Gaslight Theatre, Enid’s community theatre, has been located at 221 N. Independence for 30 years, providing high-quality entertainment to Enid and surrounding area for almost 60 years!
Gaslight has a very active season of nine plays of all genres, including a summer musical, children’s theatre, a teen production and two off-site productions. Gaslight features a comedy dinner theatre presented in the Stride Bank Center, as well as the state’s only FREE Shakespeare in the Park in the beautiful and historic Government Springs Park (scroll down for more info). There is also an active year-long teen organization and a month long Kids Drama Camp in June. Between its main stage auditorium seating 250 patrons and its little theatre, the Turpin Room, seating up to 80, there is a production playing almost every month. The Turpin also hosts musical evenings, open mic nights, poetry events, and film presentations.
For information about auditions, performances or volunteering call 580-234-2307 or visit our website at www.gaslighttheatre.org.
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Box Office Hours: Tuesday – Friday 2 pm-5:30 pm. Also, one hour prior to any performance. Online ticketing available 24/7 at www.gaslighttheatre.org
Photos provided by Muncy Photography.
The History of Oklahoma’s longest-running Free Shakespeare in the Park:
In 1994, several members of the Gaslight Theatre Board of Directors (Dave Abbott, Carmen Ball, Catherine Johnston, and Mary McDonald) realized Gaslight had the talent capable of presenting successful Shakespeare productions equal to those they had seen elsewhere.
They chose the Government Springs Park hillside as an ideal location. Through a partnership with the City of Enid, Friends of Government Springs and local financial sponsors, the first play was presented free as a gift to the public.
The set was simple. Actors performed in front of sheets speaking into microphones on stands. Still, that first production of Much Ado About Nothing drew audiences of more than 1,200 people.
The attendance impressed the City of Enid so much that it added a performance pavilion in 1996 for theatrical use. The pavilion is still the site for Shakespeare in the Park today as well as weddings, concerts, and other events.
2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Oklahoma’s longest-running free Shakespeare in the Park, receiving recognition from the City of Enid, the State of Oklahoma and the Office of the Governor.
Gaslight’s Shakespeare in the Park has produced a wide variety of Shakespeare’s plays, from highly recognizable titles like Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth to the more obscure Titus Andronicus.
“Gaslight’s Shakespeare productions are unique experiences for our actors,” said McDonald, also a former English literature instructor at Enid High School. “Our actors form a company. Not only do they perform roles in the plays, but these same people also put up the set and sound system and change the scenes. It’s not uncommon to find the leads (King Lear or Hamlet) setting the lights or striking the flats.”
McDonald said she believes this company involvement has become a training ground for young actors who learn how to treat all theater roles with equal respect. Many of Gaslight’s former young Shakespeare actors now work in a variety of theatre and media across the state and the country.
