Welcome to the Verna Leith Sawmill Theatre!
General Theater Information: Seats are $15 each with evening performances beginning at 8 pm and matinees beginning at 2 p.m. - see the show schedule below for details.
Tickets are available by ordering online, by calling (814) 927-6655, or by email (emailed reservations are not guaranteed until you receive a confirmation by return email or by phone). Click here to view events available on Eventbrite. There is a $2.85 per ticket online Eventbrite processing fee.
Verna Leith Sawmill Theatre at 170 Sawmill Lane, Cooksburg, PA 16217
Contact the Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts at 814-927-6655 or info@sawmill.org
Performances: June 8-10 and 15-17 at 8 p.m.
Presented by: Clarion Community Theater
Written By: David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr.
Every theater group has experienced the horrors of what can go wrong on opening night and the ladies of the FAHETG Dramatic Society are no different, with the possible exception that everything that could happen does.
The scenery collapses, cues are missed, lines forgotten, and the sound effects take on a strange note sometimes as the ladies present their ambitious evening’s entertainment with the cunning whodunit, “Murder at Checkmate Manor.”
And just in case the audience should get bored, there’s a Film and Fashion Show and Murder Mystery Quiz complete with prize!
The crunch comes in the denouement when the “murderer,” about to be revealed, has to rush home to bandage up and injured daughter.
But Mrs. Reese, doyenne of the group, rises above the slings and arrows of outrageous dramatics to save the situation and provide the final and inventive twist.
Suitable for all ages.
Performances: July 6 -8, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Presented by: Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild
Written By: Tom Smith
Accusations, mistaken identities, and romances run wild in this traditional, laugh-out-loud farce. Two nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing have been secretly making wine to keep the convent's doors open, but Paul and Sally, reporters and former fiancées, are hot on their trail. They go undercover as a nun and priest, but their presence, combined with the addition of a new nun, spurs paranoia throughout the convent that spies have been sent from Rome to shut them down. Wine and secrets are inevitably spilled as everyone tries to preserve the convent and reconnect with lost loves.
Performances: July 13-15 at 8 p.m.
Presented by: Knox Community Theatre
Written By: Steve Franco
It is 6pm and the Douglas family is busily preparing to be invaded by their quirky relatives for their annual Christmas Eve dinner. After robbing a neighborhood liquor store, high strung and irritable Tony, and his dim-witted side-kick Vinny, find themselves in need of a place to briefly hide out. Using a ruse to gain entrance into the Douglas home, they suddenly find themselves in charge of an ever-growing list of family members that they are forced to hold hostage. From smart-aleck teenagers, to nosy neighbors, and bickering adults – the laughs (like the flow of people) are non-stop and we soon wonder who is holding whom hostage?!
Evening Performances: July 21-22 and July 28-29 at 8 p.m.
Matinee Performances: July 23 and 30 at 2 p.m.
Presented by: Brookville Community Theater
Written By: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Courtesy of: Concord Theatricals
Brookville Community Theater is pleased to welcome you to Rydell High's senior class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding, “Burger Palace Boys” and their gum-snapping, hip shaking “Pink Ladies” in bobby socks and pedal pushers, evoking the look and sound of the 50's in this rollicking musical. Head “Greaser” Danny Zuko and new (good) girl Sandy’s try to relive the high romance of their “Summer Nights” as the rest of the gang sings and dances it’s way through such songs as “Grease Lightning”, “It’s Raining on Prom Night”, Beauty School Dropout” and “Alone at the Drive-in Movie”. It’s a flashback to the past with songs and dance that will have you on your feet!!!
Great Gift or Memorial for a Loved One
The Verna Leith Sawmill Theatre is offering the purchase of name plates to be attached to either a seat ($250) or to a plaque ($100) hung on the wall of theater. All contributions are tax deductible. Please call us for more information.
Sawmill Theatre History
In 1981, the Sawmill Theatre was opened in the museum section of the old Sawmill, using church pews and camp chairs for seating. Soon the need for a larger theater was evident. In 1984, the Verna Leith Sawmill Theatre was constructed with monies from the Appalachian Regional Commission and Pennsylvania State Appropriations. First of it's kind in the Eastern U.S., the theater's unique hexagon shape and harmonious blend with the natural settings earned designer William Snyder the 1984 design award from the Arts Architectural Commission of Pennsylvania. Details such as professional lighting, side decks, ticket office, and interior restrooms were added in 1988. Theater patrons find themselves seated on newly refurbished seats from the Silver Fox Playhouse in Foxburg. Offering mystery, comedy, and major Broadway musicals, Northwestern Pennsylvania theater groups perform from late May through mid-September.