Hershey Area Playhouse is pleased to announce it has received a $125,000 state grant t help create a permanent community theater in Derry Township.

The Department of Community and Economic Development grant was facilitated with the help of Senator Jeff Piccola and Senator Chip Brightbill and will push the Playhouse campaign total to more than $800,000.

Hershey Area Playhouse plans to break ground on the new theater in early September with hopes to complete the new 150-seat theater by early 2006.

The Playhouse will convert a 136-year old barn given to the theater group to use by Country Meadows of Hershey and the Leader Family. Country Meadows will lease the building to the Playhouse for one dollar a year for 29 years and has pledged $100,000 toward the construction costs.  

Hershey Foods Corporation also pledged $100,000 to the Hershey Area Playhouse campaign. The remaining donations have come from 275 generous individuals, corporations and grants.

Hershey Area Playhouse still needs approximately $200,000 to complete its one million dollar goal to build the theater and set up a $25,000 operating endowment.

“Now is the time for everyone who hasn’t had a chance to pledge their support to do so,” said Playhouse board chairperson Susan Cort Black. “We are happy to accept donations of any size,” she added. Pledges may be paid over five years and charged to Mastercard or Visa. Many naming opportunities still are available. To date close to $300,000 pledges have been collected and all those who have pledged are encouraged to fulfill their pledges as promised.

“We are proud to continue to support the efforts of Hershey Area Playhouse and to provide a home to this exceptional community arts organization,” said Country Meadows CEO, G. Michael Leader.

“This is wonderful news for the greater Hershey area.  The addition of this permanent home for the Hershey Area Playhouse is a welcome cultural venue which serves to enhance the quality of life for so many.  I was pleased to work with Senator Brightbill to help make this a reality,” said Senator Piccola.

The new Hershey Area Playhouse at Country Meadows will serve as a cultural arts center for the entire Central Pennsylvania community and will be home to several quality amateur theatrical productions, lectures, seminars, classes and camps each year.

Hershey Area Playhouse was founded in 1998 by Hershey resident Skip Becker and several founding board members. The Playhouse staged its first production in September 1999 and has since presented 18 plays and musicals in a variety of local venues including Lower Dauphin High School, Hershey High School, Country Meadows of Hershey, Hersheypark and the Hershey Volunteer Fire Company.

The Hershey Area Playhouse values and cultivates the appreciation of live theater as creative, entertaining, and educational. It believes theatre provides a unique opportunity for audiences, actors, and participants to share experiences, which can be enjoyable, uplifting, and thought provoking. The Hershey Area Playhouse is a place which creates and perpetuates programs to make these experiences available to all segments of the community.

For more information about Hershey Area Playhouse and its campaign to build a permanent theater, please visit www.hersheyareaplayhouse.com or call 533-8525.

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