OBT History

Although the "OBT Thespians" group have only been on throne since 1994, the actual Theater (On Broadway Theater) pre-dates that by nearly 30 years.

In 1979 the area's first silent movie & intimate live theater, the On Broadway Film Society, and the Dolphin Players theatrical troupe, began and took shape in the careful hands of Larry & Tosca Means, Kit Lewis, Randy Ullom, Ross Klooster, and Betty Bingham. Showing old classic films, they ran the gamut from Laurel & Hardy to Ingmar Bergman, from John Wayne to Buster Keaton. Perhaps most memorable were the Silent Movie audiences who were treated to the wonderful live musical accompaniments of the late Don Loftus. In addition to old movie classics, On Broadway also dabbled in live entertainment sprinkled inbetween films, ranging from talented musical guests (solo guitarists, folksingers, local choirs and Dixieland Bands) to theater improv, poetry readings, belly dancing, pantomine, and even full blown musicals. It was a time of wonderful local talent showcases!

Then slowly over the years, one by one the core members left to pursue other venues, leaving Tosca Means to trade in those old classic movie projectors for the power of the small intimate stage. Thus the On Broadway Theater sprouted wings and lined its nest. Whether drama or comedy, musicals or children's theater, the quality & scope of this small stage to be able to reach its audience has been nothing short of phenonemal. Perhaps one of the many reasons why OBT was approached in 1999 about hosting acting classes for the Alternative Youth Activity (youth at risk) programs, funded by the Oregon Arts Commission.

OBT has seen its share of in-house Theater core groups stream through its lobby the past few years, beginning with the Dolphin Players, then PACT (Playwrights American Conservatory Theater), and eventually the On Broadway Thespians core group.

In the Fall of 2006, the building that housed the On Broadway Thespians changed hands and thus the group ultimately lost it's lease and had to face the prospect of a move. Luckily, it wasn't far. The old Egyptian Theatre movie house across the street had been vacant for some time until another group got involved (ETPA or Egyptian Theatre Preservation Assoc). The idea was to renovate and turn an old historic building worth saving into a productive performing arts center for the entire community. Inviting the On Broadway Thespians to relocate there as the first Live Theatre resident group seemed like a natural fit, as in addition to showing old classic films (movies), the center wanted to also offer a myraid of other performing arts such as music, dance, and theatre. How OBT will adapt from small intimate theater to a large stage, only time will tell.

For more on this historical venture, click HERE for an in-depth article that ran in the local newspaper (The World) December 2, 2006.

In 2008, OBT added a second venue to their new nomadic venture, Dinner Theater, at Gussies Restaurant in the downtown Empire district of Coos Bay.

(Don't forget to check out the special Memorials section for additional OBT historical reference).

Here's to 29 years of talent & determination for OBT, and with any Luck, another 20 alongside Gussies, and the Egyptian Theatre, the latter of which incidentally just celebrated their own milestone of 83 years in 2008!

OBT Plays
staged over the
past 20 years:

2009 Season, OBT Thespians	2008 Season, OBT Thespians
	An Evening of Dinner Theater (singer showcase)
	The Magician's Nephew

2007 Season, OBT Thespians	2006 Season, OBT Thespians
Big Bad	The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Dorothy Meets Alice	The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Much Ado About Nothing	Murder In Green Meadows
Frankenstein	Hansel and Gretel
Bah Humbug!	The Foreigner
	NunSensations! Vegas Review
	The Secret Garden
	1940's Radio Hour

2005 Season, OBT Thespians	2004 Season, OBT Thespians
Peter Pan	Jungle Book
Little Girl That Lives Down the Lane	Angel Street
Last Of the Red Hot Lovers
Any Given Day
Steel Magnolias	Beauty and the Beast
We The People	Mesuggah Nuns
Charlotte's Web	Bleacher Bums
The White Rose	Pocahontas
The Elephant Man	Dracula
Christmas on Broadway	It's A Wonderful Life

2003 Season, OBT Thespians	2002 Season, OBT Thespians
The Only Game In Town	Here and Now
Pinocchio	On Golden Pond
You Can't Take It With You	The Hobbit
Brighton Beach Memoirs	Extremities
Popeye	Lost In Yonkers
Pollyanna	Treasure Island
Visting Mr. Green	The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde
Jack the Ripper	The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Little Women	A Christmas Carol Radio Show

