Market House Theatre: Distinctive theater in a historic locale
For nearly 50 years, the award-winning Market House Theatre has been entertaining audiences while providing artistic opportunities for young and old alike. This community theater delivers delightful performances ranging from traditional musical theater favorites to lively youth-oriented performances to recent Broadway dramas, comedies and musicals. With a season this varied — and with tickets this affordable — there’s sure to be something for you!
Located in the Kentucky Avenue end of the refurbished Market House, the Market House Theatre shares the space with two other Paducah institutions. (The Yeiser Art Center is housed in the Broadway end, while the William Clark Market House Museum takes up the middle of the building.)
Previous Market House Theatre productions include the teen-friendly Disney’s High School Musical, the Pultizer Prize-winning drama Doubt: A Parable, community theater standards like The Wizard of Oz and holiday traditions like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. You can check on upcoming performances here.
Ticket prices vary, depending on the production. Tickets for Main Stage musicals cost $20 for adults and $16 for students and groups. Non-musical Main Stage productions cost $18 for adults and $15 for students and groups. Youth musical productions run $12 for adults and $8 for children 12 and younger. The price drops to $11 for adults and $6 for children in Youth non-musical productions. Tickets for Youth Studio productions cost $10. You can buy tickets online, by calling (270) 444–6828 or toll free at (888) MHT–PLAY, or by visiting the Box Office Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. or during the 90 minutes before performances begin.
Bitten by the acting bug? Auditions are held Monday and Tuesday evenings, with youth auditions at 5 p.m. and adult auditions at 7 p.m. No experience is necessary. You can get a perusal script one to two weeks before your audition; you can check out the perusal script for three days for a refundable deposit of $10 for a youth script and $10 to $15 for an adult script .
Those auditioning for a musical should sing one of the songs from the show. You can get more information on audtions for adult productions here and on youth/adult productions here. In addition, Market House Theatre offers acting lessons for budding thespians all year long. Click here for details.
Like all community theaters, the Market House Theatre always needs volunteers behind the scenes as well as on the stage. You can find out more about volunteer positions here.
Posted by Ivonne Rovira
