The noted musical venue Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, N.Y., has closed its doors due to COVID-19, after 46 years of business. In a letter to their employees, WBT founders Bob Funking, Bill and Von Ann Stutler wrote, “It is with a great sadness that we say goodbye. We wish you much good will in the future. We will miss you!” The dinner theater’s final production, All Shook Up, opened March 5, before being shut down due to pandemic restrictions. The landlord will gut the building and turn it into a warehouse. Below is a clip from All Shook Up.
Billed as New York State’s longest-running Equity theatre, WBT opened July 19, 1974, with a production of Kiss Me, Kate. Since then, it has produced 217 musicals and nearly 1,000 other events with such future Broadway stars as Faith Prince, Robert Cuccioli, Jennifer Damiano, Carolee Carmello, and Will Swenson as well as directors and choreographers Susan Stroman, Kathleen Marshall, Rob Marshall, and Rob Ashford.
White Plains Performing Arts Center has offered WBT patrons the opportunity to exchange their outstanding WBT tickets and gift cards for future WPPAC shows. For more information on the exchange program, you can visit www.wppac.com/wbt, email boxoffice@wppac.com, or call 914-328-1600.