Inspired by outdoor European theatres and his lifelong love of music and drama, Pierre S. du Pont designed and built the Open Air Theatre at Longwood after travels to Villa Gori in Italy. His interest in theatre may have begun in childhood, when he played with a toy theatre created by his boyhood friend Maxfield Parrish. The Open Air Theatre opened in 1914 with a dance spectacular at the annual Garden Party as du Pont's first dedicated performing arts space at Longwood. In 1915 he added simple stage fountains inspired by surprise fountains in Italian gardens, and in 1916 the Savoy Company became the first theatrical company to perform there with Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience. From 1926 to 1927, underground dressing rooms and a pump room were added, the seating area was sloped, and the fountains were expanded to 750 jets and 600 lights, greatly increasing illuminated water displays. Du Pont later observed that the theatre was best suited to spectacle rather than speech, but modern amplification and lighting have since allowed a wide range of productions. In 1932 William Winder "Chick" Laird and Frederick W. Wyatt directed The Pirates of Penzance there, and their group, the Brandywiners, has performed annually except during World War II. Amber glass was added to the fountain lenses in 1933, broadening the range of fountain colors; in the 1960s American Ballet Theatre and the Pennsylvania Ballet appeared on the stage; in 1986 computer controls made possible sophisticated fountain and lighting effects synchronized to music; and by 2008 performers included Lyle Lovett, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, and many artists from jazz, classical, rock, folk, bluegrass, and world music. Over the last century, upgrades to the stage, fountains, lighting, and sound transformed the Open Air Theatre into one of the world's most magnificent and distinctive theatre gardens, celebrated in its centennial season in 2014.