While our stage has been dark and our seats empty for much of the last 18 months, Off Broadway Players has not been idle. There have been many exciting events in the life of our theater.
First, we have completed the transition from The Schultz Theater to our new name, Off Broadway Players (OBP). While the old name is still a significant part of our history, we wanted a name that reflects the future. We could think of no better way to honor the community that has welcomed, embraced, and supported us so well than to incorporate the community’s name into our own. With an allusion to the theatrical center of New York City, this new moniker perfectly reflects the goal of our theater: to be a venue for premium entertainment for children, families, couples, seniors, and the entire community and provide arts education for children and students cultivating in them a life-long appreciation of the arts
In conjunction with the name change, a new logo was also adopted. For nearly a year we solicited entries from numerous local graphic artists and worked with them to craft an image that shows who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. You can see the new logo in our ad elsewhere in this publication.
While there were no live productions in 2020, we produced three virtual productions: More Pasta, Waiting for John, and Shall We Dance. All three are still available for viewing on our website: offbroadwayplayerva.org.
In July of this year, the OBP returned to the live stage with its production of Be My Baby by Ken Ludwig. We were hosted by the Broadway Volunteer Fire Department to whom we donated the proceeds of the show. It was our great pleasure to give back to the community in the form of a check for over $5000.00! This November, we returned to the fire hall to stage Christmas Belles by Jessie Jones, Nicolas Hope, and Jamie Wooten.
Finally, it was announced that we shall soon have our own home! The town of Broadway purchased the old elementary school building on S. Main St. and is renovating it. Not only will it serve as our theater, but it will also be available to other groups for private and public events. It will truly serve as a cultural center for the arts and enrich the greater Broadway community. Is the fact that it is located near the intersection of Broadway and 42(nd) a coincidence? We think not.
We hope to return to JFHMS for the 2022 season. It will be a great pleasure to be back in the school that has been so supportive and welcoming to us since we arrived in 2016. Discussions are in progress on what shows we will perform next year; but, it is too soon to announce our schedule. Rest assured that we will publish it as soon as we finalize the titles and dates.
The OBP wants to thank you for your generous support and gracious encouragement for the last five years. The future of your theater is bright. May the holiday season and coming new year bring you health, love, hope, peace, joy, and prosperity in great measure, and the grace to share them all.
