A HISTORY OF
Saint Thomas More Summer Theatre Magic

Saint Thomas More Summer Theatre Magic began in 1999 as a charitable outreach of the Saint Thomas More Adult Choir. Response to that first production was so overwhelmingly positive that we decided to make the summer theatre an ongoing charitable venture. The mission of our summer theatre program is to raise funds for worthy local charities through the production of quality family entertainment.

The 1999 production of Man of La Mancha launched the infant theatre, followed by The Wizard of Oz (2000), Camelot (2001), Peter Pan (2002), Fiddler on the Roof (2004), Oliver! (2005), The Music Man (2006), Brigadoon (2007), Godspell (2009) and Annie (2010) . To date, over $300,000, raised by Summer Theatre Magic has been shared among the following charities: Lehigh County Conference of Churches, Sixth Street Shelter, Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley, Mercy Special Learning Center, Camelot House for Children, the Bill Sugra Memorial Fund, The Nicholas Caldarelli Memorial Fund of Allentown Central Catholic High School,and Dream Come True of the Lehigh Valley and The Artificial Pancreas Project of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation . Production costs are offset by the sponsorship donations of generous friends of the summer theatre, allowing us to funnel every cent of profit from ticket sales to the designated charity. Each year's proceeds provide assistance to our brothers and sisters around the Lehigh Valley. For example, ground was broken in the fall of 2001 for a home to be built from the proceeds generated by that year's production and channeled through Habitat for Humanity and that completed house has now been home to an Allentown family for a decade.

Each year, blessed with the support and prayers of our pastor, Monsignor John P. Murphy, and our entire parish family, a production staff, a professional orchestra, and a cast and crew of over 100 people combine their talents to provide entertainment of the highest caliber. Many and varied ages and backgrounds are represented, and in some cases, several generations of a family have enjoyed working together on the productions. A spirit of camaraderie and shared purpose unites the summer theatre community, born from within the larger community of faith at Saint Thomas More Parish. Blessed with the support and prayers of our parish family, we are honored to offer our time and treasure to benefit such fine charitable organizations.

For all information about STM Summer Theatre Magic, contact Natalie,
at 610-433-7413, Ext. 18.