Broadway by the Bay

Broadway by the Bay is a nonprofit, community-based musical theatre company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its principal performance base is the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California, and its work has historically centered on presenting full-scale musicals for audiences in San Mateo County. The organization also operates educational programming for young people through its Theatre Arts Academy, formerly described as the Youth Theatre Conservatory, giving local children opportunities to participate in performing-arts experiences. The company traces its roots to La Honda Music Camp, a summer program associated with the San Mateo Recreation Department during the 1950s. The camp, located near La Honda in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, brought together young musicians, singers, and actors and staged comic operas, particularly works by Gilbert and Sullivan. In June 1963, the recreation department established the San Mateo Community Theatre at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo. The first artistic leaders identified with the new organization were music director Dr. Randolph Hunt and drama director Robert Lynch. The company's first productions were Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Patience was staged in August 1963 at Hillsdale High School, with an additional performance at La Honda Music Camp. The following summer it presented The Mikado, and in 1965 it produced H.M.S. Pinafore. These early productions used student performers and musicians drawn largely from high schools and colleges in San Mateo County. They established the organization's community-oriented model while providing a foundation for more ambitious theatrical programming. In 1966, San Mateo Community Theatre broadened its artistic direction by presenting Oklahoma!, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. The production moved to the College of San Mateo and was successful enough to encourage the organization to continue producing contemporary and classic Broadway musicals. West Side Story followed in 1967, with performances at the San Mateo High School auditorium, later known as the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. The company continued mounting musicals annually, gradually combining amateur participants with professional and semi-professional performers, directors, choreographers, and musicians. The organization became a nonprofit in 1978. In 1983, its board expanded the group's mission and changed its name to Peninsula Civic Light Opera. In 1999, the company began transitioning to the name Broadway by the Bay, reflecting its stronger emphasis on Broadway-style musical theatre rather than the narrower light-opera identity. The newer name became the principal public brand. Broadway by the Bay has generally produced approximately four full-scale musical theatre productions per year, supported by a mixture of volunteers and paid or professional artistic personnel. Actors, ushers, and some musicians have participated as volunteers. Its repertory has included well-known works such as Evita, In the Heights, Dreamgirls, Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and The Full Monty. A 2009 review of The Full Monty described the production as energetic and strongly choreographed, illustrating the company's positioning as a polished regional presenter rather than solely an amateur theatre group. In 2010, composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown taught classes and performed a concert connected with fundraising for the company's youth program. In 2011, Broadway by the Bay moved its performances to the Fox Theatre at 2215 Broadway Street in Redwood City, where it has continued to perform. The organization signed a five-year lease for the venue in 2016. Its overall identity combines accessible regional musical theatre, volunteer participation, professional-level production values, and arts education for children.

Broadway by the Bay developed from a San Mateo Recreation Department summer arts program known as La Honda Music Camp. Operating near La Honda in the Santa Cruz Mountains during the 1950s, the camp used the talents of young musicians, singers, and actors to stage performances, especially Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. The program supplied the artistic and community base from which the later theatre company emerged. In June 1963, the San Mateo Recreation Department formalized the San Mateo Community Theatre at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo. Dr. Randolph Hunt served as music director and Robert Lynch as drama director. The inaugural production was Patience, presented in August 1963 at Hillsdale High School and also performed at La Honda Music Camp. The company followed with The Mikado in 1964 and H.M.S. Pinafore in 1965. These productions relied heavily on high-school and college-age performers and musicians from the surrounding county. The organization changed direction in 1966 by presenting Oklahoma!, its first major classic Broadway musical. The show was staged at the College of San Mateo and its reception encouraged a continuing musical-theatre program. In 1967, the company produced West Side Story at the San Mateo High School auditorium, later identified as the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. For many years, that facility served as the group's principal home. Over time, productions incorporated a greater mix of professional and semi-professional artists alongside community participants. San Mateo Community Theatre adopted nonprofit status in 1978. In 1983, the board broadened the organization's focus and renamed it Peninsula Civic Light Opera. The name was changed again beginning in 1999, when Broadway by the Bay was introduced to communicate the company's emphasis on Broadway-type musicals. The transition was intended to align the public identity with the organization's evolving repertory. The modern organization has been described as a not-for-profit company producing four full-scale musical theatre shows per year. Volunteers have contributed as actors, ushers, and musicians, while productions have also drawn on professional and semi-professional talent. The repertory has included large-scale and technically demanding titles such as Evita, In the Heights, Dreamgirls, Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and The Full Monty. Youth education became an important part of the organization's community role. Its Theatre Arts Academy, also referred to in earlier material as the Youth Theatre Conservatory, offers performing-arts experiences to local children. In 2010, Jason Robert Brown contributed classes and a concert to fundraising connected with that program. In 2011, Broadway by the Bay moved its performances to the Fox Theatre in Redwood City. The company continued using the venue and signed a five-year lease there in 2016. Its history therefore spans a transition from a recreation-department camp and student opera program to a nonprofit regional theatre brand combining Broadway musical repertory, volunteer involvement, professional production resources, and youth arts education.

