History of the Bay St Louis Little Theatre
The original Bay St Louis Little Theater on Boardman Avenue was totally destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. After five years, the Little Theatre will finally have a permanent home. The BSLLT was founded in the living room of John and Mary Bell in 1946. In 1948, local physician, Dr. Emmet Erwin, donated land located on Boardman Avenue to the Little Theatre. The membership then bought two war-surplus barracks from the Seabee base in Gulfport and had them dismantled. They were shipped by barge to the Bay and reassembled. One was positioned vertically to form an auditorium, and the other attached horizontally to form the stage. The theater remained there for 57 years until the hurricane.
Since Katrina, the Little Theatre has performed at First Missionary Baptist Church, Bay City Grille, St. Rose de Lima Church, P’Zazz restaurant, Long Beach Lodge, Waveland Civic Center, Luke’s Dinner Theatre, and the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center. “We will be forever grateful to Steve D’Angelo, Father Sebastian, Mayor Longo, Jon Trimmer, Rev. Allen Jenkins for providing a venue to continue performances while we were searching for and building our new theater. We were able to remain viable and visible in the community. And now, finally, we have a home,” said Cheryl Grace, Little Theatre President.
In 2008, the Theater’s Board of Directors purchased the “This Property is Condemned” building with a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission. A grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History has funded the renovation. Other funding included private donations, memberships, Starr Walk Brick sales, and t-shirt sales along with other fundraising events.
The Starr Walk Brick sales will continue. Currently the inscribed bricks are a $100 donation. The bricks can be purchased online at www.bsllt.org or call the Theatre at 228-864-2882.
The Theatre’s Grand Opening Committee is currently meeting monthly to plan the event itinerary. Plans include an evening Gala fundraiser for Friday night and an all-day event for the community on Saturday. The movie “This Property is Condemned” was based on a one-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play will be performed by Hancock High School students under the direction of Jay Coker, drama teacher at HHS, for the Grand Opening. The details of the event will be coming soon. “There are some exciting surprises being planned,” commented Dr. Richard O’Briant, theater Board member.
To promote the Theater’s building and its history to the movie “This Property is Condemned”, the theater Board is requesting the community’s help. The BSLLT is seeking anyone who has memorabilia from the movie during its filming or anyone who has a first-hand story to tell about the filming. Their narrative will be recorded and preserved in the theater. The BSLLT will start a Living History Archives in the Theatre to preserve this portion of its unique past.
Have your Name on a Piece of the Playhouse!
One of the ways that the Bay St. Louis Little Theatre is trying to raise the funds to restore their new theater building is by selling engraved bricks. Reserve your brick today for $100.