TCP History
A Very Brief (and Slightly Theatrical) History
Once upon a time — specifically, July 28, 1974 — a bold band of art lovers (and possibly gluttons for punishment) from the Tahlequah Area Arts and Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oklahoma Arts and Humanities Council, and the Cherokee National Historical Society decided to put on a little play.
And not just any play. No, no — they chose Shakespeare’s King Lear, the cheerful tale of betrayal, madness, and yelling at the sky. Local legend Paul Grover bravely took on the title role at the Tsa La Gi Outdoor Amphitheatre, proving once and for all that heatstroke and Elizabethan tragedy do mix.
Fresh off that emotional rollercoaster, a group of fifteen brave souls gathered on September 30, 1974, and said, “Hey, let’s do this all the time!” Thus, Tahlequah Community Playhouse (TCP) was born. Officers were elected on the spot. Steve Johnson was named President (we assume because he showed up with donuts), Paul Grover became Vice President (again—King Lear), Judy Boatright took on the Herculean role of Secretary-Treasurer, and Margaret Swimmer was dubbed Member-at-Large, which we believe meant she could do whatever she wanted.
At that very first meeting, they announced that their first production would be Neil Simon’s The Last of the Red Hot Lovers. But in true theatrical fashion, they changed their minds before opening night. Instead, their debut show in November was the melodrama Ten Nights in a Bar-room, which makes sense because after all those organizational meetings, who wasn’t ready for a drink?
Over the next several decades, TCP grew into a beloved community staple. We’ve staged over 100 productions — from silly slapstick to serious drama, from children’s plays to local originals, from campy to classy and back again. We’ve even had Grand Ole Opry-style country shows, Christmas concerts with the Sweet Adelines, and enough school shows to make us all honorary PTA members.
We’ve done benefits for everyone from the public library to the local food pantry — because nothing says “community outreach” like a guy in fake mustaches falling off a stage while raising money for a good cause.
In 1982, Janey Hendrix designed our first logo, which featured our original name: Tahlequah Community Playhouse, Twentieth Century Players (try fitting that on a t-shirt).
Eventually, the Twentieth Century Players got cut — probably because we entered the twenty-first century. In 1990, Connie Mnich gave us a stylish new look, and that logo (or at least a cousin of it) is still kicking today.
Finally, in 1980, we created our own awards ceremony — because who doesn’t love a little friendly competition in the name of art? The first “Best Production” award went to Dr. Erwin Turner for Nothing But the Truth. The following year, he was honored for his behind-the-scenes work, and sadly, he passed away later that year. In his honor, we named our annual awards the ERWINS — because if you’re going to make art in Tahlequah, you deserve a golden statuette and eternal bragging rights.
And that, dear friends, is how TCP became the theatrical force it is today — one play, one pizza party, one hastily painted set at a time.
