Discovering the Montauk Playhouse Community Center

The Montauk Playhouse is much more than just a playhouse. On a recent visit to the impressive Tudor structure – which was originally built in 1929 to house a massive indoor tennis auditorium – I discovered the inner goings-on of the dynamic Community Center that is now housed within the walls of one of Carl Fisher's Montauk masterpieces. Located across from the train station below the Montauk Manor, the Montauk Playhouse Community Center has become a landmark of both the physical and social landscape of the town of East Hampton over the last eighty-two years. After the stock market crash in '29 quashed many of Fisher's grand plans for turning the then sleepy fishing town into the "Miami of the North," the building began a journey through a series of declines before it would become the vibrant center that it is today.

The US Navy used it as a social hall in the 1940s before it was renamed the Montauk Manor Playhouse in the mid-1950s when it briefly hosted a summer stock theater, then changed over to a movie theater for another decade. Abandoned through the '70s and '80s, the building suffered from physical neglect but was nonetheless listed in the National Register of Historic places in 1987.

When the Montauk Playhouse Associates donated the property to the town of East Hampton in 1999, the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation was formed, and plans for the community center started to take shape. When the building was listed on the 2002 Preservation League of New York State's "Seven to Save" list of the seven most endangered properties, the East Hampton Town Board voted unanimously for the $6 million bond needed for the community center project.

On May 7, 2006, after phase one of two was completed, the doors to the Montauk Playhouse Community Center opened to the public. The long vacant landmark had become a local home for arts, education, athletics, and community and human services. Contained within the half of the building that was renovated are a child-day-care center, a senior-nutrition center, an adult-day-care center, a high-school regulation-sized gymnasium, a fitness center, a physicaltherapy practice, and the East Hampton town clerk annex.

{IMG}The center is open year-round, and offers much needed community services to residents from towns as far west as Southampton. Part of the Economic Opportunity Program of Suffolk, the Montauk Child Day Care Center provides educational and developmental tools for kids aged 6 weeks to 5 years old. The Adult Care Center provides daytime support and games for those aged 60+ who require supervision. The daily trivia questions are designed to keep the mind active. Socialization is the main focus of the Senior Nutrition Center where lunch, games (bingo and dominoes), and exercise classes are offered.

The second-annual Family Fest is coming up this July and August and will feature a series of varied programming on four consecutive Saturdays beginning July 28th with a "Peter and the Wolf" ballet production by the Hampton Ballet Theatre School. August 4 is the "Skyriders Trampoline Show"; August 11 is the improv "Comedy Sportz" battle; and August 18 is the "Michael Rodman Circus Show." Individual tickets are $15, while a limited number of series subscriptions for all four shows are offered at $50.

Until Phase II is completed, the playhouse's theatrical performances and athletic competitions will continue to be held in the gymnasium. Plans for the second phase are underway and include a 299-seat Performing Arts Center; an Aquatics Center with lap and recreation pools; and several multi-use community rooms and lounges.

The $10 million that will be needed to fully execute the plans for the second half of the project is being raised through individual and corporate donors and the annual gala. This year's "Diamond in the Rough Gala" will take place on Saturday, August 6 from 7pm to 11pm at the Montauk Playhouse. The gala will honor some of the members most active in supporting the playhouse and its community efforts—the Kalimnios Family, Joan Lycke (President of the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation) and Kevin and Maureen Sullivan.

The evening will feature dinner, drinks, and dancing as well as an auction in which a trip to China, hard-to-get reservations at Montauk's hottest restaurants, a New York City experience, and a reserved parking space in Ditch Plains will be among the exciting prizes. Guests will also be given a tour of the playhouse and a peek into plans for Phase II. Two locally based bands, Kathleen Fee's Celtic Cross and Dalton Portella's Bastards of Boom, will provide live music and entertainment. Gala tickets, tables, and journal ads are available for purchase at Willow (www.willowinmontaukonline.com) in downtown Montauk, located at 41 The Plaza. (631) 668-0772.

Phase I of the Montauk Playhouse Community Center has been a true success. When you step into the space and see the faces of the children, adults, and seniors using the facilities, the enrichment that the project has brought to the hamlet of Montauk and the town of East Hampton is evident. It is obvious that Phase II will undoubtedly bring even more life and fulfillment to the community that it serves.

Take the time to visit the Montauk Playhouse Community Center to see what it's all about. I was impressed. As a somewhat recent transplant to Montauk, I was not familiar with the building's history or its current use. I will most certainly be going back, and attending this year's gala fundraiser to do what I can to get them closer to the $10 million mark. After all, every penny counts.