Begun in 2011 , the Playhouse honors Playhouse Legends, whose talent and devotion to our theatre over a long period of time have helped set the high standards of entertainment, professionalism, and quality that our audiences expect today. Legends understand the life-changing power and importance of theatre in our community because they, themselves, have lived it.
2019 Honoree
- John W. Viars, first show was Annie Get Your Gun, 1982
2018 Honorees
- Sue Caswell, first show was Bell, Book, and Candle, 1957
- J Michael Kellar, first show was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, 1991
- Melissa Kellar, first show was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, 1991
- Greg Leavengood, first show was Otherwise Engaged, 1980
- Mark Morrison, first show was 42nd Street, 1990
- Rich Richards, first show was Promises, Promises, 1977
- Dick Russell, first show was The Great Big Doorstep, 1948
- Antonia Nozicka, first show was The King and I, 1985
- Original Board of the Little Theatre Society of Des Moines: James B. Weaver, President; Lewis Worthington Smith, Vice President; Ida T. Jacobs, Secretary; and Henry H. Griffiths, Treasurer; and Ditlev Tillisch, producer and funder of the first performance on Nov. 24, 1919
2017 Honorees
- Steve Berry, first show was Jabberwock, 1974
- Gina Gedler, first show was Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, 1983
- Linda Juckette, first show was Man of La Mancha, 1979
- Joe Tish, first show was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 1994
- Shirley Brower, first show was Look Homeward, Angel, 1960
- Marion Cowper Rae, first show was Anna Christie, 1928
- Richard Wulf, first show was Born Yesterday, 1950
2016 Honorees
- Verner Haldene
- Cloris Leachman
- Phyllis Love
- Eddie Rissien
2013 Honorees
- Dale Berry, first show was The Clown Who Ran Away, 1966
- Jo Berry, first show was The Sound of Music, 1973
- Kathi Fieldsend, first show was Cabaret, 1988
- Lenny Houts, first show was The Music Man, 1984
- Henrietta Kagin, first show was Our Town, 1959
- Phyllis Mumford, first show was The Sound of Music, 1973
2012 Honorees
- Michael Cornelison, first show was Beauty and the Beast, 1963
- Pearl Faessler, first show was Auntie Mame, 1963
- Maxwell Schaeffer, first show was Woman in Mind, 1990
- Toni Pickard, first show was The Philadelphia Story, 1957
- Ruthanne Silverstein, first show was Guys & Dolls, 1958
- Lloyd Von Hagen, first show was The Tender Trap, 1960
2011 Honorees
- Al Downey, first show was Madwoman of Chaillot, 1960
- Jeanne Hopson, first show was Damn Yankees, 1960
- Jack Mishler, first show was Ah, Wilderness!, 1942
- John Thompson, first show was The Traitor, 1950