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HISTORY
Wesley Chapel parishioners had been conducted prior to construction of the chapel in
1829. Mr. McKenney underwrote the entire project and sponsored construction on his
own property. During the early stages of development, the group met every Thursday
evening at the homes of Dr. McKenna and Mr. Morris M. Daniels. Mr. McKenney was
driven up from the city each Thursday in his “Locomobile” and was most upset with
other members who were late or absent. A stage and public seating were added, and
over the years, the clubhouse became the entertainment showcase for many Gilbert &
Sullivan operettas, concert musicians, lecturers and dramatic performers. In 1922, the
Community Club building was enlarged to permit a larger stage and balcony to
accommodate demands of increasing audiences. However, Armour Galbraith, son of
one of the founders, remembered that with the twenties came the arrival of crystal
radios. They were inexpensive, and every home soon contained a radio – families no
longer had to travel for entertainment. They could now sit in the parlor and hear the
finest entertainers in their earphones. It marked the beginning of the end of the early
era of the Suffern Community Club. Plays and musical evenings were still enjoyed for
years, but in the late 1930s, the theatre fell into disuse. In 1936, a group of college
students, under the leadership of Belle Mayer (Zeck), unable to find work during
summer vacation, decided to perform a play at the Airmont School. They named their
group “The Antrim Players” (after nearby Lake Antrim, which had taken its name
from John Suffern’s “New Antrim”). There followed the usual amateur group pattern –
rehearsals in basements and parlors, performances given in school auditoriums. They
were encouraged to continue their theatrical efforts for the entertainment of the
community. They did just that during the years leading up to and during World War II.
Travel restrictions during World War II had an additional declining effect on the
activities of the Suffern Community Club, and in 1940, The Antrim Players leased the
building and changed its name to “The Antrim Playhouse.” In 1953, the McKenney
family decided to sell, but offered first option to the Players before advertising the
property. Ambitious though it was for a small nonprofit group, by dint of hard work
and by selling long-term bonds, the large down payment was raised within three
months. The Playhouse was secured and the present era of Antrim history began.
Since then, the facilities have been gradually improved under prudent leadership. In
1979, when the Playhouse was chosen by a TV company for filming scenes for an
NBC movie, the producer (the son of playwright Philip Barry) described it as a “little
gem of a theatre.” Through the years, Antrim has been the starting rung for many
talented people who have gone on to professional theatre, television and screen
success in many capacities, including Fred Gwynne, Tyne Daly, Hugh McPhillips,
Christine Andreas, Rene Auberjonais and many others. The “Little Theatre in the
Woods” has been here for a long time, always serving the community. We are
enthusiastically dedicated to ensuring that this great theatrical tradition flourishes in
the new century.
In 1905, local industrialist Henry Potter
McKenney was persuaded by the Rev. John S.
Burton, pastor of the Wesley Chapel Circuit, to
establish a recreation center on a corner of his
extensive property for the purpose of providing
recreation for the people in the remote area of
Rockland known as Wesley Chapel (or
Sherwoodsville). He, along with influential
friends Charles C. Galbraith, Henry Von L.
Meyer, Charles Peck, Irving Coe and Walter
Fairchild, proceeded to organize the “Suffern
Community Club.” Eventually, construction of
the clubhouse was started on the site of an old
Dutch barn near the sandstone “Onderdonk”
house where quarterly meetings of the
McKenney was persuaded by the Rev. John S.
Burton, pastor of the Wesley Chapel Circuit, to
establish a recreation center on a corner of his
extensive property for the purpose of providing
recreation for the people in the remote area of
Rockland known as Wesley Chapel (or
Sherwoodsville). He, along with influential
friends Charles C. Galbraith, Henry Von L.
Meyer, Charles Peck, Irving Coe and Walter
Fairchild, proceeded to organize the “Suffern
Community Club.” Eventually, construction of
the clubhouse was started on the site of an old
Dutch barn near the sandstone “Onderdonk”
house where quarterly meetings of the
The Antrim
Playhouse History
Playhouse History
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