A-list: Big-name actors graced, and still grace, Cape Cod stages. Here's a list.

Through the years, Cape Cod theaters have hosted celebrities from every area of the show business universe, including Broadway and off-Broadway, film and that slightly smaller screen, TV. Going back to the very beginnings of Cape theater, local stages have provided refuge for famous showbiz folks trying to escape the heat and grit of summer in the city. Here’s a look at some of the theaters that have hosted celebs over the years.

When the Cape Playhouse opened in 1927, founder Raymond Moore, previously a member of the Provincetown Players, convinced the incomparable Basil Rathbone to join the new theater’s troupe, with the star headlining four productions that summer. And Moore brought in other stars who — while not necessarily familiar to modern audiences — were Broadway luminaries at the time. They included Peggy Wood, Laura Hope Crews, Janet Beecher and Violet Kemble Cooper.

Then, in 1928, the distinguished-looking Robert Montgomery made his way to the Dennis stage for the last three productions of the year and two young actors made their first appearances on the stage that season: Henry Fonda and Bette Davis. It’s now a part of theater legend that Davis had been ushering theater-goers to their seats just one week before being assigned a small part in a show, “Mr. Pim Passes By”. (Obviously, we now know that the only important thing about that unremarkable production was Davis’s role in it.) Apparently, Davis and her mother had trekked to Dennis in the hope that the young actor would manage to snare a position as an apprentice. When that didn’t happen, she agreed to serve as an usher. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Wicked Witch of the West to-be started at Cape Playhouse in Dennis

Then, in 1930, Margaret Hamilton (who nine years later played the Wicked Witch of the West in the film “The Wizard of Oz”) made her first professional appearance at the Cape Playhouse in “Cape Cod Follies”.

By the end of the 1930s Moore’s health was failing, and he passed away in 1940. But business manager Richard Aldrich and his wife Gertrude Lawrence (star of London and New York stages — think “The King and I”) were ready to take the helm. Together they instituted the “star system” bringing luminaries to all four of their theaters: the Cape Playhouse, the Falmouth Playhouse, the Cape Music Circus (now the Melody Tent), and The South Shore Music Circus. The list includes Lillian Gish, Helen Hayes, Claudette Colbert, Eva Le Gallienne, Ezio Pinza and Roddy McDowall.

After his wife’s death in 1952, Aldrich turned his attention to a new career in government; He was succeeded at the Playhouse by Charles Mooney, who was taken by a new medium, television. Before long, stars of the airwaves like Betsy Palmer, Orson Bean, George Goebel and Steve Allen were making appearances on the Playhouse stage. And in 1957 Jane Fonda had a small part in a play entitled “The Male Animal,” with the 60s seeing performances by soon-to-be-greats including Frank Langella and Danny DeVito.

Melody Tent, South Shore Music Circus were a 'Who's Who' of stars

The list of stars from the early years of both the Melody Tent and Music Circus reads like a “Who’s Who” of Hollywood and Broadway. Just for starters, the list included: Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Angela Lansbury, Bob Hope, Helen O’Connell, Robert Merrill, Zero Mostel, Kitty Carlisle, Ann Miller, Jane Powell, Victor Borge, Debbie Reynolds, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Rosemary Clooney, Pearl Bailey and John Raitt. And the list could go on literally for pages. In fact, Aldrich became known for the “star power" he brought to all of his venues.

(Here’s an interesting piece of Cape Cod theater trivia: Bonnie Raitt, who often traveled with her dad John when he was on the road during summer months, has said that she feels like she grew up in the aisles of the Melody Tent. And, fittingly enough, she has often performed in the theater.)

From 2018-2023, Provincetown Theater is Broadway of Cape Cod

According to David Drake, artistic director of the Provincetown Theater, “The Cape in general and Provincetown in particular have always been magnets for celebrities.”

He supplied this list of noted performers who have been on the Provincetown Theater stage (in shows or readings) since he began his tenure as artistic director in 2018:

· Broadway Tony nominee Tom Hewitt, was in the theater’s 2019 production of “Sweeney Todd,” and is currently in “Hadestown” on Broadway. Hewitt will be back at Provincetown Theater this year, from Oct. 20-29, with his one-man thriller "Another Medea."

· Popular Broadway star Matt McGrath was in a reading of “Free Ali! Free Bob,” earlier this year,

· Broadway and TV actress Jennifer Van Dyck played in “The Lady Hamlet,” last year

In 2018 film star Amanda Plummer, daughter of Christopher Plummer, starred in a selection in that year’s Tennessee Williams Festival. The play was directed by Oscar nominee Marsha Mason.

He noted that, in the early 2000s, a number of stars performed in concerts and cabarets on the theater’s stage. The list includes:

Anthony Rapp, who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of “Rent.”

Tony award winner Lainie Kazan.

Actor, singer and musician Adam Pascal.

Comedy writer, songwriter and actor Bruce Vilanch.

Actor, playwright and songwriter John Cameron Mitchell.

Lena Hall, who originated the role of Nicole in the Tony-winning musical “Kinky Boots.”

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre was blessed by Julie Harris

At the top of any list of celebrities associated with the Wellfleet Actors Theatre (WHAT) is always Julie Harris. Famous for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in “The Belle of Amherst,” the Tony-winning actress has often been deemed the First Lady of American Theater. A tireless supporter of the theater (and others around the Cape), she said this about WHAT, as quoted in a CapeCodToday online article published shortly after her death in 2013.

“My first production was ‘American Buffalo,’ and I’ve had many, many more since. Great theater has the power to transform the way we feel, and WHAT performs wonderfully stimulating, challenging theater.”

Other noted performers who have stepped on the WHAT stage include:

Paul Benedict, who appeared in “The Unexpected Man” in 2003, was best known for his role as Harry Bentley on the television series "The Jeffersons." He played this role from the series' inception in 1975 until 1981.

Pedro Pascal, who performed “Lobby Hero” in 2003 and “Gizmo Love” in 2004, then went on to major film and TV success.

Ali Ewoldt, who performed in “Period of Adjustment” in 2014, then went on to be the first woman of color to play Christine in Broadway's “Phantom of the Opera.”

Kathryn Kates performed in “Raging Skillet” in 2018. She was known for appearances on Seinfeld in the episodes "The Rye" and "The Dinner Party." She also appeared in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Orange Is the New Black."

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Celebrities who shone first on Cape Cod stages before achieving fame