2021 Weston Playbill

WESTON HISTORY

SEASON 85

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

A former church renovated for the town dramatic club by Weston-born architect Raymond Austin, the Weston Playhouse attracted the attention of director Harlan Grant, who launched the theatre's first theatre season in the summer of 1937. Owned by the Weston Community Association and rented by the theatre company during the summer season, the Playhouse was supported by its community through three war-torn summers in the 1940s, a fire that destroyed the original Greek revival building in 1962, and flooding which challenged its replacement a decade later and again in 2011. In 1988, directors Malcolm Ewen, Tim Fort, and Steve Stettler took the reins, rededicating the theatre to its community and reorganizing it as a not-for-profit Equity company. "Weston" is now an award-winning regional theatre nationally known for its multi-stage summer festival and its year-round Education and New Works programs.

1962 - Despite the tragic fire, the company raised a tent, and the season continued the very next night. 2021 - With guidance from the state and industry organizations, the company raised a tent to produce outdoor performances fifteen months after the onset of the pandemic.