A Glorious Past - A Brilliant Future

The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre has been entertaining audiences in northeast Ohio for 74 years. Through the decades of our existence, we have adapted to the tastes, economics, and talents of our times. As we have matured, we have worked diligently to bring our audiences quality theater. We are proud of our history as a community theater. It gives us great pleasure to watch alumni who have gotten their start at the Little Theatre go on to professional careers. The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is what a community theater should be. Not only is our talent onstage, backstage, and behind-the-scenes derived from the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area, so is our financial support. One hundred percent of our backing comes from ticket sales, fundraisers, and the generous support of corporations and individuals like you. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the staff, and the hundreds of volunteers, we salute you, our audience, for making the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre the place to be.

Audiences today at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre enjoy a first-class professional theater with high-tech lighting and sound systems, comfortable seating, and excellent acoustics. Before and after the show, they meet and mingle in the lobby and enjoy refreshments during intermission in the charming River Room. The theater has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1929. In that year, Chagrin Falls was a sleepy little town with little in the way of culture. Alfred Hill, owner of a short-lived newspaper in the Valley, ran an article in his paper suggesting that interested residents meet and form a local group of players. The idea caught on, and in November 1930, the Valley Players celebrated their inaugural season with a series of three one-act plays staged in the Federated Church gym. So successful was the first production that 50 more people joined the Players and plans were laid for a second season.

The Players opened their second season on the upper floor of the Old Town Hall, which was to be their home until a fire destroyed the second story in 1943. For the next several years, the Players used makeshift accommodations in schools and other buildings. In the fall of 1948, following two fundraising drives, construction was begun on the present Little Theatre building on River Street. Architect Frank Draz, who also designed the Cleveland Playhouse and Karamu Theater, drew the final plans for the theater. The new facility opened in November 1949 with the world premier of 'How's Your Hooper' by Everett Rhodes Castle of Cleveland Heights. Going to the theater became the social thing to do in the Valley. The theater thrived and rapidly expanded its offerings to include a youth theater group and a ballet school. For many years, the theater actors and audiences were limited to Valley residents only. By the late 1960s, as television and movies drew people away from live theater, the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre decided to open its doors to the wider community. Now a true community theater, Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is recognized throughout the region as a venue for high quality productions that showcase the talents of area actors and delight thousand of theater lovers each season.

• Chagrin Valley Little Theatre holds open auditions for all shows. Audition notices are published in local papers and are sent by e-mail to the theater's proprietary audition list.

• Have a yen for the theater? Chagrin Valley Little Theatre has many volunteer opportunities available for behind-the-scenes volunteers in costuming, set construction, lighting and music.

• Chagrin Valley Youth Theatre offers classes and workshops several times a year for students in grades 3 through 12. Under the direction of professional actress Julie Kolibab, Youth Theater offers aspiring performers the opportunity to learn acting techniques and methods and perform on the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre stage. Fall Youth Theater students will present Ghosts, Goblins and Gobbledygook, the Halloween play, and the Gingerbread Tea for the holidays. Spring and summer session students will present full-stage Youth Theater productions. For more information about upcoming Chagrin Valley Youth Theater classes, please call 440-247-8955.

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