Mill Mountain Theatre


Mill Mountain Theatre is a professional equity theatre located in Roanoke, Virginia. Originally opening as Mill Mountain Playhouse as a “not-for-profit, non-Equity resident stock theatre”, the location burned down in 1976, leading to a re-opening and renaming at the Center in the Square in 1983. The theater is named after the nearby Mill Mountain, which is a popular theme for the naming of Roanoke landmarks and organizations, including the Mill Mountain Star, Mill Mountain Zoo, and Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea.
Mill Mountain Theatre also has a longstanding relationship with Hollins University and the Hollins Theatre Institute.

History

In January 2009, Mill Mountain Theater's Board of Directors faced mounted debt by ceasing productions to focus on reorganizing the Theater's business operations. All staff members, with the exception of the director of education were laid off. At the same time MMT's landlord, Center in the Square, undertook a complete renovation, moving MMT into a temporary space.
During the reinvention process, educational classes continued and enrollment doubled, becoming one of the theatre's best sources of income during this time period. Mill Mountain Theatre Conservatory also produced a holiday show each year during the reorganization; Annie, Jr. in 2009, Disney's My Son Pinocchio, Geppetto's Musical Tale in December 2010, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in 2011 and 2012.
In March 2012, MMT produced Greater Tuna on the Waldron Stage, its first professional Equity performance since 2009. On April 24, 2013, Mill Mountain Theatre returned to the Trinkle Main Stage in the newly renovated Center in the Square presenting The Marvelous Wonderettes.
On March 16, 2020, In response to COVID-19, MMT announced that they would be "suspending all programming from March 16 - April 13", preventing their production of "Dreamgirls" from opening on March 25.

Productions

Mill Mountain Theatre classifies its performances into four types: Trinkle Mainstage, traditional plays and musicals; Young Audiences, shows aimed towards children; The Fringe, plays with contemporary themes and for older audiences; and Mill Mountain Music, showcases where various singers perform songs from a particular genre of music.
During their 2020 season announcement, Mill Mountain Theatre renamed its Waldron Fringe series to The Fringe, to signify that one of its performances would be put on the Trinkle Stage for the first time, rather than both shows being performed on the Waldron stage.
20202019201820172016
Trinkle MainstageDreamgirls
The Diary of Anne Frank
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
Holiday Inn
Mamma Mia!
Disney's The Little Mermaid JR
The Glass Menagerie
The Sound of Music
A Chorus Line
Shrek The Musical TYA
West Side Story
Special Event: A Simple Gift
The Christmas Cup
Moonlight and Magnolias
Willy Wonka JR
Little Shop of Horrors
A Christmas Story
Smokey Joe's Café
Into the Woods JR
The Odd Couple
White Christmas
Young AudiencesWrite Stuff!
Treasure Island: A New Musical
Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical
Peter and Wendy
Write Stuff!
A Peter Rabbit Tale: A Children's Musical
Romeo and Juliet
Write Stuff!
The Tempest
Mother Goose Tales
A Year with Frog and Toad
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Jungle Book
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
All the World's a Stage
Tall Tales
Aesop's Fables
Poe
The FringeCabaret
The Cake
Next to Normal
Every Brilliant Thing
Constellations
The Christians
Spring Awakening
The Mountaintop
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The Little Lion
N/A
Mill Mountain MusicGolden Age of Broadway
Music of the Crooners
Music of the 60s
Let's Go to the Movies
An Evening with Andrew Lloyd Webber
A Taste of Country
Acoustic Legends
One Hit Wonders
Best of Broadway: Songs of the 2000s
The Music of Motown
The Music of ABBA