Weston Playhouse began as a small local the-
ater in 1935 during the Great Depression when
a Weston-born architect named Raymond Aus-
tin put the finishing touches on a playhouse The
Boston Globe called “the most beautiful theatre
in New England.” Located in a renovated church
used by the town’s drama club, the playhouse
quickly caught the eye of director Harlan Grant,
who produced the theater’s first summer stock
season in 1937, starring Lloyd Bridges.
The company quickly flourished, launching
the careers of many talented artists. Musicals
were added to the playhouse’s offerings. A cab-
aret and restaurant soon followed. Owned by
the Weston Community Association, the play-
house was rented by the theatre company dur-
ing the summer with support from the commu-
nity. This model continued through the 1940s.
In 1962, a fire destroyed the original Greek-
revival building. The 1970s brought flooding.
Hurricane Irene famously flooded the space in
2011. But like a Phoenix rising, the theatre was
The exterior of the new Walker Farm facility
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restored after each crisis.
In 1988, three former artistic directors, concerned
about the rising costs of running the professional
theatre, reorganized Weston Playhouse as a non-
profit Equity company. Since then, it has been
home to a family of artists that includes actors,
producers, directors, and others from New York
and Vermont. Their collective engagement and
investment in the future of the playhouse led to
new play and musical development. Some works
were experimental and some, like the highly suc-
cessful play Oslo - written in part at Weston -
went on to receive great acclaim.
In 2017, Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm
opened. The year-round facility, with a new
state-of-the-art building can now advance
the theater’s new play and musical develop-
ment programs. “Our New Works Program
values the idea that when we nurture new
writing, we are also nurturing new, original
points of view,” says Gellert, who has an MFA