Welcome

In 1998, Walter A. Webster and a group of ten dedicated supporters of the arts set out to form a community theatre. With support from the Trinity United Methodist church, located on Fayette Street, just off of Broad Street in Bridgeton, New Jersey, The Off Broad Street Players were born. During the first two years, OBSP auditioned, rehearsed, and performed at the church. Some of the highlights from those years include, "The Sound of Music," "Nunsense," and Nunsense II." The spirit of fellowship was strong and the group bonded and grew. The summer of 1999 brought the addition of a Theatre in the Park production which has continued every year thereafter.

By 2000, OBSP had found a new venue for their performances, the banquet hall at the Seabrook Volunteer Fire Company in Upper Deerfield, New Jersey. For five years they amused audiences with hilarious comedies, touched hearts and souls with insightful dramas, and delighted both ears and toes with musicals at this location. During this time in Seabrook, many of the plays were presented as a Dinner Theatre. Many remember these popular plays and musicals, "Fiddler on the Roof," "Steel Magnolias," "Crazy for You," "On Golden Pond," "Mousetrap," and "My Fair Lady," to mention a few. Audiences still talk about their wildly popular production of "The King and I."

In the summer of 2002 due to a need for increased seating, they moved their summer musicals from Seabrook to larger venue. The first of these was "State Fair," held at the Frank Guaracini Fine and Performing Arts Center at Cumberland County College in Vineland, New Jersey. They continued with their other performances in Seabrook; and as always the Trinity United Methodist church in Bridgeton served as their audition and rehearsal space. That summer also brought the formation of their summer theater camp for children, New Voices of the American Musical Theatre.

OBSP continued to grow and met the next milestone in 2003 with welcoming arms, the addition of a full professional orchestra to accompany their musicals. This addition created the need for an orchestra pit and the summer venue moved to Cumberland Regional High School in Upper Deerfield, New Jersey, to accommodate this expansion. The summer show that year, "The Music Man" was successful beyond their dreams. Critically acclaimed "Gypsy" was the highlight of the 2004 summer. They continued to use live musicians, even for the musical shows still performed in the Seabrook banquet hall; "Annie," "Cabaret," and the third installment of the series, "Nuncrackers;" and wowed audiences with their incredible dramas; "The Diary of Anne Frank," and "A Raisin in the Sun," but it was becoming obvious that a larger home was needed, both for their wonderful sounding, well-received pit orchestras and their increasingly elaborate and detailed stage sets.

The group had always dreamed of one day having their own theater building and during that time period the dream remained; but the desire to provide an affordable, quality theatre experience to the community was and still is their ultimate goal. Consequently, their dreams of having a building of their own simmered for the next few years and grew slowly as they worked to achieve their mission of theatrical professionalism and excellence.

In 2005, OBSP formed a partnership with the Bridgeton School District, and the Robert L Sharp Auditorium became their new performance venue, opening with "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Due to renovations in the auditorium, the summer show that year, "Anything Goes" remained at CRHS. That year also saw the first recipients of the OBSP Scholarship which was renamed the Matthew J. Mixner Scholarship in memory of the inspirational young member of OBSP, tragically lost during the 2005 fall production of Mame.

In the spring of 2008, OBSP joined forces with the Levoy Preservation Society to renovate the historic Levoy Theatre in Millville for a grand reopening in the summer of 2009. With this move, OBSP will become the resident theatre company of the Levoy. After ten years of moving from venue to venue, OBSP finally realized their dream of having a permanent home of their own. What a glorious and exciting opening night it will be when OBSP raises their first curtain on the 100 year old Vaudevillian stage!

Over time, OBSP membership has grown from the original ten in 1998 to include over one hundred from not only Cumberland County, but from Salem, Gloucester, Atlantic, and Cape May counties in New Jersey, as well as members from Deleware and Pennsylvania. Throughout this time of growth and expansion, improvements have been made behind the scenes in sound and lighting, and venues have changed, but the talented acting, the directorial excellence, and the unique family atmosphere that has made the organization so successful has remained constant. Based on the achievements made in the last ten years, one can only imagine what the next ten years will bring!