Live stage performances year-round entertain audiences at NTA’s Sunny Furman theater in the historic Ketchum Building. The group performs a variety of award-winning stage plays and musicals, including summer day camps for both kids and teenagers. Board President, Joyce Yorek, said NTA makes every effort to produce a wide variety of family-friendly shows for local audiences. “In addition to big-name Broadway shows,” she explained, “we also occasionally produce locally written shows. We recently hosted performances of The Supper Club, written by Brenham playwright Claire Broun Johnson.”
NTA also annually hosts a program called Lanterns & Legends. “We go off campus for that one,” Yorek joked. Performances for Lanterns & Legends happen at the city’s Oakland Cemetery, where actors portray half a dozen historic citizens from Navasota’s past. The tours are conducted at the end of October each year, using lanterns to light the way to each gravesite where patrons get to listen in as tour guides interview the living legends from centuries past. “It’s so great to be able to celebrate the people who have built our community and played a key role in shaping its personality,” Yorek said. “I think it’s one of the best things we do.” The scripts are written locally by a team of talented playwrights, further showcasing the area’s creative talent.
Recently, the theater has been able to partner with local restaurants like Red Board Tavern to provide packages that include dinner and theater tickets. NTA offers season
ticket packages the include a Fall Season Opener (September/October), Lanterns & Legends in October, a holiday show (December), a Winter show (February/March), a Spring show (April/May). The run of each show features both evening and matinee performances, depending on the day. Professional and amateur actors alike come to audition for the shows,” said Yorek. “We hire professional directors for each show, and we maintain a pretty high standard for the quality of sets and costumes. We want to make sure our audience is delighted with every aspect of each show.”
Season packages and individual tickets can be purchased on the NTA web site
NTA’s Sunny Furman theater is located at 104 W. Washington Avenue, Navasota, TX.