Francine Thomas Reynolds, Artistic Director at New Stage Theatre, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its January 11, 2022 meeting. Reynolds informed club members and guest about the history of New Stage, how the theater has dealt with COVID and the current season. New Stage Theatre was chartered as a nonprofit organization in 1965 and produced its initial season in the winter and spring of 1966. Founded by Jane Reid Petty and seven other charter board members, with the assistance of the American National Theatre Academy and Actors’ Equity Association, the theater has been dedicated to professional excellence in the dramatic arts since its inception. Ivan Rider was the theater’s first artistic director and served in that capacity until 1979. New Stage’s first home was an adapted church at the corner of Gallatin and Hooker Streets. The full houses for its opening season were significant: they represented the city’s first racially integrated theater audience and playgoers’ response to more intellectually stimulating theater fare than had been previously available locally. New Stage produced 13 seasons in the 150-seat church before moving to its present site in Belhaven in 1978. Built in 1963 for the Jackson Little Theatre, the 12,000 square foot structure includes the 364-seat Meyer Crystal Auditorium, and a flexible, smaller performing space, the Jimmy Hewes Room. Now in its 56th year, New Stage produces a full professional season, including five main stage shows in the subscription series. The next show for this season is I Just Stopped by to See the Man, February 2-13. The play is set in the Miss. Delta about a Delta blues singer's passion for his art and the sacrifices of fame and fortune. Shown in the photo below is from left, Luther Munford, club member; Reynolds and Bill Osborne, club director. Here is the link to the meeting video https://vimeo.com/665757820.
