The beautiful landmark building that houses The Schoolhouse Theater was formerly the Croton Falls elementary school. In 1985 Lee Pope transformed the building into an Arts Center, providing studio and gallery space to visual artists. At that time, the cafeteria/gym/auditorium space was simply a white walled room with no risers and twelve borrowed lights. In 1987, inspired by Acorn Production’s New York staging of Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce, Ms. Pope brought the play to Northern Westchester audiences. It starred Brooke Palance and Michael Wilding, sold out its limited run, and The Schoolhouse Theater was born. Pamela Moller Kareman ran a professional Summer Stock company and produced a number of special events. Well known comedians Brett Butler, Caroline Rhea, and Mario Cantone brought down the house. The list of actors and authors who helped to put the Schoolhouse on the map, includes, Karen Valentine, Polly Draper, David Marguiles, Joyce Carol Oates, Hilma Wolitzer, Sybille Pearson, and the late Paul Zindel.
Building on this early success, The Schoolhouse became a full fledged not-for-profit professional regional theater in 1998, and Ms. Moller Kareman was named artistic director. Since then notable productions have included, Tennessee Williams' Kingdom of Earth, William Saroyan’s The Cave Dwellers, Dennis McIntyre’s National Anthems, Beth Henley’s Abundance, Jane Anderson’s The Baby Dance and Steve Tesich's The Speed of Darkness.
The Schoolhouse has been honored by visits from theater luminaries Jules Feiffer, George Furth, Tina Howe, and Broadway composers, Richard Maltby and David Shire, who all came to see productions of their work and to lend their support to the theater. Our outstanding productions of plays by award winning American playwrights has earned us our reputation as
“Westchester’s sole claim to consistent
professional theater, where people can see plays
they are not likely to see elsewhere.”
and
“The little theater that CAN!”
-The New York Times
Mainstage Productions: Season By Season
