The Show Must Go On Again

The Little Theatre Marks a Big Anniversary With an Old Favorite and a Walk Through Time

Little Theatre of Alexandria, one of the Washington area's oldest theater companies, is kicking off a special birthday celebration this weekend that will last for much of the summer.

LTA was formed 75 years ago and over the decades has grown roots deep in the community. By any measure, the group has to be considered one of the most successful community-based theater companies in the nation, having grown from a small play-reading club in 1934 at the Old Town home of founder Mary Lindsey to a full-time play-producing factory.

The group stages seven full productions a year -- including the occasional award-winning show -- in its own extensive facility. LTA also manages a one-act playwriting competition and provides theater classes for children and adults. LTA sells approximately 23,000 tickets annually, operating entirely on that income.

"They are critical to the arts community here in Alexandria," said Pat Miller, chairman of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. "They bring in thousands of people to Alexandria and they play a major role in the community. They have a good educational outreach for children, and very loyal people who attend this theater. They recruit others to go, too. That keeps their audience strong and growing, and it means a lot to the restaurants in the area who benefit from having all those theatergoers coming here."

To celebrate, the troupe will kick off its diamond jubilee season with an unusual gala celebration Saturday evening. The event will pay homage to the theater's past with a walking tour called "Footprints of LTA." People will hike by the old Lindsey residence, pass Ramsey's Alley, where the company had its first building, and head over to Gadsby's Tavern, which was home to LTA for many years. Gadsby's will host a sparkling reception with displays and presentations before the celebrants amble back to the theater on Wolfe Street for dessert and an old-fashioned show-tune singalong.

Two weeks later, on July 26, LTA will begin a reprise of "1776," the musical the group considers its signature show, for an extended celebratory run. The public is invited to attend a free "under the stars" performance of the show Aug. 21 at Fort Ward Park.

"In the earlier years, from the 1930s through the 1960s, especially, it was almost like a social club, with entire families involved," said David Hale, current treasurer and a member since the early 1970s. "The wives ran the theater back then, I think, and the husbands came out to build the sets. Many of the husbands, especially back then, were bankers, attorneys, brokers and various other professionals, so not only did they build sets, they also knew how to build and run a business. They established stock portfolios to stockpile building funds, and they were very good at donation drives."

That financial acumen has provided the basis for LTA's long-term health. After first renting space (and rehearsing for a time in Cunningham's Funeral Home), by 1939 the company was able to purchase a ramshackle former blacksmith's shop in Ramsey Alley, between Lee and Fairfax streets. There was room there for rehearsal space and for set and costume shops. And, ever mindful of generating income, the theater rented out the land around the building as a parking lot. Performances were staged in a variety of venues in those early years, including the basement of St. Mary's Church and the Lyceum.

LTA archivist Kim Smith-Salmon was surprised to discover recently that famed playwright Thornton Wilder visited when the group staged his seminal play, "Our Town," in 1939. "It's amazing that Wilder visited us," Smith-Salmon said. "I think that's pretty cool. Being so close to the nation's capital, we usually hear about the big politicians who visit us, not playwrights and people like that."

World War II halted performances, but LTA continued to collect dues from its loyal membership, as well as the income generated from the parking lot, and the financial portfolios remained healthy. When production started again, performances took place at a USO on Cameron Street before the troupe settled in for a long run upstairs, and then later in the courtyard, at Gadsby's Tavern.

The shows LTA performed at Gadsby's were mostly re-creations of an evening of entertainment from the 18th century that could have been viewed by George Washington. When the shows moved outdoors to Gadsby's courtyard, a rickety stage was rigged over wooden sawhorses.

By the Kennedy era, LTA was ready for its own New Frontier, which meant a permanent home. There was controversy, as some members feared taking on such a major investment. But LTA decided to build the place it still calls home, a quaintly elegant (with chandeliers), Colonial-style theater with 219 seats at 600 Wolfe St. The debut show on Nov. 18, 1961, was the comedy "Send Me No Flowers."