Theatre at the Center, located in the Center for Visual and Performing Arts, is enjoying a silver anniversary this year, with thousands of stage productions, educational classes and special events under its belt.
“We’re thrilled to be celebrating this milestone anniversary season,” said artistic director William Pullinsi. “What began as a summer theater (25 years ago) with a few guest artists has grown into a year-round, professional equity theater, attracting some of the best performers and designers, presenting classic favorites as well as Chicago-area and world premieres.”
With 50 years experience, more than 400 productions, and 18 Jeff Awards on his resume, the Dyer resident oversees the professional actors and, with input from the staff, chooses each season’s productions.
The biggest change Pullinsi has seen since coming to the theater in 2005 includes the ever-expanding popularity of the venue, “producing high-caliber theater productions that entertain, enrich and inspire,” he said.
Pullinsi was the founder and artistic director of Candlelight Playhouse, dubbed America’s first dinner theater, which opened in Washington, D.C., in 1959 and Summit, Ill., in 1961. He also is recognized as a master director among theater professionals internationally and nationally for staging the American musical.
Pullinsi received his fine arts degree from Boston Conservatory, did graduate work at the Goodman School and received an honorary degree from Lewis University. He was named a Distinguished Artist in the Theatre by the Chicago Academy of Arts, and also by the Chicago Drama League.
The Munster location was chosen as a home base for the not-for-profit Theatre at the Center by the theater’s parent organizations: Community Healthcare Systems and the Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana.
The theater is supported by tickets sales and donations from private donors (including audience members), grants from The Indiana Arts Commission and the Anderson Foundation, and major support from the Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana.
There are many reasons for the continued popularity of the 460-seat venue, according to general manager Richard Friedman. High-caliber actors, top-shelf productions and “neighborhood” convenience are among them.
“We also receive great institutional support from (Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana) and (Community Healthcare Systems),” he said. “We are able to present the high quality shows we do because of the community support we receive and the loyalty of our audiences.”
Friedman has served as Theatre at the Center’s general manager since 2011.
More Top Picks Best Laptops For Online Classes
He has held leadership positions at many arts organizations, including nine years as managing director of Northlight Theatre and some periods of time at Organic Theater, Art Resources in Teaching and The Institute for the Arts in Boston.
He was a founder of the Illinois Arts Alliance and is the president of the board of CAN-TV in Chicago. He also has produced commercial theater productions and is a published poet.
For the future, Friedman would like to see expanded educational programming and development of more new musicals.
Established in 1990, the mission of Theatre at the Center is to offer disciplines of the performing arts that are at once appealing, educational and accessible to the entire community, according to its website.
Annually, the venue offers five main stage productions that attract an audience of more than 50,000.
Theatre at the Center operates on an Actors Equity contract and regularly employs performers in the greater Chicago area for its year-round seasons of classic American musicals, new plays and comedies.
Other programming includes four annual Theatre for Young Audiences productions, theater classes for young people and special events, including music, comedy and limited-run theatrical works.
The theater’s 2015 season opens Feb. 26 with “On Golden Pond,” a warm, insightful love story of an older couple. The play began as a Tony Award production on Broadway and became an Oscar-winning motion picture.
The Broadway hit ran for 382 performances in 1979, going on to become a classic film starring Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda in 1981.
Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Learn more
For more information about Theatre At The Center, call (219) 836-3255 or visit wwwtheatreatthecenter.com.