• 2016

  A five-year Fox Theatre lease was signed

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  The company formalized its continued use of the Fox Theatre through a five-year lease.

• 2011

  Performances moved to the Fox Theatre

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  Broadway by the Bay relocated its productions to the Fox Theatre in Redwood City.

• 2010

  Youth-program fundraising received support from Jason Robert Brown

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  Brown taught classes and performed a concert connected with fundraising for the organization's youth theatre program.

• 1999

  Broadway by the Bay became the public brand

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began changing its name to Broadway by the Bay to better represent its Broadway-oriented musical repertory.

• 1983

  The name changed to Peninsula Civic Light Opera

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  The board expanded the company's focus and adopted the Peninsula Civic Light Opera name.

• 1978

  The organization became a nonprofit

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  San Mateo Community Theatre adopted nonprofit organizational status.

• 1966

  The company shifted to Broadway musicals

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  Oklahoma! marked the organization's move from a primarily Gilbert and Sullivan program toward modern musical theatre.

• 1963

  San Mateo Community Theatre was established

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  The recreation department established the theatre organization at Hillsdale High School, led artistically by Randolph Hunt and Robert Lynch.

• 1963

  Patience became the first production

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  The company presented Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience at Hillsdale High School, with an additional performance at La Honda Music Camp.

• 1950

  La Honda Music Camp provided the organizational roots

  [1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  A San Mateo Recreation Department summer program near La Honda introduced the community-based performance model and staged primarily Gilbert and Sullivan works.

A community-focused regional musical theatre company that presents Broadway-style productions while providing local participation and youth arts education.

• Live performance · 1966

  Full-scale musical theatre productions

  Broadway by the Bay's core offering is a recurring season of large-scale musical theatre productions. Its repertory has included classic and modern Broadway titles such as Oklahoma!, West Side Story, Evita, In the Heights, Dreamgirls, Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, My Fair Lady, and The Full Monty. Productions combine community participation with professional and semi-professional performers and production personnel.

• Arts education

  Theatre Arts Academy

  The Theatre Arts Academy provides local children with opportunities to experience performing arts. The program has also been described as the Youth Theatre Conservatory and forms an educational extension of the company's theatre mission.

• Special event · 2010

  Fundraising classes and concerts

  The organization has used special classes and concerts to support its education work. In 2010, composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown taught classes and performed a concert linked to fundraising for the youth program.

• 2010Youth Theatre Conservatory fundraising program

  San Mateo County · San Francisco Bay Area

  Broadway by the Bay organized fundraising activity for its youth theatre program, with Jason Robert Brown contributing educational classes and a concert.

  Outcome. The activity supported the company's effort to provide performing-arts experiences for local children; a precise fundraising total is not reported.

  Source

• 2011

  Move to the Fox TheatreOther

  Background

  After years of performing at the San Mateo High School auditorium and later the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, the company required a new principal venue.

  Action taken

  Broadway by the Bay moved its productions to the Fox Theatre in Redwood City.

  Aftermath

  The Fox Theatre became the company's continuing performance home, reinforced by a five-year lease signed in 2016.

  Source

• 1999

  Rebranding as Broadway by the BayStrategy

  Background

  The light-opera name no longer fully reflected the company's emphasis on Broadway-type musicals.

  Action taken

  The organization began a gradual transition to the Broadway by the Bay name.

  Aftermath

  Broadway by the Bay became the organization's principal public identity.

  Source

• 1983

  Adoption of the Peninsula Civic Light Opera nameStrategy

  Background

  The board expanded the organization's focus beyond its earlier community-theatre identity.

  Action taken

  The San Mateo Community Theatre name was changed to Peninsula Civic Light Opera.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued producing musical theatre before adopting the Broadway by the Bay identity in the following decade.

  Source

• 1966

  Shift from Gilbert and Sullivan operas to Broadway musicalsStrategy

  Background

  After three annual Gilbert and Sullivan productions, the organization evaluated a broader musical-theatre direction.

  Action taken

  It presented Oklahoma!, beginning a sustained focus on classic and modern Broadway-style musicals.

  Aftermath

  The successful production encouraged annual musical seasons and became a defining element of the company's identity.

  Source

• 2016

  Broadway by the Bay signed a five-year Fox Theatre lease[1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization entered into a five-year lease arrangement at the Fox Theatre, reinforcing the venue as its performance home.

• 2011

  Broadway by the Bay moved performances to Redwood City's Fox Theatre[1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company relocated its performances to the Fox Theatre at 2215 Broadway Street in Redwood City.

• 2010

  Jason Robert Brown supported Broadway by the Bay youth programming[1]Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  Composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown taught classes and performed a concert as part of fundraising associated with the company's youth theatre program.

1. 1Broadway by the Bayen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Broadway by the Bay official websitebroadwaybythebay.org