Marblehead Little Theatre

History:

One success in 1955 by members of the drama committee of the Marblehead Woman’s Club, ignited the desire to tackle bigger and better things. Encouraged by the response to a one act play, “The Charm Racquet”, the women decided to next produce a three-act play and then went one step bolder by deciding to form a community theatre group.

Marblehead Little Theatre’s first full scale production was Moss Hart’s “Light up the Sky”. While casting the show, it became evident that a much larger group was needed and so, husbands, sons, daughters, and friends were enlisted. The show opened on January 18, 1956, at the Marblehead Junior High School Auditorium.

And so Marblehead Little Theatre (MLT) was born and now over five decades later has proven to be one of the oldest community theatre groups in New England as well as one of the few to have continually produced shows each year.

Throughout the fifties, MLT held its main productions at the High School using the proscenium stage. As the group gained recognition, they were asked to perform at churches, charity functions, and veteran’s hospitals and began including a number of one act plays suitable for these occasions. MLT has also performed “Leonardo da Vinci” as a children’s presentation at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.