Theatre 98

A History of Theatre 98

Theatre 98 was founded in 1961, when two older community theatre groups merged. In those early years we performed in various places around Fairhope, including Comings Hall on what was then the Organic School campus (now the Faulkner State Community College campus), The Grand Hotel, the stage at the high school (now the K-1 Center), and the park on the bay. Although people frequently assume that we took our name from the number of seats in our current playhouse, the name comes from Highway 98, the main artery of the Eastern Shore, and predates our occupation of our current home by many years.

In the 1970's the group became dormant, but in November of 1982 we were re-activated under the leadership of Nancy Head, who continued as a guiding force of the theatre until her death in 1996. We were incorporated in 1983 as Theatre 98 of Baldwin County, and performances resumed at the Fairhope Civic Center and the Eastern Shore Art Center. In 1985, Theatre 98 moved to our current space on the corner of Church and Morphy streets, sharing it at first with Sherilyn McNally's children's theatre and the Literacy Council. On August 1, 1990, we signed a 20-year lease with the City of Fairhope, the owner of the building, and since then have enjoyed the luxury of a theatre home.