More than 25 years after defying long odds, harsh wintry conditions, scant supplies of food and little money to invest, members of the Cooperative Artists, the group that established professional theater at a then-closed 1920s Art Deco movie house in the old Borscht Belt region of the Lower Catskill Mountains are returning for a July 4th weekend reunion celebration at Shadowland Theatre, the Actors' Equity theater in downtown Ellenville, NY, 90 miles northwest of Broadway.
Open to the public, the reunion and reception will be held July 3 at 4:00 pm at Shadowland. Up to 15 of the original 33 Cooperative Artists members plan to attend, sharing memories, photos and recorded interviews from members unable to attend. At 8:00 pm, they will attend the evening performance of "Guest Artist," written by stage and film star
Jeff Daniels and directed by
James Glossman. "Guest Artist" stars
John Astin, who played Gomez Addams in the ABC-TV network series, "The Addams Family." Astin, now director of theater studies at
John Hopkins University, is returning to the Shadowland stage after an 11-year absence.
According to
Brendan Burke, artistic director at Shadowland, some of the former Cooperative Artists members may be staying at the theater's new housing, now nearing completion. Shadowland acquired the downtown house in December 2009 through a $50,000 donation from Provident Bank. It is being renovated at a cost of $100,000 to accommodate actors and crew, housed previously in local homes and rented apartments.
Andy Walter, a former president of Cooperative Artists and now a local resident, said professional theatre at Shadowland started with a vision fostered by Ron Marquette, the founding artistic director and currently coordinator of community relations and special events at SUNY Ulster, a local college. "Ron called in the dead of winter around Christmas, 1984 and asked me to head upstate and give an assessment of this theatre in Ellenville, to open it up and produce live shows with
The Acting Company, Cooperative Artists, comprised of acting students trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts."
Driving up in a January 1985 snowstorm, said Walter, they found the theater in a terrible state of disrepair, closed for more than a year after having been used as a movie theater for over 50 years. "Soon after, 33 people from Cooperative Artists drove up from the city and the decision was made to buy the theater, each chipping in $1,000 to get started."
On April 15, 1985, Marquette, Walter and two other actors started at the front door, worked their way in, cleaning out the building, sleeping on the stage at night in the freezing cold theater that lacked heat and running water. In the following weeks, joined by other actors from the group who would drive up for a day or week to help when they could, the goal was to prepare the theater for a grand opening gala event during the July 4th holiday weekend. A press release was issued to the local community, not knowing anybody or what to expect, inviting them to come and see
Kit McClure and Her All-Girl Swing Band plus the Cooperative Artists, who performed patriotic skits, songs and dance numbers.
According to Walter, "We were amazed that the house sold out, which at the time was over 400 seats. The excitement was palpable. Within two minutes, many in the audience were standing, cheering, clapping."
The group didn't know what to expect, he said. "To be greeted by such a turnout was just the push we needed to prepare us for what lay ahead. The theater needed so much work and we were so broke. But local people would bring us plates of sandwiches and the pizza guy would bring us leftover slices at the end of the day. It kept us alive. Sometimes we would all chip in a dollar each and buy a large bag of potatoes...spuds. For several days at a time, we ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was desperation, but, boy, it was fun."
As they picked up steam heading into their opening season, construction work continued inside the theater. "There was always someone playing the piano in the lobby accompanied by singing from whoever was in the room. We built sets on in a barn on Park Street, set them on huge, wheeled dollies and rolled them down the street in the middle of the night to the theater, so as not to disrupt traffic.
"A lot of people from the Town of Wawarsing and the Village of Ellenville supported the group," added Burke. "Businesses extended credit, often for no other reason than they enjoyed that first evening with
Kit McClure's band. The fact that this group rambled into town and started from scratch was met with great support that continues today locally and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley region."
"It had a feel to it," added Walter, "similar to the
Judy Garland,
Mickey Rooney, ‘let's put on a show' concept." From there, he said, "Creative people - actors, singers, dancers, writers, teachers, set builders, musicians - got involved in some way or another. But it was the original 33 and Ron Marquette's vision for the whole thing that brought us together for such a wonderful, unique, exciting time in our lives.
A quarter of a century later, the original actors have moved on with their lives, some still in show business, some having returned to their home countries. "But to get together again, years later," says Walter, "and celebrate such a unique, life-changing adventure is a time for us to stop and smell the roses over this wonderful thing we started. Today, Shadowland, this little theater that could, stands as a testament to the original vision and dedication and talent of the Cooperative Artists members."
Tickets for the Saturday, July 3, 8:00 pm performance of "Guest Artist" are available at the Shadowland box office at 157 Canal Street, Ellenville, by calling 845-647-5600 or visiting
www.shadowlandtheatre.org.
About Shadowland Theatre
Shadowland Theatre is the leading professional nonprofit
Actors' Equity company in the Lower Hudson Valley/Catskill Mountain region. Located only 90 miles from New York City in Ellenville, NY, Shadowland was named "Best of the Valley" by Hudson Valley magazine in 2004, 2005 and 2007; "2006 Cultural Business of the Year" by Ulster Development Corporation and Ulster County Chamber of Commerce; "Best Theatre 2006" by the Times Herald Record; and "Best Drama of the Year" by The Daily Record in NJ for The Good German. Founded in 1984, Shadowland performs in a restored 1920's Art Deco vaudeville/movie house converted to a 148-seat theatre. For more information, visit
http://www.shadowlandtheatre.org.
