The name of Eric Bradley Long’s new theater group pays homage to his grandfather. D. Clyde Long ran Avalong Dairy Bar, Restaurant and Driving Range in Springettsbury Township. His stories were almost as famous as the broasted chicken and apple dumplings.
His grandson hopes to bring great stories to the stage beginning this fall with Avalong Playhouse. The new nonprofit community theater will present plays at Penn State York’s Pullo Family Performing Arts Center. The first production, William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” is slated for October.
Long worked as York Little Theatre’s artistic director until December when he and two staff members were let go when the theater fell into financial distress. The layoff gave Long the opportunity to pursue his passion for adult drama. He wants York to have an equivalent to Open Stage of Harrisburg and Lancaster’s Theater of the Seventh Sister. Read more.
Fishing Creek Playhouse and Dinner Theater in Fairview Township might close. Check the jump for more details.
Fishing Creek Playhouse and Dinner Theater, which opened in April 2010, was established as part of Agrarian Country’s efforts to educate the public about agricultural heritage through the performing arts. Agrarian Country is a nonprofit organization established to preserve Pennsylvania farmland.
The playhouse was to be a satellite of Agrarian Country’s the new Star Barn Expo Center planned inside the historic Star Barn along Interstate 283 between Harrisburg and Lancaster.When the theater opened, it employed 70 part-time employees and seven full-time staffers. About 60 children joined the theater’s youth theater program, S.T.A.R.S.
In a news release, Agrarian Country President Robert S. Barr wrote the theater needs financial help to stay open beyond “Bye-Bye Birdie,” which is scheduled to close Aug. 7. Barr wrote that about 3,000 patrons have visited the theater since it opened, but that hasn’t been enough.
“We still do not sell enough tickets to fill the theater and pay the cast and operational expenses,” Barr wrote. “The early benefactors have depleted their resources.”
He wrote that the theater is looking for donations and sponsors in order to raise $30,000 in the next few weeks. The funds will cover royalties for upcoming shows and make up for shortfalls from the last two shows. For details or to make a donation, call 805-2195 or visit www.fishingcreekplayhouse.com.
