Bowie Playhouse
Bowie Playhouse
Whitemarsh Park
6314 Crain Highway (MD Route 3 South)
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The Bowie Playhouse, located in Whitemarsh Park on Route 3 South, is centrally located 20 minutes away from both Baltimore and Washington, DC and only a short 15 minutes from Annapolis. The Playhouse, which opened in 1975, is a 150-seat theater, owned and operated year round by the City of Bowie, Maryland. Facilities include a lobby, box office, and proscenium stage, fly system, and orchestra pit. Dressing rooms are located in the basement area below the stage. The mission of the Bowie Playhouse is to provide affordable, quality live theater entertainment to the residents of Bowie and surrounding communities.
Popular among production companies is the fact that the theater is not a multi-purpose facility like many school and civic auditoriums, but that it is rented to a single user at a time. This practice allows for sets to be constructed, and lighting designs to be hung and left in place for the duration of the run. The City also provides experienced theater technicians to operate, or train users to operate, the theater, sound, lighting, and fly systems. The theater technicians often assist production companies in set design and construction and in sound and lighting design. High technical quality is a hallmark of productions in the Bowie Playhouse. User groups are responsible for their own advertising, box office management, and ushers.
Presently, three resident production groups use the theater. The oldest resident company is Bowie Community Theatre (BCT), providing quality entertainment in Bowie for almost 40 years. BCT has presented both musicals and dramatic productions. Today, focusing mainly on comedies and dramas, BCT stages 3 or 4 productions each year. BCT has won several Ruby Griffith Awards, presented by the British Embassy for outstanding achievement in a non-musical. Recent winners include Steel Magnolias, Someone To Watch Over Me and The Heiress.
Founded and managed by talented individuals who have contributed both on and off stage to the performing arts in Bowie for many years, 2nd Star Productions is another of the Bowie Playhouse's resident user groups. 2nd Star's primary focus is musical theater and a hallmark of their musical productions is a 20 piece live orchestra. 2nd Star produces three major musicals and one comedy each year. 2nd Star has also won its share of Ruby Griffith awards for outstanding achievement in a musical, most recently for Guys and Dolls and Mame.
The newest resident production company to perform
at the Bowie Playhouse is Prince Georges Little Theatre (PGLT). While
new to the Bowie Playhouse, PGLT has a long history of quality dramatic
and musical productions in Prince Georges County and their share of
Ruby Griffith awards as well. PGLT produces both musical and
dramatic productions as exemplified by their 2007-2008 schedule, which
includes Heidi, Barefoot in the Park and Steel Magnolias.
Together with the resident productions companies,
the Bowie Playhouse is committed to bringing the finest community theater
in the Baltimore/Washington/Annapolis
area to Bowie.
Bowie Community Theatre
301-805-0219
2nd Star Productions
301 832 4819
410-757-5700
Prince George's Little Theatre
301-937-7458
