Dear Friends, Patrons and Benefactors of the Howmet Playhouse:
A lot has happened since we closed the last show of the 2006 season with a very successful run of The Moon Is Blue. The fine arts camp has given the playhouse to the City of Whitehall and the city has been busy, working to see the Playhouse activities continued and even expanded!They have hired Tom Harryman as a year-round manager. Some of you may remember Tom as the director of The Moon Is Blue and his previous activities at the Frauenthal Center in Muskegon. Tom and I have worked together to plan another great summer season at the Playhouse.
But we need your help! Housing that was available next door at the Lewis House can no longer be used to house actors. We are also looking for a volunteer crew to help with ushering and a variety of other tasks. We are interested in any suggestions you might have.
I was certainly moved by the reaction of the community and the city when the potential of losing the Playhouse programming came to light. The city has established a variety of ways you can support our fundraising efforts:
Donate to the City of Whitehall: Donation Form (pdf)
City of Whitehall/Howmet Playhouse Operations
Or
Donate to the Community Foundation for Muskegon County:
The Blomdahl/Howmet Playhouse Fund - Or - The Playhouse Capital Fund
When I first came to the area I asked Edna Blomdahl if she would help me compile the initial mailing list for our season. She invited her old friend Harriet Burman over and we sat at Edna’s kitchen table and put together the list. Between them they knew everyone in the White Lake area. The people who were on that list are still many of the Playhouse faithful!
I certainly appreciate Blue Lake’s stewardship, but in the long run, this may be the best thing that has happened to our Playhouse. This season’s success will certainly be crucial to our future operations. I hope I can count on your continued support for our activities.
If you would like to contact us via email, please write to kevinwurz@aol.com or Tom at playhousemanager@cityofwhitehall.org, or call Tom, 231-894-4048. We’ll be happy to answer any questions on fundraising or volunteering. We will have a website up and running soon and we hope you will enjoy this great season we have planned.
Thanks again for your loyalty through the last 12 years. Open this brochure and you’ll see the great productions we have planned for 2007!
Sincerely,
Kevin R. Wurz
Summer Theatre Director – Howmet Playhouse
Downtown Whitehall will lose some of its clutter this spring as Phase II of a downtown improvements project gets completed, meaning the burying of overhead wires running through the district.
