The Village Theatre of Gettysburg
 Changes Focus

(9/24) The Village Dinner Theatre of Gettysburg slated to begin its second season, after a very successful first season in Gettysburg, is changing its focus. The theatre, the first professional dinner theatre in Gettysburg, will be dropping the dinner portion of its evening. Jason Hoffman, artistic director and founder of the theatre states: "We will be focusing on the quality of our productions and working with the local eating establishments to offer dinner and theatre packages."

The Village, which was scheduled to begin its second season with the premiere of the interactive murder mystery Ghost Walks are Deadly, penned by Hoffman, will instead begin its second season with the Ira Levin thriller Deathtrap. "Because Ghost Walks was written with the serving of the dinner as an integral part of the show, the producers decided to go with a traditional thriller and allow me to rewrite the production to accommodate this change with the hope of producing it later in the season," added Hoffman.

By changing the focus, The Village will become a non-profit theatre organization, with the goal of bringing a season of professional theatre productions, year round, to the Gettysburg area. The theatre plans to reach out into the community with children’s theatre and camps and workshops taught by professionals in the field.

"Right now we are on the verge of bringing some very high quality talent to the area. We have already had professionals from Baltimore and Pittsburgh perform with us, but we also want the local actors to continue to work in these shows, we know that Gettysburg and the area are blessed with so much talent. We want to see more opportunities for these performers to show their talents."

The performers with The Village will be paid a non-union stipend and as the theatre grows so will the opportunities.

"We cannot possibly compete with the Majestic, nor would we ever attempt to. What they do is what the community needs in that regard. Gettysburg Stage is a very fine Community Theatre that produces newer, edgier material. We will have our own purpose, and we do not believe that we are in any "competition" with these other entities. This is good for Gettysburg and the area, because it will provide more opportunities and offer more options, and more importantly continue to offer something new to do after dark." The Village is a small intimate theatre with seating for approximately 150 audience members, with the ability to be configured in any number of ways.

The Village plans to continue its season that was previously announced with a few exceptions. Deathtrap by Ira Levin, will replace the Ghost Walks mystery from October 5 – November 17. Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, which received critical acclaim from The Baltimore Sun, will return from November 30 – January 5. Godspell will premiere January 25 – March 22, 2008. The Nerd, by Larry Shue, will run April 4 – May 24. Schoolhouse Rock Live will open June 8 next year and run throughout the summer with a new murder mystery The Booty of Gettysburg.

The Village plans to continue to produce its original murder mysteries and run them throughout the season on special weekends. Season members and newsletter subscribers will receive this information as soon as it becomes available. The Village will also be hosting cabarets and concerts, performed by the many area artists through the year on selected weekends.

"One of the many benefits of this change is that we will be able to continue to offer a "dinner theatre" option. Groups may reserve our theatre and we will cater their party or group and perform the show. We have already booked a number of these groups for the current year. We will also be able to work with the many local eateries on packages that allow our patrons to eat at their establishments before attending our shows, at a very reasonable cost. We are very excited by these opportunities. We know that their food is of the highest quality and we know our shows are up there as well. It is a perfect match."

Ticket prices range from $8 to $15. The Village Theatre of Gettysburg is located at Patriot Point, 241 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA 17325. For tickets call 1 -800-570-4590 or 717-337-0080 or visit the website at www.tvtgettysburg.com.

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