Our History

Land Affirmation

Weston Theater Company acknowledges that we do our work on the traditional land of the Abenaki People, who stewarded the earth long before European colonizers arrived in North America. We commit to policies and practices of cultural equity to benefit current and future generations.

Since 1937

During the Great Depression and in the midst of Weston’s long, dark winters when the town was cut off from the villages on the other side of the hills, neighbors came together to put on plays that brought to life stories of the world beyond.

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 theater's first theatre season in the summer of 1937. Owned by the Weston Community Association and rented by the theater 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, flooding which challenged its replacement a decade later and again in 2011, and the international COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020.

Read the full story here.

 

Celebrating 85 Years

Historical Photos

  • 2011

    Weston produced the world premiere of the musical Saint Ex

  • 2014

    Weston produced the world premiere of the musical Analog & Vinyl

  • 2017

    Ribbon cutting for the grand opening celebration of Walker Farm

  • 2018

    New Executive Artistic Director, Susanna Gellert, takes the helm

  • 2021

    Season 85 is performed under a tent outside Walker Farm due to Covid-19 restrictions .

  • 2022

    Weston Playhouse Theatre Company rebrands as Weston Theater Company.

  • 1932

    First known photo of a Weston theatrical performance. (The Rivals by RB Sheridan)

  • 1935

    An Invitation to the grand opening of the Weston Playhouse.

  • 1937

    Lloyd Bridges & Peggy Converse perform in the Playhouse living room.

  • 1937

    Playbill cover from the first Weston theatrical season

  • 1949

    The Weston Playhouse Company boards the bus for a weekly tour to Woodstock, VT

  • 1953

    Sam Lloyd in Finian’s Rainbow

  • 1956

    Patrons inside The Playhouse

  • 1962

    A fire devastated the Weston Playhouse, which burned to the ground through the night

  • 1962

    After the fire

  • 1962

    After the fire, a tent was raised and the show went on the very next night.

  • 1962

    Harlan Grant welcomes the audience to the tented performance after the fire.

  • 1963

    The Playhouse reopened the year after the fire

  • 1964

    Christopher Lloyd

  • 1965

    Harlan Grant and Tommie Blake - Never Too Late

  • 1968

    Harlan Grant

  • 1971

    Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

  • 1973

    Janice Paran, Melanie Jones, Tim Fort, and Tom Turgeon in The Drunkard

  • 1973

    Tommie Blake and Walter Boughton in Our Town

  • 1976

    Steve Scherer, Susan Terry, and Tim Fort in Annie Get Your Gun

  • 1981

    Walter Boughton and Michael Kiley - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

  • 1985

    Walter Boughton and Jack Straw in The Sunshine Boys

  • 1987

    Jennifer Server and Eric Castle in Evita

  • 1988

    The 3 Guys: Tim Fort, Malcolm Ewen, & Steve Stettler (Founding Artistic Directors)

  • 1990

    Geoff Wade & Jack Straw - The Music Man

  • Early 1990s

    Basil Burwell, Lloyd Bridges, and Steve Stettler

  • 2005

    Purchased the 5-acre Walker Farm and launched a $10 million campaign to create a year-round Center for the Arts

  • 2011

    Tropical Storm Irene led to flooding which devastated the Playhouse itself and the surrounding area.

  • 2011

    The Weston community rallies around the theater and helps restore it to its present state.