Cider Mill Playhouse facts for kids
Front entrance to theatre
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| Formation | 1976 |
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| Dissolved | 2017 |
| Type | Theatre group |
| Purpose | Professional Equity house |
| Location | |
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Artistic director(s)
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Gail King Belokur |
| Website | CiderMillPlayhouse.com |
The Cider Mill Playhouse was a professional theater in Endicott, New York. It showed many different plays. These included funny comedies, serious dramas, and exciting musicals. The theater worked with professional actors. It was a special place for live performances.
History
The Cider Mill Playhouse started in the early 1970s. Dr. John Bielenberg, a professor at Binghamton University, looked for a place. He wanted theater students to practice outside of school. Dr. Bielenberg and his friends found an old apple warehouse. It was called The Cider Mill.
The warehouse was on South Nanticoke Avenue in Endicott. Orlando Ciotoli owned it. He let the university use his barn in the quiet summer months. This is how the theater partnership began.
In 1991, the university stopped providing money. So, in 1992, Cider Mill Playhouse became a non-profit group. This meant it could get donations.
For many years, it was a semi-professional theater. Then, on December 21, 2015, it became a fully professional theater. It was then known as Cider Mill Stage. Gail King Belokur was the artistic leader.
Sadly, in late 2017, the theater lost its building. It announced that it would close down.
Productions
The Cider Mill Playhouse put on many different shows. These plays helped students learn from professional actors.
Early Productions
Some of the first plays included Company and Sleuth. Other shows were Night Must Fall and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. They also performed Of Mice and Men and Whose Life Is It Anyway.
Dr. John Bielenberg, the founder, said something important. He said, "The professional nature of the theatre was all important to us." He added that students could work with professionals. This helped them prepare for their own theater careers.
A Christmas Carol
Every year, the Cider Mill Playhouse performed A Christmas Carol. This famous story is by Charles Dickens. Starting in 1982, the theater used its own musical version. John Bielenberg, the founder, wrote it.
The final version of this musical was performed in 2015. In 2016, a new version was created. This new show included both paid professional actors and volunteers from the community.
Final Season: 2016-17
The last season of plays at the Cider Mill Playhouse included:
- When In Carthage by Santino DeAngelo (September 15 - October 2)
- Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Ken Ludwig (October 27 - November 13)
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (January 26 - February 12)
- Peter and the Starcatcher (March 9–26)
- The Drowsy Chaperone (June 1–19)
- Pump Boys and the Dinettes (August 3–19)
