For 55 years, 208 N. Marina St. was the heart and soul of community theater in Prescott.
Initially gifted to the Prescott Fine Arts Association, the theater was an opportunity for community members to step out of their comfort zone and work in a collaborative environment to produce musicals, dramas, comedies and a variety of programs ranging from Reader’s Theatre to Teen Summer Stock to Family Theatre programs.
Most recently known as Suze’s Prescott Center for the Arts, the group was faced with an unsustainable financial situation and stopped productions this past summer.
For several months, a group of local arts leaders, business owners and community members came together with a common mission: “To save the historic facilities and preserve Community Theatre in Prescott for generations to come.”
In November with the financial backing of 4th Wall Productions, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that shares that vision, Prescott’s revived community theatre became a reality. The property has been renamed The Hazeltine in honor of Norma Hazeltine, who originally purchased and gifted the historic downtown church and rectory to the community in 1968. A third building featuring a black box theater opened on the campus in 2023.
During January the group will hold its first “Coffee with the Crew” event inviting the public to meet the 4th Wall team. It also hopes to complete conversion of the Main Stage theater back to a seating capacity of 198, after it was slashed to 98 seats during the pandemic.
Fundraisers will continue throughout the month, including the sale of $20 biscotti boxes from board chairman Barry Barbe’s El Gato Azul restaurant at stores around town.
Feb. 5 will see the opening of The Hazeltine’s first full stage production — Putting it Together, a Tony-winning musical featuring the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Directed by veteran Prescott director Don Langford, the five-member cast takes the audience through the challenges, trials, and anticipation of putting on a theatrical production.
For more information on upcoming events, tickets, volunteer opportunities and fundraisers visit www.the-hazeltine.com and on Facebook – 4th Wall Productions.
