skarda And Associates, INC.
- Civil Engineer / Surveyor: Soltesz
- Construction Manager / Preconstruction Services: The Whiting-turner Contracting Company
- Photography © Michael Mantese, courtesy of EskewDumezRipple
Olney Theatre Center in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA images / information received 250926 from EskewDumezRipple Architects
Location: Maryland, USA, USA
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