Theater group performs Broadway entertainment for fundraiser

Orange Community Players is having another musical dinner theater performance this weekend at the Orange Train Depot. The fundraiser will help the longtime amateur theater company renovate the old Twin Cinema building on Bowling Lane to become the new playhouse.

This year's entertainment features show tunes and dances under the title "Broadway Fun for Funds." Tickets are $40 for individuals and $70 for couples. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 7, and then again on Saturday, July 8. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served then. Desserts will be served during the show's intermission

Tickets may be purchased online through the Orange Community Players website or Facebook page. In addition, tickets may be reserved by calling 409-883-3615.

The show will start at 7:37 p.m., the traditional start for OCP night entertainments. The time was established more than 60 years ago when the downtown playhouse was new and a train through town with its accompanying noises created the need for an odd start time.

The old playhouse on West Division Avenue was donated by the late Edgar Brown Jr. and served for decades. However, Hurricane Ike in 2008, and then Hurricane Harvey in 2017, flooded the playhouse, making insurance too expensive for the non-profit group.

After Harvey, the Twin Cinema movie theater closed, even though the building did not flood. OCP bought the building and has been renovating it to become another stage for productions. The OCP board voted to name the new theater in honor of the late Jeff Hattman, who long taught drama at Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School and was a leader for OCP productions.

Community theater companies in Beaumont and Port Arthur have renovated former movie theaters.