It sounds like a classic Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland movie: A group of amateurs unites in “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show!” fashion to open a theater production against the odds. For Venice Theatre, now celebrating its 75th season, it’s a true story—one that began in 1950 in a Quonset hut and now revolves around restoring a beloved community landmark after the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

More on that restoration in a minute. First: the backstory. In 1950, a band of volunteers in Venice decided the town needed a community theater. In 30 days, they formed one, opening in a metal hut that dates from the Venice Airport’s use as an Army Air base and still stands today. The structure had no heat and no air conditioning, salvaged parachute material covered the ceiling and, reportedly, there was just one toilet for use by everyone, patrons and workers alike. 

In a fitting selection, the opening show was a play by George Kelly (uncle of actress Grace) called The Torch-Bearers, first staged in 1923 and focusing on a group of—wait for it—well-meaning amateur thespians. The play returns to Venice Sept. 20-Oct. 13 at the Raymond Center.

Director Kelly Woodland has helmed well over 100 plays in her career, but admits she had never even heard of The Torch-Bearers. “They offered me a couple of choices,” she says, “and then [artistic director Benny Sato Ambush] told me it was the very first play ever produced at Venice Little Theatre”—that’s how the company used to be known—“and that it was basically produced in an airplane hangar! You get that feeling of incredible history. The play was written at a time when the ‘little theater’ movement was taking shape, with people who had some extra time and wanted to do plays that were ‘artsy fartsy’ but not necessarily financially lucrative.”

Then, as now, Woodland adds, people were coming out of a pandemic, so the movement’s “true believers would meet in their homes” when theaters were closed. In Kelly’s play, the characters may seem arrogant or obnoxious in their pursuit, but “they just love to put on plays, not that they’re very good at it,” says Woodland. The farce’s three-act format is somewhat similar to the better-known Noises Off, moving from rehearsals to stage to disaster. Woodland says, “I’ve got some hilarious people in this cast.”

The laughs will be welcome, since Venice Theatre is still struggling to get its mainstage space, the Jervey Theatre, in working order after 2022’s Hurricane Ian wrought major havoc. Restoration supervisor Murray Chase says the storm’s damage was “a double whammy, as we were just coming out of the effects of Covid.” At the time, the theater was focused on renovating the Raymond Center, but efforts shifted immediately to rehabbing Jervey instead.

Chase says the project has been full of “surprises for us, including just how deep and bad the damage actually was.” The concrete for the stagehouse deck had to be repoured at a cost of more than $300,000. “And that’s not even getting us vertical yet,” says Chase. (In fact, steel beams may just be rising at the site as you read this.)

In the meantime, many improvements that visitors don’t see—like installing new electrical and sprinkler systems and fly equipment and bringing the historic building up to code—have been happening. Despite not receiving Sarasota County disaster recovery money that the theater had applied for (“a gut punch,” admits executive director Kristofer Geddie), staff and supporters are hopeful they can still reopen the Jervey during the 2025-2026 season.

Of course, cost estimates shift during any construction project. Right now, Geddie uses a $25  million figure as the “guaranteed maximum price” for the work ahead. It’s a big challenge, but Geddie says he’s “overwhelmed by the community support” from donors.

Chase looks ahead to the day when the reborn Jervey Theatre tower will dominate the skyline. “It will be a beacon as people come into the city,” he says, “and will show how a small community can come together and make something modern and strong, respectful of its past, that will resonate for a long time.”

As in 1950, the show must go on.

For tickets to The Torch-Bearers, and for more information about Venice Theatre’s fundraising and restoration operations, visit venicetheatre.net.