The following was written by by PatrickRDorn on December 11, 2003
Theater vs. Theatre
Which is the proper spelling?
During my seven-year stint as a theater critic for the Boulder Daily Camera, there was a minor controversy about the proper way to spell “theater.” In most cases the words are interchangeable, but for the purposes of newspaper publication, the proper spelling is with an “er,” not “re”. “Theatre” is from the French, and is commonly used in England. Apparently when Daniel Webster codified American English into his now-famous dictionary, he decided to un-anglicize many words. “Honour” became “honor,” “grey” became “gray,” and “theatre” became “theater.”
Most American theater companies use the “re” ending. Sometimes you’ll see the “re” when the word refers to the art form or actual companies, but “er” when it refers to the building itself. It was pretty funny sometimes, when a theater company used the “re,” because I often ended up writing something like “Boulder’s Dinner Theatre is a great theater.” Fortunately for all of us, the word “theatrical” doesn’t become “theaterical.”
If you are writing for publication, I recommend that you use the “er” ending, and let the publisher change it if they so desire. But whichever way you go, be consistent. Otherwise the publisher will simply assume that you are a lazy proofreader.
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