“Bringing live, quality theatrical entertainment to the Merrimack Valley”

About

Pentucket Players Inc. is a non-profit community theatre organization dedicated to bringing quality live theatrical entertainment for and by the community. Founded in 1994, the group has produced over 60 musicals, comedies, and dramas. Pentucket Players Inc. has a rehearsal and storage space at 250 Canal St. in Lawrence, MA, and performs main-stage productions every year in the spring, fall, and summer. Separate auditions are held for each production and all auditions are open to anyone interested in theatre. 

History

In 1993, the Greater Merrimack Valley area had many cultural opportunities but it lacked one thing—a community theatre organization, an organization that was dedicated to bringing quality live theatrical entertainment for and by the community. It was out of that need that Pentucket Players Inc. was born.

“Pentucket” is a Native American word meaning “place by the winding river.” Pentucket Players is made up of theatre enthusiasts from the Merrimack Valley and beyond. The group was co-founded by John R Buzzell and Judy Forgione and was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1993. John Buzzell remains as the group’s Executive Artistic Director, a position he has held since the group’s beginning.

The organization produced their first production, “Agnes of God”, a drama by John Pielmier, at the Haverhill City Hall Auditorium in September of 1993. When the opportunity arose to move the group’s productions to the larger venue of Bradford College, the organization quickly built a reputation for excellence with strong production values on both the stage and in the orchestra pit. When the college closed, the group was invited to move to the Rogers Center for the Arts at Merrimack College, where it remained for 15 seasons. The group now performs at Haverhill City Hall Auditorium. 

Pentucket Players Inc. produces two main-stage musical productions per year. In recent years, the group added a summer show that has also been staged at Haverhill City Hall Auditorium. To date, the group has produced over 60 productions including dramas, comedies, musicals, revues and youth performances.

Pentucket Players Inc. is a member in good standing of the Eastern Mass Association of Community Theatre (EMACT).