Local Theatre History Part XI - Here and Gone

   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 community theatre groups have faded away over the years. 

   I wanted to include in this series about “the history of local theatre as I remember it” with a tip of the hat to those groups.

   I should add that 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 Abbott Theater on Huntington’s west end in the late '70s. The group spent quite a few years putting on shows - and I believe they were revived at least once along the way, but when the Abbott finally closed (and was later torn down), the group apparently disbanded. A few efforts have been made in the years since to revive the group, but for now, they have apparently folded.

   Another 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). It was organized by the dearly departed 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 10 years ago.

   And then there's the group headed by Eddie Harbert known as the Renaissance Players, and they've also staged a number of shows in the area, including Nunsense, Baby, Little Shop of Horrors, Closer Than Ever and The Rocky Horror Show. That group has been on hiatus for more than nine years, and may yet return to the stage someday.

   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! 

   It's been fun looking back at the history of theatre, although there's so much history that's lost to the ages. Theatre tends to be "of the moment" - the show is staged and then over, and it's on to the next one, so keeping a history of events isn't always high on the list for each group.

   There's a tantalizing photo from 1911 in James Casto's book Images of America: Cabell County that shows a group of solemn children dressed in overalls, getting ready to present The Mikado (of all things) at the Huntington Theatre. (How I'd love to see that show!) So theatre has been in the blood of the city for a long, long time.

Next: Three more to remember!