Community theater troupes

44th Anniversary Edition Stages have a deep foundation

Douglaston, Forest Hills theater groups among the stars

by Mark Lord

Chronicle Contributor

According to the American Association of Community Theatre, a nonprofit corporation that serves as the voice of the amateur boards in this country, “Community theater occupies a peculiarly important position in the American theater picture.”

It’s an idea that reflects the thoughts of many of those individuals whose voices have been heard on our local stages, as well as those who have found themselves seated on the aisles of our neighborhood’s theaters.

AACT further indicates that community theater “engages more people in theatrical activity, albeit part-time, than all the rest of the American theater put together.”

Dr. Twink Lynch, who wrote a book on the subject entitled “Boards in the Spotlight,” suggests that “the beginnings of community theater in the United States are not well recorded.”

But she points out that amateur theatricals existed even during the Colonial and Revolutionary War times.

One such group, the Footlight Club, was founded in 1877 in Jamaica Plain, Mass., and has been declared by AACT to be the oldest continuously producing community theater in the U.S.

Dating back a few decades less but still a long time, and still going strong, is this borough’s own Douglaston Community Theatre, a troupe that traces its roots to the 1920s.

DCT’s history has been fairly well documented over the years. According to a 1990 write-up in a local newspaper, a group called the Church and Drama Association was begun under the auspices of Zion Episcopal Church. When the church burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1924, the troupers began to hold their meetings at the Douglaston Club, assuming the name The Douglaston Players.

In 1950, the principal of PS 98 approached the group about a possible fundraising event, and the play “Life with Father” was put on in the school’s auditorium. The reception was so positive that it led to the formation of a new group, Douglaston Community Theatre, which continued to perform at that school and then at JHS 67.

When the Board of Education drastically raised its rates for use of the auditorium, in the mid-1960s, DCT moved to its permanent home at the rebuilt Zion Church.

In addition to many loyal fans, who return time and again to see productions, the group has an impressive number of long-time members.

One of them, Michael Wolf, a mainstay in Queens community theater who is currently one of DCT’s three co-presidents, says that groups such as this are not only “a great asset” to the community, but “an integral part” of it. And for the actors, “It means everything,” he said. “We love to do this. We have to love it. There’s little or no remuneration.”

He pointed out in a recent telephone interview that around the time DCT was founded, Calvin Coolidge was president of the United States and Jack Dempsey was heavyweight boxing champion of the world. “These are completely different times,” Wolf said, suggesting that DCT has evolved considerably since its inception.

“We used to do a musical every spring,” said Barbara Mavro, a member of the group since 1979 and another one of its current copresidents. But in recent years, that has become “cost prohibitive,” she said.

Still a list of some of its recent productions is diverse and impressive: Neil Simon’s comedy classic “The Sunshine Boys,” the mystery thriller “Deathtrap,” the comic play “Blithe Spirit” and Pulitzer Prize winner “Driving Miss Daisy,” among many others. Already in the planning stages is “Prescription: Murder,” the play that inspired the television series “Columbo,” scheduled for the spring.

Equally varied are the productions offered by another longstanding local theater group, The Gingerbread Players of St. Luke’s Church in Forest Hills, whose latest undertaking, Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” runs Nov. 12 to 20. Back in 1971, the church’s organist and choir director, Harriet Morin, noted that a member of the congregation, Chip Stokes, was understudying the title role in the New York City Opera production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” and suggested the church mount a production of their own with the young performer as well as other interested parishioners. Thus, a new theater group was born.

Louise Guinther, whose father was in the chorus of that production of “Amahl,” was recruited to hand out programs for the show, being too young to appear on stage. She’s been involved with the group ever since.

“Community theater is a real social activity,” she said, an opportunity for those involved “to find out about each other, to check out each other’s talents in a low-pressure environment.”

The group sets itself apart by performing not only Shakespeare but the works of other playwrights who are not frequently represented on community theater stages. Among its past offerings are the Bard’s “Macbeth” and “The Taming of the Shrew,” Moliere’s comedy “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme” and musicals including “Babes in Toyland” and “The Boy Friend.”

Community theater is “a chance for kids and grownups to interact,” Guinther said. “The kids often show the grownups up.”

Forest Hills resident Michele Gerrig Newmark, a theater devotee who sees as many shows as she can, both on Broadway and local-

William Gross and Dolly Guinther perform in the Gingerbread Players’ production of “Hansel and Gretel” in 1974. PHOTO COURTESY LOUISE GUINTHER ly, values community theater. She recently recalled one of her own earliest theatrical experiences, one which found her sharing a community theater stage with her mother. “The community really came together,” she remembered. “Theater brings a sense of comLOCAL munity to a community. It brings awareness that there’s more than television and movies. It DRAMA radiates outward.” She also appreciates that such theaters are “very easy to get to, usually quite inexpensive. And the venues are so small that you feel like a part of the action.” Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic shut down many theater companies, both professional and nonprofessional, some temporarily, some permanently. While several community theaters in the borough were forced to bring down their final curtains, others have managed to re-emerge, welcoming audiences back for much longed-for live performances. According to Encyclopedia.com, in 1917, there were approximately 50 community theaters across the country. By 1925, that number swelled to almost 2,000. Today, per AACT, there are about 6,000. About a dozen are right here in the borough. In addition to DCT and Gingerbread, the groups back in action following a two-year shutdown include Royal Star Theatre in Jamaica Estates, St. Gregory’s Theatre Group in Bellerose, Maggie’s Little Theater in Middle Village, and a relatively new entry to the scene, City Gate Productions, which performs at various venues around the borough. So, the survival of community theater seems assured, thanks to the dedication of the At left, Stephen Banci, Eliza Smith, Fred Guinther and Louise Guinther in the Gingerbread Play- performers and production teams, as well as ers’ original “Uncle King Arthur,” 1976. At right, performers in Douglaston Community Theatre’s the audiences who welcome their contributions 1979 production of “Guys and Dolls.” PHOTOS COURTESY LOUISE GUINTHER, LEFT, AND DCT to the community. Q