March 3, 1961

On March 3, 1961, at 8:30 pm in the Bowers School Auditorium The Little Theatre of Manchester opened its first full production, BUS STOP by William Inge. In honor of that day, 60 years ago, we present the following excerpts from “What We Did For Love” by Fred T. Blish, in which he “attempted to put together the history of The Little Theatre of Manchester.”

“In the late 1950’s there were three community theatres in Manchester. The Center Thespians were affiliated with the Center Congregational Church and did both secular dramas and comedies, as well as sanctuary dramas; The Manchester Community Players, the oldest and most, well established theatre which presented primarily comedies; and the Manchester Gilbert & Sullivan company, which did one production each year of a G & S musical.

As with many theatres, there was a core group of dedicated workers which had continued to shrink with time. By the late 1950’s, the audience attendance at productions of both the Thespians and the Community Players also had continued to dwindle.

The Boards of the two theatres met to discuss the possibility of joining forces to create one theatre. When the plan was presented to their respective organizations, the members of the Center Thespians voted yea and the Community Players voted nay. (The Community Players continued to present theatre through the late 1960’s. Eventually they disbanded and many of their members joined Little Theatre.)

Doris Gorsch (Center Thespians) recalls that she made an initial contact with Jim Herdic, the Town of Manchester Recreation Director, to discuss the possibility of creating a theatre organization as part of the Recreation Department. Following that meeting, Betty Lundberg and Jeanne Adams, met with Mr. Herdic, and together they developed a plan to create a new theatre under the auspices of the Rec Department.

Notices of an organizational meeting to be held at the Community Y on September 13, 1960 were sent to potentially interested individuals. Twenty-two people came to the meeting and enthusiastically endorsed the idea of establishing a new theatre.

During the meeting, Anne Miller suggested that the theatre be called The Little Theatre of Manchester. ”

“The play selection committee brought several plays to the membership for consideration, ranging from modern classics, including The Moon For the Misbegotten to classic and contemporary comedies and dramas. ‘Bus Stop’ by William Inge was the first play selected for production. Bill Astley was chosen as the director of this comedy.”

“The staff for Bus Stop involved the entire organization – production manager, Gene Walton; set design, Fred Blish; construction crew, Ray Culver, Phil Burgess, Kevin Moriarty, Bob Best, Burt Hicock, Fred Lycock, Jim Murray and Will Gay; décor, Ed Tyber; props, Betty Lundberg, Phyllis Hemingway, Kay Maxwell and Saundra Doutt. Florence Schieldge, stage manager; Mary Bonham, “prompter;” costumes, Joan Coe; make-up, Arnold Thompson; and sound, Phil Burgess. Lights, by Milton Adams and Ray Culver, were hung on an iron pipe from the basketball backboard. Betty Lundberg was business manager; Mary Bonham, Grace Hewitt and Ruth Rowley did publicity; Phyllis Hemingway was responsible for the programs. Ruth Rowley was patron chairman and house manager, assisted by Doris Belding. Ushers were Everis and Linda Belding, Linda and Barbara Burgess.

The auditorium, which seated 300 on hard metal folding chairs, was packed to capacity. Those who could not find seats stood in the rear. This happened on both nights of the performance. Phil Burgess, who was a fireman with the 8th Utility District, was concerned that the Fire Marshall would close down the performance. But even the Fire Marshall, who was in the audience on opening night must have been caught up in the excitement, because he allowed the performance to continue for two evenings, despite the fact that the audience exceeded the facility limit. There are no attendance figures however a good estimate would be approximately 800.

Tickets were $1.00 each and $.50 for students. General Admission ticket sales were $609.50 plus patrons. The total cost for producing the play was $578.06.”

“Maureen Bowe wrote LTM’s first review in The Hartford Courant:

LTM Scores In ‘Bus Stop’
By MAUREEN BOWE

New Britain has recently commanded statewide attention with its bus strike and as of Friday night one of Manchester’s buses has brought the Silk City notice. The case in point is the newly organized Little Theatre of Manchester’s first production, Bus Stop, which runs through tonight at Bower School. It is a stream-lined version of William Inge’s successful Broadway play right from the moment the curtain goes up to display a most effective set and to introduce very credible sound effects, gathering distinct personality and each ably played by LTM members. Jeanne Adams is Cherie, the Chanteuse. Cast as the cowpoke “hot on her trail” is Fred Blish. His complete immersion in the role, his obvious enjoyment of his stage duties and his boyish charm convey themselves disarmingly.

Portraying Dr. Lyman, Henry Murphy puts in the most polished and subtle performance of the evening. Jim Pearce has capably lassoed the part of the cowboy sidekick. Rounding out the cast are Beatrice Paul, Bob Young, Ben Shankman and Ann Miller, a newcomer to little theater.

Director William Astley has struck it rich in natural talent. And cheering him on all the way was a near capacity audience of 400. So catch this “talent special.””