Theater fans statewide mourn loss of Theatre WV

Some fans of the stage are already feeling the loss of one of the state’s largest theaters.

 With the loss of Theatre West Virginia, state theater buffs are already feeling the pain. A former employee says he’s going to miss what it brought to Southern West Virginia.

Jim Stacy is a Morgantown lawyer, and Beckley native, who spent several years going to shows at Theatre West Virginia.

He even worked on its house staff for a short time. He says upon hearing the news the program is closing its doors, one emotion immediately came to mind.

“It genuinely made me sad. Living there, being a kid who started loving theater early, that was the first place I saw there. It was a very special place to see theater, because of the setting. That beautiful outdoor backdrop. To see that end, takes a little piece of me away, I think,” he said.

Stacy says it brought a great deal to not only fans of theater, but to all southern West Virginians.

“We have to be able to think about what’s going to be able to boost the culture of a state, of the region, of the nation, it’s the arts that always do that,” said David Beach, an English professor at West Virginia University and a director at M.T. Pockets Theatre in Morgantown. It’s a community theater company.

Theatre West Virginia flourished in the Beckley area for more than 50 years.