History of Little Theatre of Manchester
Organized in 1960 under the aegis of the Recreation Department, The Little Theatre of Manchester, Inc. is a theater company of, by and for the community.
In 1965, LTM re-organized as a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation in the State of Connecticut. Since 1961, LTM has produced at least three major dramatic works each year, a total of more than 1,100 performances of 197 major productions, playing to a total estimated audience of a 300,000. Over 2,000 non-professional actors have performed in LTM shows and another 1,000 volunteers have worked backstage and on the business side of the company’s operations. Since 1991, LTM has resided in Cheney Hall, a National Historic Landmark building and the oldest operating theater in Connecticut.
For over twenty years, LTM used a variety of “workshops” for holding meetings, building scenery and rehearsing plays; performances were held at local school auditoriums in Manchester and East Hartford. In 1982, the Town of Manchester asked LTM to consider taking over the operation of Cheney Hall, once it was restored. LTM agreed and went on to spearhead the drive to raise the funds for the renovation project.
With an extraordinary community base and experienced fundraisers, LTM was responsible for raising $1.8 million toward the $2.6 million cost of restoring Cheney Hall to its former glory.
In 1991, the award-winning renovations were completed and the Little Theatre of Manchester moved into Cheney Hall, operating the facility for the Town of Manchester. This remarkable and unique relationship is a model for non-profits throughout the state and the nation.
LTM has collaborated, promoted, planned and engaged the community to make Cheney Hall an arts and cultural center for the region. In addition to its five main stage annual productions, which represent a minimum of 47 performances, LTM also produces Evenings @ 7 play-readings several times a year. This offers the troupe an opportunity to hear new works, allows playwrights to see their works performed, and gives new directors and actors an opportunity to hone their skills.
At Cheney Hall you’ll find art exhibitions in the Silk Room, a Lunchtime Lecture series that offers thematic connections and good conversation about our upcoming productions. Writers, directors, playwrights, historians have graced our lecture series with their expertise. The Hall is used by numerous community and civic groups for a variety of events open to the public.
With the ongoing support of local businesses, corporations, state and local government, and public foundations, the diverse programming has expanded LTM’s presence on both sides of the river, gaining it wide recognition as one of the finest community theater companies in the state.
List of Past Productions
1961
Born Yesterday
Bus Stop
The Time of the Cuckoo
1962
The Boy Friend
The Cave Dwellers
The Women
1963
Androcles and the Lion
Boy Meets Girl
Death of a Salesman
Les Precieuses Ridicules
1964
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Gazebo
The Streets of New York
1965
Janus
The Best Man
The Fantasticks
1966
Mary, Mary
Mister Roberts
Night Must Fall
1967
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Look Homeward, Angel
Never Too Late
1968
Barefoot in the Park
Ring ‘Round the Moon
The Petrified Forrest
1969
Any Wednesday
Carousel
Picnic
1970
I Never Sang for My Father
LUV
The Subject Was Roses
You Know I Can’t Hear You With the Water Running
1971
A Thousand Clowns
Black Comedy
Funny Girl
The Price
The Public Eye
1972
Arsenic & Old Lace
Plaza Suite
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
1973
Fiddler on the Roof
Roshomon
The Rainmaker
1974
Inherit the Wind
Night Watch
The Gingerbread Lady
1975
Promises, Promises
The Crucible
The Odd Couple
1976
And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little
Oklahoma
Wait Until Dark
1977
Cabaret
Solitaire/Double Solitaire
Tartuffe
1978
Company
The Good Doctor
The Little Foxes
1979
Bells Are Ringing
Twelve Angry Men
Wake Up, Darling
1980
California Suite
George M
The Glass Menagerie
1981
A Touch of the Poet
My Three Angels
Oliver
1982
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A View From the Bridge
Bedroom Farce
1983
A Man for All Seasons
Deathtrap
Guys & Dolls
1984
Chapter Two
Stalag 17
They’re Playing Our Song
1985
Celebration
Play it Again Sam
The Night of the Iguana
1986
Applause
Da
Sly Fox
1987
A Chorus Line
The Teahouse of the August Moon
Tintypes
1988
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Crimes of the Heart
Working
1989
Amadeus
The Boy Friend
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
1990
42nd Street
A Flea in Her Ear
All the Way Home
1991
Broadway Bound
Noises Off
The Fantasticks
1992
Critic’s Choice
Follies
The Lion in Winter
1993
Accomplice
Einstein and the Polar Bear
Little Shop of Horrors
1994
I Hate Hamlet
Singin’ in the Rain
Steel Magnolias
The Boy Who Talked to Whales
1995
A Few Good Men
Hello Dolly!
Lost in Yonkers
Love Letters
1996
I’m Herbert/Tea for Two/The Diary of Adam & Eve
Nunsense
The Miracle Worker
You Can’t Take It With You
1997
“Farnsdale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild
Dramatic Society Murder Mystery”
Lips Together, Teeth Apart
My Fair Lady
1998
A Streetcar Named Desire
Gypsy
The Importance of Being Earnest
1999
Anything Goes
Auntie Mame
Odd Couple
2000
3 by Durang
Born Yesterday
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Glass Menagerie
2001
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Driving Miss Daisy
Moon Over Buffalo
Secret Garden
2002
Rumors
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)
Showboat
The Sisters Rosensweig
2003
George M
Moon Over the Brewery
No Way to Treat a Lady
On Golden Pond
2004
Jekyll & Hyde
Noises Off
The Last Night of Ballyhoo
Wild Mushrooms
2005
Anne Frank
Front Street
Music Man
Over the River and Through the Woods
The Vagina Monologues
2006
Into the Woods
Misery
Rocky Horror Show
Social Security
The Laramie Project
2007
Hair
Lend Me a Tenor
Mame
Mousetrap
Two Rooms
2008
Blithe Spirit
Camelot
Marvin’s Room
Sing Virgie Sing
2009
Arsenic and Old Lace
Inherit the Wind
The Remarkable Thing About Stardust
Sound of Music
2010
Bus Stop
Love Letters
The First 25 Years – A Musical Revue
The Man Who Came to Dinner
The Producers
2011
Doubt
Rumors
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Second 25 Years – A Musical Revue
2012
1776
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Musical Revue (2012)
The Vagina Monologues
2013
Fiddler on the Roof
Musical Revue (2013)
Our Town
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
You Can’t Take It With You
2014
Almost Maine
Noises Off
South Pacific
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Steel Magnolias
2015
Barefoot in the Park
Is He Dead?
Moon Over Buffalo
Next to Normal
Shrek the Musical
The Vagina Monologues
2016
MAINSTAGE:
Boeing Boeing
Clybourne Park
Company
Oklahoma
Twelfth Night
EVENINGS@7
August: Osage County
Colonel Sellers: Reanimator
Proof
The Boys in the Band
The Normal Heart
2017
MAINSTAGE:
Calendar Girls
Godspell
Sons of the Prophet
The Addams Family
The 39 Steps
EVENINGS@7
Dracula
Duck Hunter Shoots Angel
Final Arrangements
Glengarry Glen Ross
Never The Sinner
2018
MAINSTAGE:
Harvey
August: Osage County
Love/Sick
The Marvelous Wonderettes
Kiss Me, Kate
EVENINGS@7
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
I Ought To Be in Pictures
Chamber Music
Moonlight & Magnolias