The Arlington Friends of the Drama, now known as AFD Theatre, was founded in 1923 and is one of the ten oldest continually operating community theatre groups in the United States.
Incorporated
as a not-for-profit corporation in the early 1930s, Arlington Friends
of the Drama, Inc. outbid the Odd Fellows and came in with the highest
bid for the St. John's Episcopal Church building, now our theatre. We
bid $8,200. More recently - and at an expense far exceeding its
purchase price - our 194-seat theatre was extensively updated and made
handicap-accessible. With justified pride we can say that AFD Theatre
is among the finest area playhouses for actors, directors, production
designers and audiences to produce and enjoy live theatre.
Our first major musical, Iolanthe, was
performed in our 12th season (1935). We currently design and produce a
season of five shows every year, usually including comedy, drama, a
"smaller" musical and a major musical. The regional and national awards
garnered by our productions are many, but we are most proud of the fact
that year in and year out we entertain thousands of people, encourage
local development and appreciation of the theatre arts, and provide a
home for some of the most creative directors, designers and performing
artists in New England.
We welcome you to join us, either as an audience member, on-stage or back-stage, as The Best Goes On!
AFD Theatre is not affiliated with AmericanTowns Media
