History of Bowie Community Theatre

In the middle of the 1960's a group of people dedicated to the theater and dedicated to bringing this venue to the fledgling community of Bowie founded the "Belair Community Theatre."

Sets were painted and stored in our garages, rehearsals were held in still empty stores in the small "Belair Shopping Center" and sound and light boards were transported back and forth for every performance.

Performing first in the Bowie elementary schools and later in the multipurpose room of the new Bowie High School, the troupe quickly won a following in the new community. Subsequently, we made a favorable arrangement to perform at the D.A.V. Hall on Rt. 197. We were now performing cabaret style.

However, we still needed a "home" of our own. And so it was that the "Arts Center," after many years of consideration, was constructed. Completed Nov. 19, 1976, the Center was dedicated by Mayor Audrey Scott (a former member of the Prince George's County Council).

Musicomedy Productions of Bowie inaugurated the new facility with a concert performance of "Carousel." The Belair Community Theatre's production of "Lysistrata" was performed the following summer.

The Belair Community Theatre was incorporated on February 16, 1967. On October 5, the name was changed to the Bowie Community Theatre to give the organization a Bowie identity.

The Arts Center later became known as the Theater in the Woods because of its bucolic setting. However, after years of answering the question "where do you perform in inclement weather?" the BCT Board of Directors in conjunction with other user groups petitioned the Bowie City Council to change the theatre's name to "The Bowie Playhouse."

As our shows have increased in excellence so has its recognition. The British Embassy sponsors a competition each year among theatre groups in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. The Embassy sends adjudicators to the theaters and the plays are viewed and extensively critiqued for overall production excellence. In July, a reception is held at the Embassy and those theater groups entered in the competition are invited to attend. The winners receive the prestigious Ruby Griffith Award.

For the 1997 - 1998 season, the Bowie Community Theatre won the coveted award for All-Round Production Excellence. Our play was the drama "Someone To Watch Over Me."

In the 1977-1978 season our production of "The Odd Couple" was a third runner up and in 1996-1997, we were first runner up for "Steel Magnolias."

BCT has continued to receive many recognitions including the most recent Ruby Griffith Award for "The Heiress".

You can browse our past performances at Our Past Performance Archives.

A summary of our many awards is listed in Our Awards Listing.

Our current performances are listed in Our Current Productions.