- Date
- 1973-08-20
- Kind
- Performance
- Where
- Holy Cross Parish Hall
- Participants
- Jack Webster (director) · Diane C. Hetherington (director) · Lola Amidon Hill (organizer) · Jim Janda (actor) · Jo Ellen Gallagher (actor) · Frank Solle (actor) · Trudy Works (actor) · Walker Hill (actor) + 5 more
- Carried out by
- Beaver Island Players
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- communicationcommunityheritage
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
The newly formed Beaver Island Players presented Neil Simon’s three-act comedy Plaza Suite at Holy Cross Parish Hall on the night of 20 August 1973, the island’s first summer stage play, to a capacity audience. Jack Webster and Diane Hetherington directed. The group kept part of the proceeds to fund future productions and donated $50 to the Medical Center Building Fund, and went on to elect an executive committee to continue as an organization.
History
The Beacon credited the idea for a summer production to Lola Hill. Plaza Suite is set in a hotel suite, with each of its three acts a separate story: a Hollywood producer’s mishaps, a couple marking a wedding anniversary, and parents trying to coax their daughter out of a bathroom before her wedding. Act One was played by Jim Janda, Jo Ellen Gallagher, and Frank Solle; Act Two by Trudy Works, Walker Hill, John Works, Frank Solle again, and Bernie Miller; and Act Three by Phyllis Townsend, Ray Denny, Jack Webster, and Bernie Miller.
Afterward, the cast and directors said they were donating $50 to the Medical Center Building Fund “in gratitude for the fine support given to us by so many members of the community,” while retaining the rest of the proceeds to support future productions. The group elected an executive committee: Martha Miller as chairman, Lola Hill, and Jim Janda, with Jack Webster continuing as consultant, and said it hoped islanders and summer visitors would join its activities in future summers.
A June 1993 Beacon retrospective, “Twenty Years Ago in the Beacon,” reprinted the August 1973 report in full.
Evidence and limits
The July notice is an advance announcement naming three actors and three actresses then in rehearsal; the August report names the full cast by act and establishes the completed performance, executive committee, and donation. Neither source gives a ticket ledger, total receipts, or the amount retained for future productions.
Sources
- Announces a one-night-only August 20, 8:00 p.m. performance of Plaza Suite in Holy Cross Parish Hall, directed by Jack Webster, with three actors and three actresses in rehearsal; the cast and completion are deferred to a later issue.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-07_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that the Beaver Island Players presented Plaza Suite on August 20 to a capacity audience, names the three acts and cast, credits Jack Webster and Diane Hetherington as directors, and reports a $50 donation to the Medical Center Building Fund.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the published source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
- Reprints the August 1973 report of the Beaver Island Players’ Plaza Suite performance, its capacity audience, cast and directors, future-production fund, $50 Medical Center Building Fund donation, and elected executive committee. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1993-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The held sixteen-page issue scan confirms the June retrospective theater report.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1993-06_Beaver-Beacon
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Plaza Suite theatrical performance announcement, 1973”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/plaza-suite-theatrical-performance-announcement-1973/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, July 1973, “Broadway Comes To Beaver Island.” (and 5 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Plaza Suite theatrical performance announcement, 1973”RIS for “Plaza Suite theatrical performance announcement, 1973”