Keeping Community Theater Alive
Good news! You don’t have to trek up to Wilmington or Philadelphia for high quality theater performances. With a vibrant lineup of Broadway musicals, comedies, drama and holiday shows planned for its 2022 season, there’s something for everyone. More good news? By design, it’s affordable with ticket-prices below what you’d pay in a large city!
What started out as a 1973 living room conversation between its 15 charter members, Possum Point Players theatre company now boasts a membership of over 200, and an active mailing list of over 5,000 volunteers and audience members! The variety of performances the “Possums” (as they refer to themselves) have produced is impressive! This year’s lineup starts with 12 Angry Jurors, for what looks “like an open-and-shut case—until one of the jurors begins opening the others’ eyes to the facts. The final verdict and how they reach it play out in tense scenes that will electrify you and keep you on the edge of your seat!”
April opens with A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
A murderous romp filled with unforgettable music, non-stop laughs, and a scene-stealing role for one actor playing all eight of the doomed heirs who meet their ends in the most creative and side-splitting ways.
Then the summer wamrs up with Noel Coward’s HAY FEVER in June. “Hoping for a quiet weekend in the country with some guests, David Bliss, a novelist, and his wife, Judith, a retired actress, find quiet an impossible dream when their high-spirited children, Simon and Sorel, appear with guests of their own. A houseful of drama waits to be ignited as misunderstandings and tempers flare. With Judith’s new flame and David’s newest literary “inspiration” keeping company as the children follow suit, the Bliss family lives up to its name as the “quiet weekend” comes to an exhausting and hilarious finale worthy of Feydeau.”
September brings “Calendar Girls” based on the Miramax motion picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth to our coastal community. Then the holidays usher in the outstanding musical score of IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS THE MUSICAL.
If Shakespeare is more your taste, the Possums also offer frequent interactive readings from the Bard’s works, during which you can try your own hand at acting! (Possum Point Shakespeare Players: on the second Mondays of each month, meet at Possum Hall, Georgetown.) For fans of classic radio shows like Fibber McGee and Molly, the “PPP Radio Theater” recreates a studio-like scene, with audience interaction. (For more options also check out their Dreamers United and On the Edge projects.)
Over the years, the Possums have mentored volunteers of all sorts of backgrounds and talents. Even the kids can get involved with Possum Juniors for students, grades 6-12. Beyond the actors, there are also costume designers, set designers, carpenters, lighting and makeup artists and sound technicians – all involved because of their love for theater and pleasing audiences. Many crew members came to be a Possum with some sort of background in amateur theater, while dozens of others learned on the job. Thousands of volunteer hours have been logged over the years, which has helped the nonprofit qualify for grant funding and government support.
PPP has been recognized throughout the state of Delaware for its mission to educate and diversify theater. They’ve collaborated with many other cultural organizations, such as Rehoboth Art League and Southern Delaware Choral Society. It has transformed the face of live theater in Sussex County – so Delawareans: come see what all the fuss is about, and support this thriving local enterprise!