By William “Skip” Deegans
Fifty years ago, Edgar Smith, chair of the Greenbrier Valley Theatre’s building committee, presented an architectural rendering of a proposed arts center to be located near the Greenbrier Valley Airport terminal. The building would be built with donated labor, materials, money and grants. The board of directors consisted of Joe Holt, president; Ann Benedict, vice-president; Edgar Smith, treasurer, and Deanie Wilcher, secretary. Jack Neely took on the task of building supervisor. Little time was wasted to have the building ready for the opening of the 1976 summer season on June 24. The Meadow River Lumber Mill in Rainelle was being razed, and materials were donated to GVT. March found Ann and Pickney Benedict and other volunteers pulling nails from the mill’s lumber.
Ground breaking for what became affectionately known as “the barn” took place in early April. The season opened with “Barefoot In The Park,” followed by “Godspell,” “Witness For The Prosecution,” and “Fiddler On The Roof.” Tickets were $14.
Greenbrier County’s summer theatre was started in 1965 by John and Betty Vaughan Benjamin in a red and white tent on the Greenbrier River near Caldwell. In the second season, young Paul Detch played the role of Christopher Wren in Agatha Christie’s “The Mouse Trap,” and according to a review by The Raleigh Register, “he did an outstanding job.” There were various iterations of summer theatre here and locations, in addition to the one in Caldwell, included a tent in Fairlea, a barn in Underwood Estates, and Carnegie Hall.
In 1970, when the future of a summer theatre looked problematic, the always-supportive Beckley Post-Herald wrote, “…the Greenbrier Community is the better by far for having had the effort. Many young people over there got a good taste of theatre which will enhance their lives as long as they live.”
Sources: West Virginia Daily News, Beckley Post-Herald, The Raleigh Register.
