Harry Truman High Auditorium Overhaul Completed

BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, PA —The Lou Volpe Auditorium has undergone a complete overhaul this summer.

As the school year opens shortly for the Bristol Township School District, the Harry S. Truman High School auditorium will look quite different as it gets ready to host the award-winning Truman Drama Department and esteemed music department.

Renovations included brand-new seats, a new stage, new windows, and new lighting and sound equipment, school officials said.

“Truman invites the community to visit the new auditorium and enjoy shows from our band, orchestra, choral, and theatre programs,” Harry Truman High School Principal Jon Craig said. “We are proud of this revitalized space and are excited to highlight our talented students here.”

The new auditorium will showcase the drama department, formed with the help of Lou Volpe, who served as director for Truman’s ground-breaking theatre program for 44 years and was awarded Music Theatre International’s first Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre Education.

After he retired in 2013, the auditorium was renamed Lou Volpe Auditorium in his honor, school officials said.

His former student and Truman alumna, Tracey Gatte, filled his shoes and has been directing the program ever since.

Truman Drama is often the first high school to pilot musicals, including “Kinky Boots,” “Rocky,” “Rent,” and “Les Miserables.”

In March, the department will present Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Based on the famous novel by Roald Dahl, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” features an original score composed by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Hairspray” and “Some Like It Hot”) and a book by David Greig.

The score also pays homage to the Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley score from the 1971 film with songs from the motion picture including "Candy Man," "I've Got a Golden Ticket," "Oompa Loompa Song" and "Pure Imagination.

A new take on the classic will be released in December of this year in the movie “Wonka.”

In addition to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the 2023-24 Truman Drama season includes “Just A Stage He’s Going Through,” “The Door” and its first-ever children’s show, Disney Pixar’s “Finding Nemo Kids.”