Theater companies unite

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By Terri Horvath

Community theater is alive and well in and around Zionsville. At one time, two different theater companies performed in the area. The Off-Main Street Players came first in 1966, with the Zionsville Theater following in 1971.

The Off-Main Street Players first production was in 1966. (Illustration courtesy of SullivanMunce Cultural Center)
The Off-Main Street Players first production was in 1966. (Illustration courtesy of SullivanMunce Cultural Center)

The first production of the Off-Main Street Players was held in a barn on W. 116th Street, now part of Raintree Place. “Bell, Book and Candle” premiered Sept. 9, 1966. A success on Broadway, the play focuses on a Greenwich witch who casts a love spell on an unsuspecting stranger. He eventually finds out about her duplicity and seeks a cure, only to discover that he had fallen in love naturally and the two happily unite.

About five years later, another troupe formed to present the comedy drama “Luv” in May 1971 in the old Town Hall. Another Broadway hit, the play’s two main characters are former college roommates, Milt and Harry. When they reunited a few years later, each discovers that the other is equally miserable in life. Milt sees in Harry an answer to his primary problem – his wife, Ellen, who he tries to foist on his old pal so he can run off with his mistress.

Both Off-Main Street Players and Zionsville Theater had varying success and experienced periods of inactivity. By 2005, the two names united to return community theater to Zionsville. The Off-Main Street Players brought its offering to the Zionsville Theater in the Town Hall. The new Off-Main Street Players’ first production, Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite,” premiered Sept. 9, 2005, which was 39 years exactly after the original group’s first offering.


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