An award-winning performing arts theatre in Boca Raton is taking up residence inside another major stage in Delray Beach, joining forces to keep the local theatre experience thriving in Palm Beach County.
After several years of leasing the small Sol Theatre in Boca Raton, the Boca Stage theatre company is taking its edgy, little-known plays to Delray Beach Playhouse.
Keith Garsson, artistic director at Boca Stage, said the nonprofit's move will double their audience capacity from its current 70-seat room. It's also "financially feasible" for their small team and makes their operations more seamless.
"This merge is there for the community to have it more convenient to go see more theatre in one place and join a larger family," Garsson told WLRN. "Theatre needs the audiences and the feedback to survive."
The Boca Stage, which was once part of the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, will perform in the smaller cabaret hall inside of the Delray Beach Playhouse. Garsson said the Playhouse, which has been around since the late 1940s, will primarily focus on musicals for its 200-seat main stage.
The theater companies are also merging their subscriber base. "We hope there will be plenty of crossover," Garsson said.
The performance season starts in October with three theatrical productions, featuring two classics from the 1960s: Wait Until Dark (Oct. 27-Nov. 5), Boeing Boeing (Jan. 19-28, 2024) and the new play, America’s Sexiest Couple (April 19-28, 2024).
Garson said Boca Stage is promoting individual plays as both companies work on defining what the merge will look like for the seasons to come.
"These plays are not quite big enough to be on the main stage. As it’s the first year, we’re still sorting out naming and identity," Garson said. "Then in the second season, we can come up with a formal identity."
Theatre-goers can catch the plays at the Delray Beach Playhouse at 950 NW 9th St. in Delray Beach.
