Chenango River Theatre Awarded Funding Support From Raymond Corporation and Community Foundation

As the area’s first Equity theatre company moves closer to opening, the company has received significant support from two new sources, the Community Fund of the Southern Tier and the Raymond Corporation (Greene, NY).

The Community Fund has awarded $10,000 to the theatre as a matching grant for sound and lighting equipment. Artistic & Managing Director Bill Lelbach, reflecting on the award, remarked, “This grant is the difference between hoping we would be able to mount the kind of technically proficient theatre we want to produce, versus knowing that we can match contemporary standards of work for a professional, non-profit theatre.” The funds will allow the company to purchase a significantly higher quality of sound and lighting equipment than originally planned for the first season.

In addition, the theatre has just been notified by the Raymond Corporation of a $15,000 contribution as an Inaugural Season Sponsor, to help the company complete the renovation of the industrial building they are purchasing just across the river from downtown Greene, NY. Board president Jeffrey Brooks said “We’ve been blessed throughout the startup and renovation period with businesses and funding organizations stepping up to help us. This award came at a timely moment, just weeks before we open, when we really needed help to complete the final rush of construction to be ready for our season opening. More and more businesses in the area are stepping in as they realize what this kind of company can mean for the region.”

The most recent awards come on top of early support from the Oakdale Mall and the Raymond Foundation - support that was instrumental in funding Phase 1 of the renovation of the old Page Print industrial building into a home for a contemporary theatre. To support the season itself, a number of respected companies and dedicated individuals in the area have signed on as co-producers of individual shows, including (to date); Davidson Fox & Company, OGGI Concrete Forms & Accessories, Tydings Real Estate and Jeffrey & Sally Brooks.

Chenango River Theatre’s season opener, the backwoods, southern redneck comedy The Foreigner, opens on Thursday, August 9, a slight change from the original projected date of August 3. The recent severe thunderstorms in the Greene area resulted in minor damage to the building that necessitated the change of dates. The show will still enjoy a full three week run prior to the opening of the company’s second show on September 6, the wildly popular country and western musical ALWAYS . . . Patsy Cline, starring Johnny Cash’s niece (and former Miss America) Kellye Cash in the lead role.

Season tickets, for as little as $49 for all four shows in the season, and tickets to individual shows, are available by calling 656-TIXX (8499).