The Phoenicia Playhouse is marking its 50th anniversary this year with an expanded lineup of theater, music, film and youth programming as the volunteer-driven nonprofit behind the venue seeks to build on five decades of community arts in the Catskills.
The 2026 season marks a milestone for the Shandaken Theatrical Society, which was founded in 1976 and now owns and operates the Playhouse at 10 Church St. in Phoenicia.
“We’ve come a long way in 50 years, and in just the last few years,” Michael Connor, president of the Playhouse board of directors, said in an interview.
The anniversary season will include a mix of returning theatrical traditions and newer programming. Onstage offerings include the musicals “Fun Home” in June, “Grease” in late July and “Young Frankenstein” in October. The Playhouse will also host Catskill Mountain Shakespeare’s production of “Hamlet” in April and a December staging of Luigi Pirandello one-act plays.
Connor said the breadth of the lineup reflects both the organization’s ambitions and its effort to serve a wider audience.
There are “many more things we can do,” he said. “We’re excited about doing them.”
The theater is also continuing the Flying Cat music series for a second year with performers from across the U.S., Ireland and Canada, Connor said. The Playhouse, home to series since it moved from the town’s Methodist Church last year, is also rolling out a film series and planning three summer youth programs.
That mix reflects the role the Playhouse has come to occupy in Phoenicia and the surrounding towns, he said. “The playhouse can play an important town like Phoenicia and the surrounding area.”
The small group relies on volunteers as it tries to present professional-quality programming. The Playhouse has one part-time theater and production manager, pays a technical manager and ad hoc box office staff and tries to provide stipends for actors and directors, Connor said. Much of the rest of the work is handled by volunteers and an active board.
“We’re a small organization, largely volunteer, and the question is, how do we build an organization that provides high quality entertainment and be a high quality venue for music and community events while doing that on a tight budget?” he said.
Connor said affordability is a key part of the Playhouse’s mission, “a great show at a reasonable price,” particularly given Phoenicia’s location and the distance residents might otherwise travel for live entertainment.
“We’re remote and offer an alternative to going to Woodstock or Kingston,” he said. “Most of our shows are $20-$25.”
Among Connor’s clearest reminders of the Playhouse’s value came during a recent youth-oriented production.
“Last year, we had a musical where young people who had never been to a play,” he said. Connor recalls “just watching them enjoy a live performance of a play, tapping their toes.”
The Shandaken Theatrical Society was founded in 1976, when local theater enthusiasts created and performed “Happiness Is a Town Called Shandaken” as a local Bicentennial celebration. The group later staged productions in schools, community centers and the former Odd Fellows Hall at 10 Church St., a structure built in 1887 that has served as a theater, auction house and community gathering space.
The building was almost demolished in 1988 before community support helped save it. STS later secured a long-term lease and purchased the property in 1998, establishing what is now known as the Phoenicia Playhouse.
In addition to its anniversary programming, the venue is set to host Catskill Mountain Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m.
The season, Connor said, is meant not only to celebrate the past, but to position the Playhouse for what comes next.
Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.
