Belfry Players

The Belfry Players, Inc., also known as the Belfry Theater and Belfry Music Theater, is a theater facility and acting company in the town of Delavan, adjacent to the village of Williams Bay. Established in the remains of an historic and deconsecrated Mormon meeting house, the Belfry was the first in Wisconsin. The theater operated as a stock company from 1935 until 1969, providing early professional experience to thespians like Paul Newman, Del Close, Gary Burghoff and Harrison Ford. The venue continued operating for local productions for many years, for a short time as an adjunct to Cleveland's Dobama Theater. Re-opening its doors in 2016, The Belfry Music Theatre is currently being renovated, and is open to the public as a music concert and event venue.

Located on Bailey Road south of the intersection of highways 50 and 67, the Belfry produced seasonal productions from the early 1930s through the 1970s and sporadically thereafter. The non-profit company was a rural "straw hat" repertory troupe. It was based in a converted church of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ). The church was originally erected in 1888 and adapted for theatrical purposes in the 1930s. The producing group called the Belfry Players first leased the building in 1934, then purchased it in 1938. Later a large shed was annexed to the theater to provide space for scenic construction and storage. Nearby Crane Hall, more recently named Belfry House, served as a dormitory for resident company members.

In the late 1960s, the Belfry Theater was imperiled by a highway widening project. Although the theater building was moved and its existence saved, the company's debts forced it to suspend production between 1969 and 1976. Barry E. Silverman, a director of the Dobama Theater of Cleveland, assumed proprietorship of the Belfry in 1976, dubbed his operating company "Dobama West," and revived producing for three years, closing after the 1979 season.

After regular annual productions ceased, "occasional revivals and performances were booked at the Belfry into the 1990s," as, for example, when showman Eddie Cash presented musical tributes to popular singers. The Belfry was listed as still producing as late as 1990. The theater buildings stand to this day, and in November 2013 the property was purchased by Transformative Arts, Inc., a Christian theatrical production company.

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