Off Broadway in Bellmore: Plaza Theatrical Caters to Diverse Audiences

If you think great theater is something you can only get in New York City, then perhaps you have not seen any of the plays presented by Plaza Theatrical Productions, the resident production company at the Showplace at Bellmore Theater.

Located directly across from the Bellmore LIRR train station in a renovated building that was originally a vaudeville house, Plaza Theatrical has been a theatrical touring company in existence for the last 25 years. In addition to Bellmore, they perform all over Long Island, New York and New Jersey. Their venues range from libraries, recreation centers, country clubs and in the summers, the productions are performed for free in many of the parks throughout Long Island.

The group was founded and produced by Kevin and Phyllis Harrington, who combined their love of theater with their education backgrounds to start the theatrical company. Kevin is an English administrator in the Massapequa School District and Phyllis is the Oyster Bay superintendent of Schools.

"The Harringtons had a desire to bring fine arts as an affordable vehicle out here on Long Island," said Thea Sieban, the production's public relations manager. "The Arts in Education series was set up specifically so schools can come to see a play on a trip here or we can go to the schools to perform there."

In February, productions in Bellmore included "Blue's Clues", "Charlotte's Web" and "Cinderella" for children and "Driving Miss Daisy" for adults. In rehearsals for March are productions of "A Year of Frog and Toad" and "The Wizard of Oz" for children and "Godspell" and "Chapter 2" for adults.

The production company enlists local professional actors, and it also runs a Performing Arts Academy located at the production's corporate headquarters in Lynbrook. The Academy offers three children and teen programs: kindergarten through third grade, fourth through eighth grade and seventh through twelfth grade. A fourth program was recently added for adults with special needs. Sieban also serves as the administrator of the Academy.

"Our adult program opened last semester and was very well received," Sieben said. "They sold out every night."

According to Plaza's Web site, the Arts in Education productions were presented to over 33,000 Long Island students last year. In addition to the Bellmore Theater, the productions were presented at the Landmark Theatre in Port Washington, the Town Hall West Theatre in Islip and the Marathon Playhouse at the Marathon Jewish Community Center in Douglaston. Plaza also presents Luncheon Theatre at the Westbury Manor in Westbury and will feature "Annie Get Your Gun" in July and "Goin' Hollywood" in August.

This summer's tour of the parks presented throughout Long Island will feature "Annie Get Your Gun" for adults and "Sleeping Beauty" for children. All plays in the park are for free and include a full orchestra. For more information of Plaza Theatrical Productions, call 599-6870 or visit their Web site.

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