‘Stagestruck’ And ‘Best Of Broadway’ Back-to-back Events Celebrate Academy Playhouse

          For 75 years — the first 25 as The Orleans Arena Theatre, and the next 50 under its current name — The Academy Playhouse has been more than an iconic theater. It has been a community, a classroom, and a creative home and haven for countless adults and children, and its stage has been the setting for dramas, musicals and comedies of every description. 
 On Sept. 28 and 29, two back-to-back events at The Academy Playhouse will celebrate and shine the spotlight on this special place, its history, and its place as a valued part of the community. On Sept. 28, the playhouse teams up with filmmaker Liz Argo to take a look back at the Orleans Arena Theatre, which was run by the Argo family. Argo will introduce a screening of her docudrama “Stagestruck: Confessions of Summer Stock.” On Sept. 29, The Academy Playhouse joins forces with The Atwood Museum for “Best of Broadway,” featuring an Emmy-winning musician and award-winning Broadway singer to raise funds for the 2025 Music at the Atwood Concert Series.
           Academy Playhouse Artistic Director Judy Hamer is excited about both events. 
           “The history of this wonderful theater is very interesting to me,” Hamer said. “Built in 1873, it was the town hall for about 80 years. When the Argos came in, it was more than just a new theater. It was a huge change for the community. Then 120 Main St. was the Orleans Arena Theatre for 25 years. In 1975 the Kellys took over and we became the Academy of Performing Arts. A bunch of my students and other actors at the Academy played background people in Liz’s film, so that will be fun to see.” 
           Argo said she began making the film in 2003. She recalled how the making of the film was a healing experience, and that viewing it today is an opportunity to revisit loved ones and many well remembered individuals who made The Orleans Theatre the magical place it was. 
           “My parents and the town of Orleans saw an opportunity, and the building became a perfect home for The Orleans Arena Theatre,” Argo said. “Then it became the perfect home for The Academy. Over 75 years, there have been so many stories, so many families in the building. We’ve lost a lot of those people who passed away, including Kurt Vonnegut, who was given an opportunity by my parents. He was not a playwright or well known author — he was doing play reviews — but they became good friends, and they produced a few of his plays, including the one which became ‘Happy Birthday, Wanda June’ on Broadway.” 
           The Academy Playhouse’s 75th Anniversary Celebration, hosted by Hamer and Argo, will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 and will include a toast to the theater after the screening of “Stagestruck: Confessions of Summer Stock.” Tickets may be purchased at academyplayhouse.org.
           On the following evening, Sunday, Sept. 29,the doors will open at 3:30 p.m. for the “Best of Broadway” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Chatham Historical Society is partnering with The Academy of Performing Arts for this autumn fundraiser for the 2025 Music at the Atwood Concert Series. During this unique event, Emmy-Winning musician Mark Bornfield and Broadway veteran D’Jamin Bartlett will perform Broadway favorites, including music from “Hamilton,” “Wicked,” “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables” and “Mamma Mia. ”
           Atwood Museum Event Coordinator Pandora Peoples said she had been looking for a way to collaborate with (The Academy Playhouse) when she met Bornfield through a mutual friend, violinist Lary Chaplan. 
           “Mark was improvising a medley including Bach, Jobim, Brahms and Jerry Bock,” Peoples said. “It was Bach to Bock, from concertos to ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ He was astounding on piano, and then he took out his trumpet and started to sing.”
           Peoples said Bartlett was featured on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson when she got her break on Broadway, and described the singer as an engaging, present and talented Broadway veteran. Bornfield and Bartlett will perform with local drummer Pete DiFrancesco, a onetime student of Orleans favorite Bart Weisman. 
           “The arena style theater at the Academy Playhouse is perfect for their show, because it's so immersive and they love entertaining,” Peoples said. “Their concert will feature many of your favorite tunes. They do a ton of costume changes, and tell jokes. The Academy Playhouse has a gravitational pull. If you haven't been magnetized into its orbit yet, come see for yourself.”
           Tickets for “Best of Broadway” are available for $45 online at chathamhistoricalsociety.org and can also be purchased in person at the Atwood Museum, home of the Chatham Historical Society, at 347 Stage Harbor Rd. in Chatham.