Strong as Steel
Pottstown’s Steel River Playhouse keeps the joy of community theater alive and well.
by Walter Ault

In 2001 an ambitious group of people from Montgomery County united for a common cause: to bring the excitement and joy of live theater to the general public. Seven years later, in 2008, this determined and resilient group found a permanent home by turning an abandoned department store in Pottstown into a community theater.
 
This property on High Street has since become a multifaceted entertainment venue known as the Steel River Playhouse. The theater has been expanded, renovated, and modernized over the years, while new programs and activities have been added to appeal to people of all ages, including those with little or no prior knowledge of live theater.
 
The Steel River Playhouse is part of a recent live-theater renaissance in the Delaware Valley, during which many small community theaters emerged: the Montgomery Theater in Souderton (1993), Act II Playhouse in Ambler (1998), and Theater Horizon in Norristown (2005), among others. Prior to the local proliferation of small suburban theaters, theatergoers typically had to travel to Center City Philadelphia or New York City.
 
Community theaters like Steel River Playhouse have changed the calculus. Now, just about any resident of the Philadelphia area who so desires can experience the joys of theater close to home. The experience of watching a production in a community theater is usually one worth remembering; the proximity to the stage means patrons can see and hear the actors clearly, and tickets are a fraction of the cost of seeing a production in a big-city theater. Patrons aren’t likely to see the likes of Hamilton or Les Misérables in a community theater, but the productions tend to be of high quality.
 
Whenever a new theater opens up in a town, the town tends to benefit in more ways than one—culturally, of course, but also a shot in the arm to surrounding businesses. It also provides opportunities to socialize and work with fellow residents in a worthwhile endeavor. Every theater needs not only actors and directors, but also carpenters (to build sets), visual artists, printers (to print programs and tickets), concession workers, ushers, and more. So just about anyone who wants to contribute can find a way to do so.
 
Steel River Playhouse’s volunteers includes Boyertown resident Betsy Chapman. She has been proud to watch the theater become a centerpiece of High Street’s ongoing revitalization.
 
“When we opened the theater 16 years ago, High Street was deserted,” she says. “There were a lot of empty storefronts and very little activity. But things began to change after we opened. It showed that [the arts] are a good economic driver for communities.
 
“It takes a lot of people and a lot of hard work to keep a theater going,” Chapman continues. “I even help with the sets and work behind the stage when it’s needed. You do whatever you can to make the theater succeed.” 
 
Three of the theater’s final four productions of the 2024–25 season, which started in July, are of the musical variety. Annie, the widely popular musical inspired by the old comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, ran from December 6 through 22, followed by You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, inspired by another comic strip, Peanuts (February 6 through 16). The third and final musical will be Mary Poppins, which will run from May 23 through June 8. A romantic drama, Barefoot in the Park, will take the Steel River Playhouse stage from March 7 through 23. Visit steelriver-playhouse.org for more information.
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, December 2024