The Brooke Hills Playhouse was established in present-day Brooke Hills Park and is located in the
northern panhandle of West Virginia, in
Brooke County
Brooke County is a county in the Northern Panhandle of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,559. Its county seat is Wellsburg. The county was created in 1797 from part of Ohio County and named in hono ...
. The playhouse was West Virginia's first traditional
summer stock theater, and was started by four area residents: John Hennen of
Wheeling, WV
Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...
, Judith "Judy" Porter-Hennen of
New Cumberland, West Virginia, Bill Harper of
Chester, West Virginia, and Sharon Murphy Harper of
Wellsburg, West Virginia.
The playhouse, which has been home to amateur theater for 43 seasons, is a division of the Brooke County Arts Council. The playhouse traditionally performs five shows per season, ranging from
farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
comedies to
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
productions to
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
s. Auditions are open to the public.
The "barn," as it is often called, was once the actual barn of the wealthy and prominent S.C. Gist and the Gist family of Wellsburg, West Virginia in the 18th and 19th century.
Parking Lot Players
The majority of shows featured at the playhouse are geared for adult actors with few parts available to child actors; however, every season for the past several years has boasted a musical production by the Parking Lot Players, a troupe of school age children ranging from elementary through high school and so named because of their long established history of entertaining patrons in the parking lot before a show and during intermission. Seven years ago the Parking Lot Players were given their own set and stage time and have become very popular amongst patrons.
External links
Brooke Hills PlayhouseBrooke Hills Playhouse YouTube Channel
Theatres in West Virginia
Buildings and structures in Brooke County, West Virginia
Tourist attractions in Brooke County, West Virginia
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