HOWELL – One of Howell Township’s oldest organizations, The Grange Playhouse, recently opened after nearly facing the final curtain.
The Playhouse is a performing arts theater off Route 9 with some of the oldest and antique architecture, originally serving as a school house in the early 1900s.
The theater generally has three to four shows a year, including an annual series of One Act Plays, which started this year on August 2, with shows on August 3, 4 and 11. For the past three years, each one-act series has been given a theme. This year’s theme is “A New Beginning.”
“The Grange during Covid almost didn’t make it. A lot of people left, the building was falling apart, so this is a new start for us. There’s a new future for this place, so we came up with ‘A New Beginning’ as our theme because it’s like a new start,” said Dani Wittman, production manager and director. “We are coming back to the community to finally offer things to them again since that did come to a full stop.”
In addition to performing arts, The Grange does other things for the community, such as hosting craft fairs and opening a thrift shop.
‘A New Beginning’ consists of seven one-act plays, with a total acting cast of 12 people. Along with the 12 actors, there are four directors, most of them serving as actors as well.
All seven acts were written and submitted to The Grange by playwrights within the community. Four members of The Grange, along with three people local to Howell Township, selected the seven acts out of nearly 500 submissions.
“It’s really neat to have a theater around here, I think it’s a beneficial thing to have in any area. It brings a lot of folks together,” Director Tom Mellott said. “Even our cast is a bunch of different folks; it’s always an interesting collection of people when you get a show together.”
While many of the Grange’s event proceeds go to charitable sources, ‘A New Beginning’ is being held as a fundraiser for the organization itself. Members of the Grange anticipate the funds from the show will be used towards renovation of the venue, which is over a century old.
“We had a relatively negative reputation, but it’s getting better,” said Karen Bowden, another director and Grange member. “Now that we have a new roof. That’s why it’s called ‘A New Beginning.’ We are transforming the space and turning into something more professional.”
While the older venue may have proposed some issues for The Grange in the past, many see its antiquity as beneficial to their plays.
“It’s much more intimate. From the audience, it’s almost like you’re a part of it,” said actress Julianna Masco. “It’s kind of like a conversation because you’re right there, which is the great thing about being in a smaller space like this.”
‘A New Beginning’ will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on August 11. General admission is $18 cash, or $20 with electronic payment.
“We’re really proud of the fact that that community is embracing us and is moving forward with everything,” Bowden said. “It’s really coming together, and the actors have been doing an amazing job.”
