Lakewood: The Season
March 15th, 2008 Posted in Lakewood, Theatres Past
My first summer stock experience was as an apprentice at Lakewood Musical Playhouse, in Barnesville , PA. The year was 1971, and I was finishing my junior year in High School.
This was my first “professional” theatre experience. I had been active playing the leads in school and community theatre productions (including an open air theatre at Washington Crossing State Park in New Jersey, arguably a Summer Stock theatre of sorts). I was incredibly excited about spending a summer completely submerged in musical theatre.
One look at the schedule for that year will give you an indication of the madness of one-a-week stock:
- Oklahoma: June 22-26
- Hello, Dolly!: June 29-July 10
- West Side Story: July 13-17
- Guys and Dolls: July 20-24
- Kismet: July 27-31
- Fiddler On The Roof: August 3-7
- Music Man: August 10-14
- The Desert Song: August 17-21
- The Sound of Music: August 24-28
- Man of La Mancha: August 31-September 5
It was a Wednesday-Saturday performance schedule. Saturday night, the apprentices would stay up all night striking and changing over to the new show. INSANITY!
2 Responses to “Lakewood: The Season”
By Barb on Aug 24, 2008
My husband and I live an hour or so from Barnesville, and in our sating days we used to attend almost all of the Lakewood productions every summer. In the intervening 30+ years, we’ve had very little reason to be in that neighborhood. Recently, though, we’ve been going to a nearby farmers’ market, and while we have been “in the neighborhood,” so to speak, we have been trying to find the old playhouse building and grounds. No one nearby seems to remember exactly where it was. Is there anyone out there who can give us some specific idea where it was?
By Buzzer9 on Aug 25, 2008
The entrance to Lakewood Park was on Route 54 (Barnesville Drive.) Back in the 70′s there were plenty of signs leading you to Lakewood Park, but of course, they are no longer there. If you Mapquest “Barnesville, PA” you should find Lakeside Park, which was actually right next to Lakewood Park, but now the entire entire area is labeled “Lakeside.” If you choose aerial view you will be able to spot the Playhouse, which obviously still stands, even if only as a cinder block shell. The park, rides, ballroom, etc. are all gone, but the playhouse still seems to be there.