In 1977, an empty century-old barn became a repository of dreams as the home of Rockland County's first year-round non-profit professional theatre, The Penguin Repertory Company.
Penguin Rep, dubbed "the gutsiest little theatre" by the NY Times, was founded by Joe Brancato, artistic director, with the aim of adding a new kind of theatre to the local cultural landscape: a professional enterprise dedicated to:
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promoting new voices and works which enrich the body of American drama;
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nurturing and developing new talent for the stage;
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and reaching new audiences for theatre.
Under the leadership of Mr. Brancato, cited by the NY Times as "one of America's insightful young directors," and Executive Director Andrew M. Horn, the company has attracted more than 150,000 audience members from the lower Hudson Valley and beyond to its intimate 108-seat theatre in Stony Point (Rockland County), NY.
The company has brought such outstanding artists as Celeste Holm, Robert Klein, Deborah Hedwall, David Canary, Joy Behar, Charles Keating, Tovah Feldshuh, Robert Stattel, Barbara Feldon, Lou Liberatore, Arlene Dahl, Mason Adams and Joan Copeland, to name but a few, to local audiences. Penguin Rep has presented more than 100 critically and popularly acclaimed productions, including premieres by such playwrights as Warren Leight (author of Side Man), Arthur Laurents (West Side Story), Elizabeth Swados (Runaways), William Mastrosimone (Extremities), and Ronald Harwood (Taking Sides).
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