Dear Friends,
What a year! Getting our new company started was harder than we ever imagined, but it was also more gratifying than we could have guessed. So many of you have been really helpful in getting the word out about OPTC, and that’s how we will continue to build the theatre company you want with prices you can afford to pay. We strive to be the best entertainment value in New Jersey, and the more we grow our audience, the more we will be able to hold our prices down.

Superstorm Sandy affected all of us, to be sure. Our company lost about $40,000.00 in costumes, props, scenery and musical instruments. We’re grateful to have received a $20,000.00 grant from The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and many individuals have come forward to assist us as well.  The show WILL go on!
2013 brings a wonderful assortment of shows, including the most popular and successful show we ever produced when we were bringing you shows on LBI: The Buddy Holly Story. As of this writing Todd Meredith and many of the cast from 2009 are ready to return to us to see if we can exceed the level of success we set that year.

It’s interesting that although we are a new company only in our 2nd year, we’re really the same people who have been bringing you our high level of theatrical excellence since 1998. We have a long history together; you know what to expect from us, and we converse regularly. I’m there to greet you before almost every performance, and Ruth is regularly available too. She is the same person our group leaders have been working with for years. We have the same directors & choreographers, the same people in charge of casting, music, the technical aspects of our shows and also customer service. The only really new part of our company is the geography, and for most of our audience our mainland locations are more convenient than ever.

We hope you will consider making a tax deductible donation along with your ticket order. Ticket sales in 2012 accounted for approximately 65% of our expenses, and as a new company we have not yet been able to receive grants from many sources that fund the arts. Hopefully that will change over the next year, but until it does we need to rely on individuals to help make up the difference.

As always, we appreciate your attendance. Your participation in our programming is the reason we have a stage on which to practice our craft. I’ll see you in the lobby, cup in hand.

Sincerely,

Steve Steiner

Artistic Director