Colonial Era. Theater in America grew out of the colonies' cultural ties to England. Professional theater was first seen in the colonies in 1752, when Englishman Lewis Hallam's troupe of players arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia. Although the Continental Congress urged the states to ban theatrical performances and other amusements during the Revolutionary War, the dramatic arts reappeared in the new nation as theaters were built in the rapidly expanding cities. Since theater buildings were large and expensive to maintain, needing to draw large audiences, the theater in the United States was primarily an urban art form. Playhouses in the largest cities usually had their own permanent companies of actors, which would frequently support visiting star actors. Smaller towns welcomed traveling companies of actors who would perform in whatever facilities were available. English actors such as Edmund Kean, George Fredericke Cooke, Fanny Kemble, and William Charles...