Community theater in Shorewood has a long, respected history that spans three-quarters of a century.

On February 1, 1936, the new Shorewood Auditorium was opened. The building was needed to supplement Arnold Hall, an auditorium facility  in the Atwater School. The building was constructed with PWA funds for a total cost of  $312,800. The Opening was an important community event. In fact, a festival for the opening was held on January 21, 1936.  The building was designed after the RKO Theater in New York City, and it was considered the second  finest school auditorium in the nation (first place was awarded to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut).

Seating capacity was listed at 1,301 with a stage measuring 66 feet long and 34 feet deep. Student groups using the auditorium  and all adult activities in the auditorium are under the control of the Shorewood School Board. The School Superintendent stated that the auditorium was to be used for community  as well as school purposes with locally sponsored dramatics, musical productions and lectures.

Shortly after the opening, a Shorewood theater troupe called The Playshop which debuted 1930 made the new auditorium its home. This group evolved into the Shorewood Players in the early 1940's.

That early group was an energetic bunch putting on as many as five shows a year.  Then, in 1976, The Players reorganized under the Adult Recreation Department of Shorewood school district. Under the inspired leadership of Ms. Betty Paige, the reorganized players opened with John Guare's black comedy The House of Blue Leaves.

The following years have brought us such memorable shows as Evita, Chicago, Equus, Nunsence, Don't Drink The Water,  Last of The Red Hot Lovers, Pajama Game, Man of La Mancha, The Sound Of Music, The King And I, Carousel and in 1998, a very successful production of South Pacific.
 

Plus, the Shorewood Players have had  a number of premiers: The Milwaukee area premier of Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor. And the world premier of the Waukesha native David Orgas' play: A Politically Correct Love Story.

That tradition continued in 1998 with not only the Milwaukee premier, but also the amateur premier of another Neil Simon play: Jake's Women.

Shorewood Players began the 1999 - 2000 season with
"Meet Me is St Louis" and followed this with the very funny comedy
"Run For Your Wife." Click on these links to view the details and some photos from these shows.
 

Theater for the community can only be possible with the support of the community. Shorewood is a community that believes that The Arts are a fundamental human need. To that end, we have been committed to providing opportunities for growth the the Shorewood area.
 

The Shorewood Players continue to have a long and proud history of supporting theater in the community. Details of our more recent productions can be seen by clicking here.