Tryon play company hosting gala Sunday

TRYON — Yet another iconic Tryon institution celebrates a milestone anniversary this year — and the community is invited to commemorate the occassion, 40s style.

Tryon Little Theater will host its 70th Anniversary Celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Sunnydale cabin, located at 328 S. Trade St., Tryon. Tickets for the event will cost $100, and may be purchased by contacting Pam Rider at 864-895-7366 or the TLT Workshop at 828-859-2466. Tables of four or eight are available for reservation.

The gala will feature a “fabulous ‘40s” theme, as the Tryon community theater staged its first performance in 1948. Guests are asked to dress in appropriate 1940s or cocktail attire for the festivities.

Guests may enjoy wine, beer, appetizers and a “Flavors à la Art” tapas-style dinner, which will feature food prepared by several local restaurants. The menu will include:

• Reuben sandwiches with hand-cut potato chips, prepared by McGourty’s Irish Pub

• Scallops ceviche and little neck clams with chorizo, prepared by Huckleberry’s Tryon

• Shrimp and grits, prepared by Stone Soup Market and Café

• Pulled pork and coleslaw, prepared by Lavender Bistro

• Salmon Nicoise with house-cured lemon and fennel sauce, prepared by The Rural Seed Restaurant

• Harvest House will also feature a dish during the evening

Longtime TLT member Rebecca Davis will also prepare a cake to celebrate the community theater’s 70th birthday. An assortment of other desserts will also be served during the evening.

Local musicians The Cigarette Holders will provide music during the cocktail and dinner hours, while a group of TLT performers will close out the evening with a special performance, where they will sing numbers from various musicals over the past 70 years.

Organizers will also announce the community theater’s productions for the upcoming 2018-19 season during the event.

Proceeds from the gala will support the theater and its current building campaign. The nonprofit  is currently raising money for a new playhouse at the corner of Trade Street and Highway 176.

The group that became the Tryon Little Theater came together in December 1947, with the goal of resurrecting local playgoing after the dissolution of the Drama Fortnightly group in Tryon, which staged performances at the parish house of Holy Cross Episcopal Church until the start of World War II. On May 5, 1948, the Tryon Little Theater produced its first show, Booth Tarkington’s “The Trysting Place,” which was staged at the parish house.

Over the past seven decades, the community theater has continued to produce several shows per season, which are acted, directed and managed by volunteers from throughout the region. Tryon Little Theater has staged its performances at many different venues over the years, from the auditorium of the Tryon Fine Arts Center to an old roller skating rink to its current home, a former auto parts store.

“It’s a pretty amazing feat that a community theater can last for 70 years, especially in a small town like Tryon,” said Sandie Bright, current president of the theater’s board of directors.

In its plans for its new playhouse, the group is looking to create a 100-seat theater — an expansion of its current 70-seat stage area at the workshop. The building will also feature spaces for costumes, set construction and ticketing/offices.