Just as the legendary phoenix rose from the ashes of the fire that consumed it, PHOENIX THEATRE rose from the foundation built by several performing arts groups that had served the Red Wing area admirably -especially Red Wing Summer Playhouse which had been the community theater group for decades. In intricate grillwork over the doors to the Sheldon Theatre house, a phoenix has been standing watch since the theatre’s birth. It is from that grillwork that PHOENIX THEATRE took its name and developed its logo.

Marilyn Albrecht, founder and first president of The Friends of the Sheldon and PHOENIX THEATRE, conceived of PHOENIX THEATRE as a production arm of the Friends’ organization and set about to create a theater group that would turn dreams into reality for aspiring performers, crews, and theater audiences. Over the years, the Friends group has remained steadfast with financial and organizational support of PHOENIX.

PHOENIX THEATRE made its debut on October 21, 1993 at the Sheldon with a production of Hart and Kaufman’s great American comedy, You Can’t Take It With You. Since its inaugural performance, PHOENIX has brought life and professional respectability to many musicals, comedies, dramas, one acts and revues including: South Pacific, Holiday Memories, Nunsense, Rainmaker, Steel Magnolias, The Fantasticks, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Annie, A Christmas Carol, The Secret Garden, A Marriage Proposal, Halftime at Halcyon Days, Gypsy, Miracle on 34th Street, Oliver, Evergreen, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Hello Dolly, Inspecting Carol, A Piece of My Heart, 42nd Street, Ivy, The Other Woman, Goodbye Howard, Meet Me In St. Louis, The Laramie Project, Nuncrackers, Middle-Aged White Guys, Funny Girl, The Rented Christmas, Vagina Monologues, The Foreigners, It’s A Wonderful Life, and The Music Man.

Membership in PHOENIX THEATRE is open to anyone interested in being part of a community theater organization. It takes myriad people to keep several productions on the marquee each year, so we are always eager to have new talents on board. The group operates under the leadership of an elected board and meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 5:15pm in the Green Room of the Sheldon Theatre. The current president, David Oakes, welcomes your calls for further information at 651-388-7121.

The next PHOENIX THEATRE production will be the musical OKLAHOMA, directed by Sean Dowse, with orchestra direction by Rob Schmidtke. Amy Field will direct the vocals and fill the role of choreographer. Performances will be staged at the Sheldon Theatre on July 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 2008, with a discounted price preview on July 16th. The summer musical is always a highlight of the PHOENIX season and this year’s selection is sure to be another delightful production the whole family will enjoy.