Edison Theatre is the only fully technically equipped, proscenium thrust theater at Washington University in St. Louis and plays a varied role on campus.

Edison serves as a teaching facility for the Washington University Performing Arts Department, which produces three mainstage Edison shows each year and serves as a performance venue for Washington University student organizations.

Edison is also one of the few theaters in the St. Louis area to serve as a rental house for locally based presenting arts organizations such as The Black Rep.

At its capacity, Edison Theatre seats 656.

Officially named Samuel B. & Charles B. Edison Theatre, but known affectionately as “the Edison,” the theater’s construction was made possible through a generous donation from Mrs. Samuel B. Edison in 1972 and is named after her late husband and son