2001 Season, OBT Thespians	2000 Season, OBT Thespians
Private Wars	2 For The Show/Same Time Another Year (Readers Theater)
Six Short Comedies	A Walk In The Woods/50 Years Ago/The Diaries of Adam & Eve/Love Letters/Molly & James
Cinderella	Tennessee Williams a-la-mode
The OBT Talent Show	The Pigman
The Country Kickers line dancers & Ocean Pacific Cloggers	Crimes Of the Heart
The Deadly Game	Weekend Comedy
Alice in Wonderland	Peter & The Wolf
The Haunting of Hill House	Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Subject Was Roses	The Drunkard
NUNcrackers!	A Tuna Christmas

1999 Season, OBT Thespians	1998 Season, OBT Thespians
Zelda, The Last Flapper	Tales From The Kitchen Table
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Home At Six (AYA/OBT)	Raggedy Ann & Andy
An Evening With Anton Chekov	A Garden Of Fashion
The Elves And The Shoemaker	Spring Fling (Dinner Theater)
Nunsense Jamboree III	Daddy's Dying Who's Got The Will?
The KitKat Club	Dancer's Spotlight
Mousetrap	Songwriter's Showcase
Peter Pan	Red, White, & Blues (Dinner Theater)
Sylvia	Driving Miss Daisy
God's Favorite	Wait Until Dark
Best Little Christmas Pagent Ever	You're A Good Man Charlie Brown
	Veronica's Room
	The Christmas Carol

1997 Season, OBT Thespians	1996 Season, OBT Thespians
Frozen Rain (R&R)	Octette Bridge Club
Finnagan's Wake	Life With Mother Superior
Out Of The Shadows (dance)	Alive and Kicking
Park Your Car In Harvard Yard	The Cemetery Club
The Dining Room	13 Clocks
A Spring Fling (Dinner Theater)	Our Town
Hansel & Gretel	Shakespeare Exposed
Athentic Life Of Billy the Kid	Murder At The Howard Johnson
Intensity Rising (dance)	Alley Kids II
Red,White, & Blues (Dinner Theater)	Ladies In 509
A Midsummer's Night Dream	Lucifer's Child
I'm Not Rapport	As The Snow Falls
Winnie The Pooh
Bats In The Basement
Agnes Of God
Miracle On 34th Street
Sleigh Ride (Dinner Theater)

1995 Season, OBT Thespians	1994 Season, OBT Thespians
I Can't Hear You When The Water's Running	Shirley Valentine
Many Moons	Ransom Of Red Chief
On Broadway Social	Nunsense
Night Mother	Tamara Whiteaker with Harry Stitch RSVP Luncheon (Dinner Theater)
Voices	Song Writer's Review
Nunsense II	Bel Canto Musical Recital
JB	Golden Bough (Celtic Musical Group)
Celebrate Freedom (Dinner Theater)	Your Land & My Land (Dinner Theater)
Nunsense II (reprise)	You're A Grand Old Flag
Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs In The Black Forest	Cabaret
Chicago's Dr. Laurie Sucher in Concert	Oregon The Way It Was (Storytelling by Richard Stickroth)
Sunsets	Bus Stop
Papa Is All	Holiday Lodge (Dinner Theater)
The Fantastiks
Greetings

1993 Season, PACT

Together For The First Time

The Alley Kids

Quilters

The Impressario

The Picnic

Come On In (Country Concert)

'Tis The Season (Dinner Theater)

1988-1992 Season, PACT	1980-1987 Season, The Dolphin Players
Peace Child	That Championship Season
To Life	Wait Until Dark
The Breasts of Patrona	Vanities
Talley's Folley	Inherit The Wind
Tom Sawyer	The Caine Mutiny Court Martial
They're Playing Our Song	Lone Star, Laundry, and Bourbon
Pinnochio	And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little
Something's Afoot	The Sea Horse
Snoopy	Side by Side by Sondheim
Oliver	Same Time Next Year
Working	The Trees of Lallapaloosa
Sea Marks	Cheaper By the Dozen
Diary of Anne Frank	OBT Talent Show
A Christmas Memory

"OBT: Enriching the lives of patrons and players of all ages,
through the magic of live theatre."

(This page last updated Dec 28, 2007)

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