A Century on Stage: Riverside Community Players Turns 100

For 100 years, the stage lights of the small playhouse tucked behind Riverside Community Hospital have never gone out. Whether it's war, economic crisis or a pandemic ravaging the city, Riverside Community Players have provided entertainment for the community through the hardships of life.

Riverside Community Players was founded in 1925 when Janet Scott gathered a group of amateur artists to create the theater troupe. Throughout its history, the Players have endured roadblocks they overcame through their dedication to the craft.

Janet Scott (Courtesy of Riverside Community Players)

Vice President Lynne Ennis knows the theater’s longevity is its best accomplishment. She’s seen the persistence firsthand, as she’s been with the company since she took the Riverside Community Players stage as an actress in the ’60s.

“Think back on what’s happened over the last hundred years,” Ennis said. “We’ve had wars and pandemics and depressions, everything that would usually put a theater down. Riverside Community Players have been able to handle that.”

During World War II, the company couldn’t get men to audition for the play. Instead of dimming the lights, Riverside Community Players provided transportation for the airmen stationed at March Air Reserve Base.

From top left: "Arsenic & Old Lace" 1943, "Rainmaker" 1957, "Inherit the Wind" 1965, "Seperate Tables" 1972. (Courtesy of Riverside Community Players)

“That was the dedication and the focus that needed to happen to keep us open throughout stuff like that,” Ennis said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, productions were pre-recorded or performed outside. Even through global challenges, the show continued.

Over the past century, Riverside Community Players have remained relevant by adapting to the times. Ennis describes the plays initially produced by the company as conservative, but throughout the years, they have grown to tackle the hardships of life on stage.

“Back then, we were very careful about the issues that we covered,” Ennis said. “What’s different now is that we don’t shy away from issues that are very topical and very present and very human.”

As part of its growth, Riverside Community Players hopes to upgrade its current location or perhaps move to a new one.

Its theater-in-the-round is currently located in the parking lot of Riverside Community Hospital. The hospital and the company have discussed its current space and the idea of leaving it—a new location is a possibility.

The company is in the middle of a fundraiser, with a goal of raising $350,000 to reimagine the current theater in a 1950s style or to renovate a new building if relocation becomes necessary.

“We’ll just have to see how that goes, but any money that we raise, we’re either going to stay [in our home] or we’re going to use the money to upgrade a new building,” Ennis said.

For its 100th season, Riverside Community Players decided to produce plays it has previously staged. It commemorated the anniversary with “On Golden Pond,” “Wait Until Dark,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “Man of La Mancha.”