Take my word for it - it’s not easy to stage a show. It takes a lot of people, time, effort, dedication and yes, money to put one together. For that reason it’s not surprising that quite a few groups have faded away over the years. I wanted to wrap up my series about “the history of local theatre as I remember it” with a tip o’ the hat to those groups.
First of all, there have probably been quite a few that I’ve never heard of - after all, I arrived in Huntington in 1976, and that’s where my memory starts. (As always, dear reader, feel free to post comments or send me an email at TheMinskers@aol.com with corrections or additions.)
Possibly the biggest group to fade away was the Community Players. I only remember seeing one show of theirs - “A Christmas Carol,” at the old Abbott Theater on Huntington’s west end. The group spent years putting on shows, but when the Abbott finally closed (and was later torn down), the group disbanded. A few efforts have been made in the years since to revive the group, but for now, the group has apparently left the stage.
The only other group that I know about firsthand was the Appalachian Regional Theatre (known as ART, but not to be confused with the ARTS group in the Renaissance Theatre). Organized by Danny Ray, a stage veteran who returned to his home in Huntington, the group put on some outstanding shows, including “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Odd Couple,” “Noises Off” and “Into the Woods,” to name a few. Sadly, the group shut down about a year ago, and its return is uncertain.
My hat is off to anyone who undertakes the challenge of putting on a local show. It’s a near-impossible job - but it can also be lots of fun and very rewarding.
In future blog entries, I’ll tell you more about the pitfalls of putting on a local production - what it takes and why it can succeed wildly - or fall on its face - and why there’s no way to predict which way it’ll go.
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