Before televisions were a mainstay in every American living room and before special effects were the name of the game in film, Americans sought out their local playhouses for entertainment. Home to 39 professional theaters, shows staged on Broadway are touted as the highest level of English language stage productions. However, during the early to mid-twentieth century Theater was booming on other streets of America as well. These other regional theaters -- or, professional troupes that produce their own seasons -- generally reproduce Broadways plays and musicals along with classic dramas and comedies. There are over 80 regional playhouses in the United States.

Over its nearly 200 year history, Knoxville's Bijou Theater has been a business building, tavern, movie house, hotel, a used car lot, a fruit stand, and an adult movie house before settling in as the playhouse and music venue it is today. During its time as a vaudeville theater such notable acts as the Marx Brothers and John Philip Sousa performed. The Bijou, however, did not begin staging plays until the 1940s -- and, even then, not on a regular basis. In 1973 the Bijou was closed and scheduled to be demolished due to unpaid rent and amusement taxes. However, the Knoxville Heritage Group managed to raise the $375,000 needed to save the theater, so that current Knoxvillians may still enjoy the historic theater. The theater is Tennessee's oldest and is on the national register of historic places. Other historically significant theaters in Knoxville include the Carousel, Staub's, and the recently remodeled Tennessee Theater, which is the Official State Theater of Tennessee.