Enfield Musical Theatre Group Receives State Grant

ENFIELD, CT — An Enfield-based community musical theatre group which has delighted audiences in northern Connecticut for more than half a century is among 154 nonprofit arts organizations in Connecticut which will be receiving $9 million in state grants under a program initiated by Gov. Ned Lamont's administration to provide support to the state's arts community amid the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Opera House Players (OHP), founded in 1968 as the St. Martha Players, is one of the oldest groups in the area which performs exclusively musical theatre. After moving to Broad Brook in 2003 and changing its name to the Opera House Players, the group returned to Enfield in 2018, in its 50th anniversary year, and moved into the former United Presbyterian Church building at 100 High Street. Renovation work on the circa 1901 building is ongoing.

"We are very appreciative and grateful for what we received as part of the COVID relief act from the state of Connecticut and the governor," OHP president Josh Prouser told Patch. "It’s great to see this much-needed help come to the arts community and to organizations like OHP. With this help, we’ll be able to continue putting on events and providing art to the community, with us ready to do that virtually as long as we have to. We have a holiday live stream concert and a virtual reading of an adapted version of "A Christmas Carol" coming in December, and with the help of this grant, we’ll be able to continue doing similar things into 2021."

Public relations manager Maya Nicole Matthews said, "Like many companies around the nation, the Opera House Players has been unable to have a ‘regular year,’ and we’ve taken a financial hit. We really appreciate the state remembering the importance of theater, culture and the arts among other essential functions for our community. We’ve had to adjust our thinking this year, like the Ovation Holiday Livestream Concert on Dec. 19 and "A Virtual Christmas Carol" on Dec. 21. This $6,000 state grant and local support like donating to OHP for GivingTuesday and by supporting us on AmazonSmile and through our website will go a long way in ensuring we can provide entertainment for our region well into the future."

Productions slated for 2021 include "Mamma Mia" and "The Little Mermaid." In recent years, the group has staged productions of classics like "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum," "Beauty and the Beast," "Annie," "Sister Act," "My Fair Lady," "Titanic," "Fiddler On the Roof," "Footloose," "Cabaret" and "La Cage aux Folles," among many others.

The COVID Relief Fund for the Arts, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), was created to support arts nonprofits that are performing arts centers, schools of the arts, or performing groups for whom grants will make a difference in terms of survival or rehiring, and have had to curtail operations for a period of time due to the pandemic and which have had limited ability to reopen due to pandemic restrictions or have had to pivot their service delivery due to pandemic restrictions.

"Connecticut’s arts community provides an incredible amount of good for our state and supports thousands of jobs," Lamont said. "Like nearly every segment of our communities, many nonprofit arts organizations are struggling to recover from its impact. These grants will provide some needed support so that these groups can continue providing the services in our state that on which many depend."

Liz Shapiro, DECD’s Director of Arts, Preservation, and Museums, said, "The year 2020 has presented unprecedented challenges to Connecticut’s arts organizations, and they have risen to the occasion in every possible way. These organizations play a critical role in shaping the character of our communities, providing forums for engaging public dialogue, and positively impacting the economy. While we are thrilled to offer this support, it is important to understand that this funding, while certainly helpful, does not solve these organizations’ financial challenges. I strongly encourage residents and donors to do everything they can to support these organizations in the months ahead."

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