Elkins’ ‘Old Brick Playhouse’ reimagines ‘High Mountain Harmony’
By Serena Wiseman, for RealWV
Community Theater is alive and well!
From Broadway in New York City to the small town of Elkins, community theater is alive and well!
Elkins has a very special and cherished community theater right in the middle of town called “The Old Brick Playhouse.” The theater was created by two Elkins locals and has been operating for a remarkable 30 years.
The Old Brick Playhouse’s main attraction is their apprenticeship program – a twice a year-yearly educational opportunity for children in grades six through 12. The students rehearse for months to put on productions for the community. Over the years the program has presented productions of big name shows like The Lion King, Jr. and Mary Poppins, as well as a mixture of original shows.
It is a wonderful program that gives each child a chance to showcase their talents and gives them a place to flourish. This, however, is not the only event they do and the children in this age range are not the only ones that get to utilize this theater! They also do murder mystery dinner trains and share activities at the local nursing home weekly. Along with this they do staff shows for the alumni who would like to be in a production, who miss the rush of being in front of a crowd, and a children’s camp for elementary aged children along with a host of things for the holiday seasons.
The weekend of June 7 was the most recent staff show for the old brick, and it was a special one! This show was called “High Mountain Harmony”, an original musical written by the director, and owner, of the theater, along with a local and renowned musician. This show was written years ago, and is written about the military group that settled in the Seneca Rocks area of Pendleton County, WV in the 1940s to train for war combat. They were trained by some of the most skilled teachers in rock climbing, skiing, and mountaineering. The story portrayed in high mountain harmony is based on the actual family of the theater owner and director, which is written in the semi narrative point of view of a soldier named Jack who was portrayed by an apprentice, that has since moved on to become an actor in a number of Netflix TV shows, that portrayed this same character the first time this production was put on back in 2009.
Back in the 1940s in Pendleton county, the population was very very little (this is important later on), and this specific story is based on a family with six hard working daughters who’s father fails to mention to the mother that hundreds of soldiers will be moving onto their property to train for a war. This, as you can imagine, leads to a lot of forms of excitement as nothing like this had ever happened in this incredibly small town before! Around the same time, travelers had also settled to try to sell and trade their goods, prompting even more buzzing and thrill for the community. It also touches on the topic of the WACS, the women of the war who helped the efforts around this time. This show was full of comedy, heartbreak, love, toe tapping fiddle music, and even some party line drama and taffy pulling. This was the first time it has been performed in 10 years, the first time as above mentioned was in 2009 and the second in 2015, prompting a lot of anticipation from the Elkins locals, leading to 2 of the 3 showings being sold out.
Many of the participants in this year’s production were alumni who have done the show in the past as well as new actors and actresses. The Old Brick has a very vibrant and rich history in the town, I personally have been an apprentice, and now an alumni, and i was honored to be a part of this production as well. Speaking from personal experience this theater and many theaters around the world are extraordinary beacons of light, happiness, and fulfillment for many young children who are trying to find where they belong in the very confusing times of adolescence and young adulthood, it gives them a place to flourish individually as well as helps the local surrounding communities, and gives adults an outlet to share their artistic side and find colleagues who share their interests and passions. I urge each and every person reading this to support their local community theater any chance you get, because you never know what next great actor or actress might arise from it, or you might surprise yourself and find your new favorite hobby.
