| Hawthorne
Players is one of the oldest theatre companies
in the St. Louis area. Today, the group produces three plays a
year in the Florissant Civic Center Theatre, frequently selling out the
600-seat auditorium.
In the fall of 1945 a small group of parents and teachers at Central School in Ferguson, Mo., settled on the idea of presenting a mystery play entitled Hobgoblin House as a fund-raising activity for the PTA, The production was immensely successful and the participants so thoroughly enjoyed the undertaking. that a theatre organization was quickly formed. Thus were sown the seeds for Hawthorne Players, North St. Louis County’s oldest theatre group, with a membership of over 100 adults and young people drawn from throughout the metropolitan area. The origins of Hawthorne are firmly fixed in community service: in the early years, profits were donated to the local schools and parks. Beginning in 1992, Hawthorne Players began presenting annual Duckie DeMere Scholarships to graduating seniors in the performing arts. Nearly $40,000 has been awarded to North County students! Over the years, Hawthorne has undergone many changes. Beginning in 1958, the organization turned in a new and challenging direction. The Glass Menagerie was the vehicle for their first production to be presented without affiliation with any civic group, and it was a critical success (without being a financial disaster!). Thus encouraged, Hawthorne began the process of establishing themselves as one of the most adventuresome and dramatically conscientious theatre organizations in the Greater St. Louis area. Hawthorne Players presented the first local community theatre productions of many shows, including: Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and Rhinoceros. Hawthorne introduced its audiences to the wonders of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella five years before it was rediscovered on Broadway. The company has garnered fine reviews for its revivals of neglected musicals, including The Red Mill, The Desert Song and Kismet and is known for the excellent quality of its full orchestras and choruses. Each season mixes comedy (Rumors, Social Security), musical theatre (Crazy for You, Kiss Me, Kate, Man of La Mancha) and drama (Arcadia, Proof, A Doll’s House, plus the highly popular annual Best of Hawthorne musical revues featuring stars of Hawthorne musical productions. Hawthorne has changed its venues over the year, of course, starting in Ferguson in 1945. Many shows were presented at January-Wabash Park. In the 1960s, Hawthorne productions were staged in Famous-Barr’s auditorium at the thriving Northland Shopping Center. The group presented its first musical in 1968. In 1973 Hawthorne moved to its current home, the Florissant Civic Center Theatre. |
| THE DUCKIES Hawthorne Season Award Winners |
Hawthorne Players Arts For Life Award
WinnersHAWTHORNE PRODUCTIONS 1945-Present
| 1945 Hobgoblin House 1946 Hobgoblin House (reprise) 1947 The Walrus and the Carpenter A Pair of Sixes 1948 Adam and Eva Petticoat Fever 1949 Hay Fever The Late Christopher Bean 1950 The Handy Man Guest in the House 1951 A Widow in Green 1952 The Mad Hatters ****Help us fill in the shows of the 50's!**** 1961 Witness for the Prosecution NEW! 1962 Picnic Death of A Salesman You Can’t Take It With You FIRST SEASON AWARDS! NEW! 1963 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof The Visit Thurber Carnival Mister Roberts NEW! 1964 Separate Tables Seven Year Itch A Streetcar Named Desire NEW! 1965 The Moon Is Blue Dinny and the Witches Deadly Game NEW! 1966 Oh Dad, Poor Dad, etc. Diary of Anne Frank Under the Yum Yum Tree Night of the Iguana NEW! 1967 Never Too Late Bus Stop Any Wednesday Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf NEW! 1968 A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum Barefoot in the Park The Fantastiks Period of Adjustment NEW! 1969 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Albee Revisited Rhinoceros Little Mary Sunshine |
1970 The Haunting of Hill HouseA Thousand Clowns You Know I Can’t Hear You When The Water’s Running 1971 Philadelphia Story Little Murders The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd Summer and Smoke 1972 The Subject Was Roses Lovers and Other Strangers Little Me I Never Sang for My Father 1973 Blithe Spirit Child’s Play Oh, Kay! Butterflies Are Free 1974 The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Black Comedy/White Lies Applause 1975 Company Plaza Suite Man of LaMancha 1976 Night of One Acts The Fantastiks See How They Run Of Thee I Sing Becket 1977 The Children’s Hour Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris Rendezvous Private Lives Gaslight 1978 Amphitryon ‘78 6 RMS RIV VU A Moon for the Misbegotten 1979 Ten Little Indians NEW One Touch of Venus The Good Doctor The Dickens Christmas Carol Show |
| 1980 Sweet Charity The Night of January 16th Lovers and Other Strangers Godspell 1981 You Can’t Take It With You Three Penny Opera A Streetcar Named Desire You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown 1982 Tribute Dial M For Murder Who Foiled Farley Flopp/Vaudeville Olio Fiddler On the Roof 1983 Deathtrap Harvey 1984 The Man Who Came to Dinner Carousel The Rainmaker 1985 Prisoner of Second Avenue Shenandoah Desperate Hours 1986 Play It Again, Sam Grease Our Town 1987 The Foreigner The Most Happy Fella Wait Until Dark 1988 Last of the Red Hot Lovers 42nd Street The Male Animal 1989 Room Service Bells Are Ringing The Bad Seed |
1990
Bedroom Farce Cabaret Born Yesterday 1991 Tribute The Red Mill Guilty Conscience 1992 Broadway Bound Boys From Syracuse A Thousand Clowns 1993 Lend Me A Tenor Runaround! The Rothschilds Inherit the Wind 1994 Babes in Arms A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum The Philadelphia Story 1995 Little Mary Sunshine The Desert Song Perfect Crime 1996 Hay Fever Crazy For You The Glass Menagerie 1997 A Shot in the Dark H.M.S. Pinafore The Constant Wife 1998 Moon Over Buffalo Kismet Death of a Salesman 1999 Noises Off Bitter Sweet Jake's Women |
|
2000
Tom Jones Carnival An Inspector Calls 2001 How the Other Half Loves South Pacific Dracula 2002 The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 1776 A Doll's House 2003 Barefoot in the Park Annie Get Your Gun
Arcadia 2004 (Theatre Renovation) 2005 Over the Tavern High Society The Front Page 2006 Rumors Kiss Me, Kate Proof 2007 Social Security Best of Hawthorne 2007 "Sounds of the Fifties Man of La Mancha Spoon River Anthology A Christmas Carol 2008 On Golden Pond Best of Hawthorne 2008 "Big Band Bash" |
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