Somerset Valley Players Welcomes New Sponsor

Hillsborough, NJ – As a nonprofit theatre, Hillsborough's Somerset Valley Players relies on donations from the community to continue to provide high-quality entertainment. Personal and in-kind donations, corporate matching gifts, and revenue from advertising enable SVP to maintain high production standards for each show.

A sponsorship is an especially welcome donation. Sponsors provide $500 toward the cost of a particular show, and are credited in publicity, on signage, in social media posts, and on the website. They also receive 10 free passes to the sponsored production.

SVP has enjoyed tremendous, loyal support from local businesses and personal sponsors over several seasons. A new sponsor has a special reason for their association with SVP and the show, Calendar Girls, which they are helping to fund.

“My father loved theatre, history, culture, literature, and movies,” says Marian Pittenger, “that’s why we decided to become an SVP sponsor in his memory. We hope ‘The Robert W. Pittenger Family’ sponsorship will be a testament to a renaissance man, who we also suspect wanted to be a performer deep down – probably a cross between Fred Astaire and John Wayne,” she laughs.

“One of Bob’s favorite memories was seeing the original Broadway production of Mr. Roberts after he was discharged from the army and returned from Japan,” recalls Mary Pittenger, his wife of 44 years. “He spoke often about seeing Henry Fonda up close, and how Fonda appeared so natural it didn’t seem like acting. Later, when we married, we honeymooned in New York City, and Bob couldn’t wait to take me to a Broadway show. We saw Mr. Wonderful with Sammy Davis, Jr. and it was wonderful!”

The Pittenger family’s youngest daughter, Angela Bates, adds that the family chose to sponsor Calendar Girls, a heartwarming comedy and true story of British women who pose as pin up girls to raise money for cancer research, for very specific reasons.

“First, our mom is a cancer survivor, so that aspect of the show meant a lot to us. Second, as a father of three girls, Dad wanted us to have grit and spunk, like the ladies in the show do. Lastly, he was immensely proud of his English ancestory. He loved British comedy from droll Alec Guinness movies to absurd Monty Python skits,” she explains. “We know his spirit will be in the audience somehow and laughing the loudest.”

Calendar Girls opens Friday, April 20, and runs through Sunday, May 6. For tickets and show times go to www.svptheatre.org. The theatre is located at 689 Amwell Road (Route 514) in Hillsborough.

For more information about sponsoring a show at SVP, please send a request to vp_marketing@svptheatre.org.