Julie M. Cohen
Not only has the Belmont Dramatic Club been providing inexpensive entertainment and volunteer opportunities to the community for 120 years, but president and artistic director CherylAnn Welch revealed that “sometimes, we provide spouses.”
In the midst of rehearsing lines, building costumes and sets, and performing 270 plays over its impressive history, the nonprofit has not only brought together multiple couples, it has consistently created high-quality theater productions in Belmont for more than a century.
“It’s a great little gem of a theater group that provides access to a lot of great theatrical pieces,” said actress Carla Perrotta. She will play Aunt Martha in the club’s production of Joseph Kesselring’s dark comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace,” which runs April 20 through April 28. Like all the group’s shows, it will be performed at Town Hall.
According to its website, the organization, founded in 1903, is “the second-oldest continuously operating and performing community theatre group in the United States.”
Perrotta, who has acted with other area theater groups, said, “Belmont is special” due to its longevity.
“They have [had] a dedicated group of volunteers through the years that want to keep theater alive,” she said.
In fact, volunteers – along with donors, membership fees, and ticket sales – have been crucial for the club’s survival. Although the group has applied for grants in the past, “these days, they’re impossible to get,” said Welch.
Looking back, planning ahead
Over the years, audience members have been drawn to the performances for short escapes from reality and to be part of a communal experience, said Perrotta.
As the club began planning how to mark its momentous anniversary, Welch said she looked through past performances.
“We’ve been in production for 120 years, and … we wanted something that connected the 120 years,” she said.
They chose “Arsenic and Old Lace, ” for several reasons, including its familiarity [The theater group has performed it in the past), and it is a crowd-pleaser.
“It’s a funny show,” said Welch. “There’s good, strong roles for every single cast member.”
Back in 1903, the group’s first performance was an original play called “School.”
Throughout its history the club has “produced a variety of shows, including musicals, dramas, comedies, and mysteries,” such as: “Annie,” “The Sound of Music,” “The King and I,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Man of La Mancha,” “Godspell,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Addams Family Musical,” “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and many others.
To create 120 years of successful productions, the club has relied upon dedicated and hard-working volunteers.
In addition to acting, those donating their time and energy to the theater put together each production’s set; build, borrow, or buy costumes; prepare the props and lighting; and much more.
Even as the April 20 opening approaches, Welch and other board members are looking ahead to the club’s next 120 years.
The club will perform Bertolt Brecht’s “Threepenny Opera” in the fall, and Welch said they are starting to plan for the spring.
When asked why the club has been successful for so long, Welch said, “It is a community. It brings people together.”
For more information on the Belmont Dramatic Club, visit belmontdramaticclub.org/index.html
