Family Theatre Welcomes New Season

from The LocaL, Sept-Oct 2021

Luke’s Pub And Steakhouse

By Scott Berson

Family Theatre, tucked into a beautiful space in Rose Hill Baptist Church, is one of the great understated gems of the Columbus community. In a town known for its downtown theatre scene, Family Theatre has carved out a space for itself as a truly local performing arts program and ministry, open to anyone and everyone interested in getting involved with theatre.

Now after almost 25 years, they’re still going strong, and gearing up for their new season, starting with an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved “A Wrinkle in Time,” beginning September 10th and running through the 25th.

“We are a faith-based, family-friendly theatre, and we were originally founded for homeschooled kids who didn’t have the opportunity in the school system to have an outlet for theatre,” said Artistic Director Cheryl Palmour. “But it has expanded a lot more than that now. For the current show we have a CSU student, we have adults, we have children in public, private and homeschool. I see us as being a community theatre. We are open to anyone coming to audition for shows.”

The theatre was founded in 1997 by Anne Stumhofer, who started the organization when she came to Columbus as a teacher.

“My whole thing with theatre came out of teaching,” she said. “But fortunately, God brought people to me who knew what they were doing. I’m telling you, He brought good people.” With their help, she shepherded the fledgling theatre to a few different churches before they found their current home at Rose Hill.

**Lion, Witch, Wardrobe - White Witch 2018**

“They gave us so much storage space, classrooms and space for dressing rooms, the café, It’s been a nice situation for us,” she said. “We just want to do plays that glorify and honor God. We’ve done everything from Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, adaptations of every children’s book you can imagine. We’ve also done Biblical plays. This year we’re doing the story of Ruth, for example.”

There are two things that make Family Theatre unique, Anne and Cheryl said: the family-friendly, faith-based focus, and the sense of togetherness that brings people together as they work on shows and attend performances.

“It’s small. It’s pretty intimate. We have whole families that come through and graduate and go to college. Whole families are involved in the shows. It’s just been a wonderful experience,” Anne said.

“We have people who come in from all over the community,” Cheryl said. “Some people will do multiple shows, some people will do one show and won’t do anything for a while, and then come back. One of the things that people say is, when they become involved, it feels like they’re part of a family. We want that sense of community and family. Even though they don’t know each other, they make friends and they become part of family theatre.”

There are many roles open for people who may not want to get on stage. Interested folks can work in costuming, lights, stage management, or any of the other roles it takes to put together a production. Family Theatre, which is a non-profit, also hosts acting classes and summer camps which are “ designed for students to positively experience their creative energy through performance and team work.” More information on classes and camps can be found on their website, www.familytheatre.org.

“The upcoming season has something for everyone,” Cheryl said. It starts with the modern classic “A Wrinkle in Time” this September, the “story of Meg Murry, a high-school-aged girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O’Keefe to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.”

The show runs September 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m. and 19 at 2:30 p.m, with tickets at $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and military, $10 for students, and $5 for kids aged 3-5.

Other shows this season include Family Redeemer in October and November, The Christmas Doll in December, Dear Anne, From Nina, in February, Little House on the Prairie The Musical, in April, and Garfield, The Musical with Cattitude, in June. For more information on specific days and times, and to purchase tickets, go to www.familytheatre.org