Branford's Legacy Theatre Springs Ahead With April Debut Season

STONY CREEK, CT — Hard-hat wearing workers on the roof and inside the building watched and pointed their camera phones down on the crowd gathered as ORL Construction president Todd Renz explained the origins of a topping off ceremony.

“We’ve reached a milestone,” he said. The “structure is complete, the last steel beam and wood frame is in place in this building. We’re commemorating it by raising an evergreen tree."

"A tradition," he said, that “goes back a long way.”

“In Scandinavia, where they used to clear an area and used the wood to build a building," he explained, "this was meant to kind of keep evil spirits away and it has become a tradition in building throughout the world.”

Legacy Theater executive director Stephanie Stiefel Williams, who has been working on the project for more than six years, is theatre co-founder chair of its board of trustees.

“We have been dreaming of this day since we purchased the property in 2013,” she said. “The performing arts are vital to any society.”

Williams said the Legacy Theatre has, since its inception, offered, held and presented programming to and in all communities. The theater has intentionally sought out Black and brown and other marginalized community members as participants, consultants, board and staff members, as well as featured players, and will continue to do so.

“But what else can we do,” she asked.

“As a public gathering space, as a space where creative expression is welcomed and encouraged, we invite the input of our community in continuing our quest toward a diverse, equitable and inclusive artistic vision.

The Stony Creek theatre’s rich history includes showcasing early silent film, a home for film and stage master Orson Welles, and later, a renowned and beloved puppet theatre.

Legacy’s inaugural season will bring play productions in spring, summer, and fall, with a rotating repertory of musicals, classics, new works, and shows for young audiences.

Theatre training at all levels will be offered through Legacy’s Artist Teachers, members of the resident repertory company. Courses in performance technique will be available for professional actors, serious amateurs, teens, and children. Training in aspects of technical theatre will also be offered, utilizing the theatre’s state-of-the-art facility for hands-on learning.

The 2021 season begins April 16 with stage and television star Telly Leung. The season will be filled with plays, a Broadway performer series, theater for children on Saturdays, and series' for marginalized and under-represented communities of artists.

During the pandemic, the theatre has not been dark, so to speak. It’s Face-To-Face series is part of its Social Distance Theatre: connecting theatre makers to the public during social distancing.” There are dozens of episodes on its YouTube channel.