Beyond the Valley – Entertainment: From vaudeville halls to community stages, theaters thrive in the MOV | News, Sports, Jobs

From left, Max Taylor as Ponyboy, Lauren Smith as Johnny and Miles McGregor as Dallas in a scene at the Dairy Queen in “The Outsiders” at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre in 2025. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG – Across the Mid-Ohio Valley, historic theater and volunteer-driven companies continue to keep live performance alive, offering everything from classic plays and Broadway-style musicals to concerts, youth programs and educational opportunities.

Several of the region’s most prominent venues — the Actors Guild of Parkersburg, Peoples Bank Theatre, the Historic Smoot Theatre and the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre — have histories stretching back decades, and in some cases more than a century. Together, they form the backbone of the regional performing arts scene.

The Actors Guild of Parkersburg

The Actors Guild of Parkersburg traces its roots to the early 1940s, when local radio personalities and theater enthusiasts formed a group known as “The Players.” The organization expanded around 1950 when workers moving into the area during the openings of the DuPont and Borg-Warner plants joined the group.

Early productions were staged in school auditoriums and even outdoors in City Park before the company secured a storefront on Dudley Avenue in 1955. Despite seating just about 80 people in folding chairs, the small theater quickly developed a following.

James Hughes performs as The Emcee in the 2024 production of “Cabaret” at the Actors Guild of Parkersburg. (File Photo)

The company continued to grow and eventually relocated to the former Lincoln Theater building at 724 Market St. in downtown Parkersburg in the 1970s. The purchase and renovation of the building were funded through community contributions totaling about $130,000, including support from the city of Parkersburg, the Benedum Foundation and Wood County officials.

Today the Guild operates a 260-seat theater that includes dressing rooms, a box office, a green room and a separate scenery workshop. According to the organization, volunteers continue to provide the majority of the labor behind productions, contributing tens of thousands of hours each year.

“Finding Nemo Jr.” is being performed at the Guild now, with performances slated for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and March 13-14, along with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. March 8 and 15.

The Guild’s upcoming season includes the musical “Seussical,” featuring characters from the stories of Dr. Seuss. The production tells the story of Horton the Elephant and a tiny community of Whos living on a speck of dust, while exploring themes of imagination and standing up for others.

Performances are scheduled for April 24, 25, May 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., with matinees April 26 and May 3 at 2:30 p.m.

From left, Cathy Mace and daughter Mandy Philpott perform at the 2024 edition of Hometown Christmas at the Smoot Theatre. (File Photo)

Later productions include “Sylvia” by A.R. Gurney in June and “American Idiot,” a rock opera based on the music of Green Day, scheduled for late July and August.

Peoples Bank Theatre

In Marietta, Peoples Bank Theatre stands as one of the region’s most prominent historic performance venues.

The theater’s origins date to 1911, when the original Hippodrome opened as a vaudeville house at the corner of Second and Union streets. The venue hosted traveling stage productions, musical acts and silent films accompanied by live music.

After a fire destroyed that building in 1917, a new Hippodrome Theatre opened in 1919 on Putnam Street with a seating capacity of roughly 1,200 and one of the Midwest’s largest legitimate theatre stages.

Josh Woodard prepares auditionees for “Seussical the Musical” at the Actors Guild of Parkersburg in January. (Photo Provided)

The theater was later remodeled and renamed the Colony Cinema in 1949. It remained a major entertainment venue in the city for decades, hosting films and performances until declining attendance and rising operating costs forced it to close in 1985.

A local preservation effort eventually restored the building. After more than a decade of fundraising, the Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association reopened the venue in 2016 as Peoples Bank Theatre.

Today the theater hosts concerts, plays, film screenings and community events. The venue recently installed a new JBL VTX-A8 and A6 sound system and digital marquee, upgrades intended to enhance production quality.

Brad Smith, technical director for the theater, said the improvements allow the venue to operate on the same level as major touring venues.

“As the theater’s tech director, I can say this investment in our production capability now puts us in the same league as ‘A-list’ venues across the country,” Smith said.

Upcoming events include Second Helping: The Original Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Show on March 7 and the Celtic roots group RUNA on March 17.

On March 29, the theater will present a special screening of the 1957 film “Battle Hymn,” which tells the story of Marietta native and U.S. Air Force pilot Col. Dean E. Hess. The screening is part of the statewide “Ohio Goes to the Movies” program and commemorates the film’s original Marietta premiere, which drew an estimated 25,000 people downtown.

The Smoot Theatre

In Parkersburg, the Historic Smoot Theatre has been entertaining audiences since 1926, when it opened as a vaudeville house. Warner Bros. purchased the theater in 1930, and it operated primarily as a movie theater for more than 50 years.

Community volunteers began restoring the building in 1989 with the goal of preserving it as a performing arts venue. Restoration work included replacing carpeting, installing new stairways and restoring decorative elements such as chandeliers, mirrors and Art Deco ceiling designs.

Today the theater hosts concerts, lectures, comedy shows and youth programs.

Educational offerings include Camp Vaudeville, a summer theater apprenticeship program for students in third grade and above. The program culminates in a live performance inspired by the vaudeville era.

The theater also operates youth vocal groups, including the Smoot Theatre Children’s Chorus and boys and girls ensembles that rehearse during the school year.

Upcoming performances include Good Shot Judy, a swing-era jazz band performing March 7, and folk singer Judy Collins, scheduled for April 2.

Mid-Ohio Valley Players

The Mid-Ohio Valley Players began in 1959 with a series of one-act plays presented at Washington Elementary School in Marietta.

Over the years, the group staged productions at a variety of venues, including the Masonic Park Pavilion in Devola and the Marietta High School auditorium. By the late 1970s the organization had established a permanent home downtown at the Players Theatre, located in a former vaudeville house built in the early 20th century.

The group has produced musicals, comedies and original works for more than six decades. In 1976, as part of the U.S. Bicentennial celebration, the Players staged the musical “Showboat” aboard the Showboat Becky Thatcher on the Ohio River. About 3,000 people watched the performances from the riverbank.

Youth programming has also played a major role in the organization’s mission. The MOVP Junior Players program began in 1981, followed by the Youth Theatre program in 1992.

Upcoming productions include “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” scheduled for March 6-7 and March 13-14 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee March 15 at 3 p.m.

Later productions include the musical “The Wedding Singer” in May and Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” in June.