The momentum of the group grew, and in the spring of 2004, adopted the name Trinity Players of LaGrange. With Little Shop of Horrors, Trinity Players enlisted Arlington High School's auditorium as the new performance venue, the cast and crew doubled again, program advertising was significantly expanded, and reasonably priced tickets replaced free-will offerings. Trinity Players was off and running as the newest theatre group in the Hudson Valley.
ACT II: Life Upon the Wicked Stage
In 2005, Trinity Players produced Sugar, the musical version of the popular movie Some Like It Hot, with a full pit orchestra. Following this was Evita in the Spring of 2006, and our first ever fund-raising event, an interactive murder-mystery dinner theatre show written and directed by Development Chair Robert Schwartz.
Triumph and tragedy went hand in hand in 2007. Robert Schwartz fulfilled a lifelong dream by directing and starring in Fiddler on the Roof. Staged at Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, it was Trinity Players’ largest ever production. Rob worked tirelessly to bring Fiddler to fruition, fighting cancer all the while. He left us only a month after his last performance and is still greatly missed. That year rallied with a fall production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show to rave reviews, enthusiastic audience participation, and a sold-out final midnight show.
In 2008, Trinity Players was fully incorporated and granted nonprofit 501c3 status. The season included Man of La Mancha and The Last Five Years at Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, and as a summertime fundraiser at Villa Borghese in Wappingers Falls, Goldoni's farcical Servant of Two Masters.
2009 brought a successful run of Oliver!, the Fantasticks, and commenced the annual "Friendship Circle Command Performance" tradition, offering wine, cheese, and up close and personal performances by talented alumni of TP shows for Friendship Circle members. An original interactive murder mystery fundraiser, That's Our Dad, was presented at Cappuccino By Coppola's in Poughkeepsie.
In 2010, Trinity Players continued to delight audiences with the musical Sweet Charity, Promises, Promises, the annual summertime dinner theatre fundraiser with guest artists The Valley Improv Group (the VIG) at The Italian Club in Poughkeepsie, and its first drama, Arthur Miller's classic Death of A Salesman.
ACT III: Seasons of Love:
2011 marked our 10th year with Babes In Arms, Wait Until Dark, and The Marvelous Wonderettes. Since then, Trinity Players produced Chess, Weird Romance, Play It Again, Sam, In The Heights (in two separate seasons),The Children's Hour, Next To Normal (with a revival for The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck), You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, and Bonnie and Clyde the Musical.
ACT IV: A New World
2014 began Trinity Players’ shift from a founder driven to a board driven company, as Founder Cory Ann Fasano-Paff welcomed growth and evolution in the board, and stepped away from her position as President and Artistic Director. The season opened with a staged reading of Love Letters at Arts Mid-Hudson, directed by newly elected President/Artistic Director Christine Bexley, and penultimately concluded with a revival of the Rocky Horror Show, directed by Amy Emke, musical direction by John Barath, and choreography by Dawn Bernitt-Perito. The show served as Dawn’s final theatrical bow for Trinity Players, as she performed as Magenta, and choreographed one of her favorite shows, all while fighting, and ultimately succumbing, to cancer.
2016 opened with a staged reading of the comedy You’ve Got Hate Mail and concluded with the musical Dogfight. In addition to full theatrical productions, Trinty Players is proud of our cabarets produced in recent years, including Broadway Bound, Broadway Backwards, and Black on Broadway, all directed by Jovan Bradley. Trinity Players was honored to present a Veteran’s Day cabaret to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
This new year opens with the contemporary revue, Songs for a New World, directed by Emily Prior, and begins a season of new voices, directors, and works, all imperative elements of growing local theatre, while keeping the roots of Trinity Players grounded and strong. Be a part of the narrative, and join us in creating quality, affordable theatre in the Hudson Valley…and beyond.
Our History!
ACT I: The Beginning
Trinity Players was born from Cory Ann Fasano-Paff's desire to re-involve herself in musical theatre through a new kind of music ministry at her church. In the fall of 2001, she approached Craig Grant, the music director at Trinity United Methodist Church (TUMC) of LaGrangeville, NY, who agreed to work with her toward that end. She proposed a spring 2002 production of Godspell to her fellow TUMC members, who responded enthusiastically. Three performances of Godspell were given on a single weekend in the TUMC sanctuary, with a cast of ten, a crew of eight, and recorded accompaniment, and the show was a hit. Both the audience and the performers enjoyed it enormously and asked for more.
With this encouragement, the group produced Something’s Afoot, a murder-mystery musical comedy, for the spring 2003 production. Because this show required a full set and stage, LaGrange Middle School’s facilities were utilized and the show was produced with double the number of performances, cast, and crew, and featuring a magnificent set designed and built by Ray Dezendorf.