The Barn Theatre in

Augusta, Michigan Augusta is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 885 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly within Ross Township, though a small portion extends south into Charleston Township. Augusta is situated ...

Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo– Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Kalamazoo Count ...

, United States is one of the oldest

summer stock theatre In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...

s in the United States and the oldest one in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

.Theatre History: The Barne Theatre
/ref> It also houses The Barn Theatre School. The

barn theatre The Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, Kalamazoo County, United States is one of the oldest summer stock theatres in the United States and the oldest one in Michigan. It also houses The Barn Theatre School. The barn theatre is just off the Sta ...

is just off the State Highway 96 by Augusta. The theatre originated in 1946 when Jack Ragotzy, Betty Ebert and others formed the Village Players troupe. After playing several seasons in a community hall in a former Methodist church (in Richland), in 1949 Jack and Betty moved a dairy barn, which was converted into a theatre and was purchased by them in 1954.History of the Barn Theatre School
/ref> It was incorporated as "The Barn Theatre" in 1949.Barn Theatre
The Historical Marker Database In 1951 it became an Equity theatre. Its first show was the ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...

'' musical.

Notable performers

A number of notable performers made appearances at The Barn, including: *

Dana Delany Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television drama ''China Beach'' (1988–1991), for which s ...

Marin Mazzie Marin Joy Mazzie (October 9, 1960 – September 13, 2018) was an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theatre. Mazzie was a three-time Tony Award nominee, for her performances as Clara in '' Passion'' (1994), Mother in ''R ...

was an apprentice in The Barn * Michael Reno began his professional career at The Barn; he premiered his musical ''Revelation'' there in 1976 *

Tom Wopat Thomas Steven Wopat (born September 9, 1951) is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Lucas K. "Luke" Duke on the long-running television action/comedy series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. Since then, Wopat has worked regularly, ...

Edward Hoogterp, ''West Michigan Almanac'', 2006
p. 326
/ref> *

Wayne Lamb Michael "Wayne" Lamb (October 24, 1920 – June 5, 2001) was a Broadway dancer, choreographer, theatre director and professor of dance. Beginnings in Kansas Lamb was born in Centerville, Kansas and attended the University of Wichita and the U ...

was a performer, choreographer and a producer at The Barn since 1955 for over 23 years.Barn Theatre Archives, 1978 Barn Theatre program bio. The Barn Theatre School lists the following persons, in addition to the above ones, in their "Wall of Fame":

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...

Becky Ann Baker Becky Ann Baker (née Gelke; born February 17, 1953) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles of Jean Weir on NBC comedy-drama series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000) and Loreen Horvath on HBO comedy-drama series ''Girls'' (2012� ...

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

, Robert Newman, and

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...

.Introducing our Wall of Fame
(retrieved January 17, 2023)

References

Barn theatres Buildings and structures in Kalamazoo County, Michigan {{theat-stub