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A seven year long struggle to breathe life into a hurricane damaged theater is over as Orange Community Players prepare to welcome the community to their new home.

The OCP invites the public to tour the facility, enjoy snacks and wine and share stories of past and present from 5 to 7 p.m. March 15 at The Jeff Hattman Center for Performing Arts, 3330 Bowling Lane. This portion of the event is free. 

A grand opening concert/musical review, which is a ticketed event, will begin at 7:37 p.m. Ticket information is available on the OCP facebook page. 

Paul Burch, OCP board president, said getting to this point has been a 7-year-struggle but “we are finally here.”

 

Some background

The Community Players bought the former Showbiz Cinemas in 2017 when the previous ownership moved out after Hurricane Harvey. Their renovation efforts are part of a years-long project which experienced hiccups along the way due to flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic, and grant funding. However, the organization has persisted nonetheless.

Repairs and renovations are costly and the price tag came in at around $300,000 not including the nearly $70,000 cost for HVAC. The OCP tried a gofundme page to raise funds but it drew very little, Burch said. A longtime partnership with the Orange Train Depot Museum helped.

“They graciously allowed us to use their facility all those years for shows,” he said.

Rose Seyour, manager of the Depot, told of how it all fit together. Johnnie Faye Jeff Hattman was one of the founding members of the OCP in 1951 and instrumental in keeping it going. 

Hattman, now deceased, was theater teacher at Little Cypress Mauriceville High School and an icon to the community. 

Seymur said Depot allowed the OCP to hold events there to raise money and did not charge them for use. In return the OCP has performed at Depot Days.

“We’re very excited they finally got to fruition,” she said. “We can’t wait to see it and go to all of their events.”

Burke is also excited for the upcoming opening and continuation of the OCP.

“It has been an outlet for all of us to continue with our talents,” Burch said. “It’s very important we kept the theater alive. When it flooded and we were told the insurance would go up and we’d not be able to afford it we set out to find a new home. It’s very important we get these doors open. It’s been alive 75 years. I’m not going to let it go down on my watch.”