Read our article from THE HIGHLANDS NEWSPAPER

To keep Highlands’ tradition of professional live theater a reality, consider buying tickets or making a donation.

By Kim Lewicki 

The former Highlands Playhouse company, now the Mountain Theatre Company – a nearly 100-year-old Highlands institution – wants people to come and experience and remember the joy of live theater. 

Like everywhere else in Western North Carolina, Highlands is still recovering and trying to recoup what was lost when Hurricane Helene washed away a portion of NC 106 (Dillard Road) last September. Though there were other ways into town, the number of visitors and seasonal homeowners dropped dramatically which obviously affected every business in Highlands. A few days before Christmas, thanks to Bryson Grading and Paving, the road reopened, but winter was waiting and so was Highlands for the 2025 season to start. Though access to Highlands is back to normal, many businesses are feeling a lingering effect with visitor numbers still down when compared to previous seasons, which is dramatically impacting attendance at the Mountain Theatre Company (MTC).

“I first want to say that we had a positive response to my call to action in May, and I am so thankful for those who have donated to keep Mountain Theatre Company alive,” said Scott Daniel, executive artistic director. “However, we didn’t anticipate such a significant reduction in tourism to the area.”

According to Cliff Gottwals, president of the MTC board, not only does it appear fewer visitors are coming to the area, pressure on disposable income is impacting how visitors vacation and how they spend when in Highlands. Through the first week of July, attendance to MTC’s opening shows is down over 4,000 tickets compared to expected levels which is dramatically impacting the financial health of this nearly 100-year-old institution. Daniel said since The Highlands Playhouse company was rebranded and became the Mountain Theatre Company and took up residence in the Performing Arts Center on Chestnut Street in 2022, 4,000 tickets were sold to residents and visitors for every summer production. However, Daniel said to date, with only 10 performances of each of the in-repertory shows left in their run, only half of that has been sold for the combined Forever Plaid and The Marvelous Wonderettes run.

“Our residents and regulars have come to support us, with 70 percent of all patrons who have seen one show seeing the other. But what we are missing this season are the weekend visitors/the single-visit guests,” said Daniel. “Our success and survival is dependent on both our resident and visiting patrons.” The Burnt Part Boys, which was scheduled to run last October just as Helene hit and which is back on the docket after the Forever Plaid and The Marvelous Wonderettes run is over, has only sold 20% of the anticipated tickets.

“Patrons have come to me after the shows and told me how much they love the shows but miss my live curtain speeches. I miss them too, I love connecting with our audience, but with the recent cuts to our production staff and crew, I am backstage helping make the shows possible,” he said.

The importance of live theatre, amateur and professional, has long been a part of Highlands starting with the formation of the Highlands Community Theatre in 1931 by Jack and Virginia Wilcox. The group found a permanent home in the Highlands Playhouse when the Highlands School moved out in 1952 and for decades the Highlands Playhouse was the oldest running summer stock theatre in the country. The Wilcoxes daughter, the late actor Collin Wilcox, went on to perform with Tallulah Bankhead, Geraldine Paige, and Tennessee Williams. Her most notable role came in 1961 as Mayella Ewell in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. In her later years she returned to Highlands where she helped to found the Highlands Studio for the Arts, which offered arts education classes to children in her hometown.

“Highlands' history tells us how important live theatre is to this town,” said Daniel, “and today Mountain Theatre Company is many local students' first live theatrical experience. It has been enriching the lives of residents and engaging visitors to Highlands with high-quality professional entertainment for the last 87 years and I hope it can continue.”

Daniel urges everyone to support MTC by purchasing tickets to the current productions, The Marvelous Wonderettes, a jukebox musical comedy with pop songs from the 1950s and ‘60s that tells the story of four high school girl singers who reconnect a decade later. Forever Plaid is a musical revue that tells the story of four male singers, the “Plaids,” who are killed in a car accident on their way to their first big gig but who are given a chance to return from the afterlife to perform the show they never got to do in life. Both are fun, polished and professional romps through the musical past which will get you tapping and leave you smiling. To make a donation to the future of MTC and to purchase tickets to current and future productions go to www.mountaintheatre.com