Greenville is a truly great place to live for any theater lovers. In fact, it has more performing arts theaters than movie theaters. The Greenville Little Theater, which has entertained audiences since 1926, is the oldest center of performing arts in the Upstate. It offers a wide variety of theatrical fare: classic musicals, suspenseful mysteries, side-splitting comedies, and much more. As a true community theater, GLT gives Greenville a space for new actors to experience the craft while still providing theater-goers with a professional experience. It certainly helps that there are so many seasoned actors in the Upstate that grace the stage, but credit must be given to GLT’s directors, Allen and Susan McCalla. The McCalla’s took the helm as Executive Artistic and Producing Directors in 1993.  Ever since, they have solidified GLT’s legacy of excellence using their own professional theater experience. Recently, their son, Sam McCalla, has joined the team as Associate Artistic Director and Resident Actor; after working for several professional theaters, he has brought even more talent back to GLT and the Upstate. Of course, no great production is possible with just the Directors, excellent though they may be. The entire team at GLT, from lighting to set design, deserves the applause at the end of a production as much as the actors.

The Greenville Little Theater holds a special place in the hearts of the Freeman family here in Acadia.  Our own Mary Freeman has performed there nearly every year since we moved to Greenville in 1995, starting with the role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. She will be performing yet again in GLT’s production of Hairspray, which opens this Friday, June 2^nd at 8:00 and runs until June 25^th.  Hairspray is a musical set in the 1960s, featuring comedy, romance, and chemically solidified hairdos. Those who know Mary personally know that she is a wonderful person, and many of the roles she has performed over the years help reflect this fact. On the other hand, her character in Hairspray, Velma Von Tussle, is the exact opposite of a wonderful person. Fortunately, Mary is a very good actor, so audiences should expect to have a ton of fun despising Mrs. Von Tussle. The show is sure to draw a crowd, so get your tickets as soon as possible, either online or by phone at 864-233-6238.