RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF LA PORTE LITTLE THEATER

RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF LA PORTE LITTLE THEATER

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E145-E146] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF LA PORTE LITTLE THEATER ______ HON. FRANK J. MRVAN of indiana in the house of representatives Friday, February 21, 2025 Mr. MRVAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect and admiration that I rise to recognize the La Porte Little Theater and its 100th Anniversary as community members gather to celebrate this weekend on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the La Porte Little Theater in the City of La Porte, Indiana. The La Porte Little Theater began with an advertisement in the local LaPorte Herald Argus newspaper to gauge interest in a community theater club. The La Porte Little Theater was founded on November 11, 1925, when twenty-five community members convened the first official meeting at the local YMCA, which was considered home base for the theater for many years that followed. Early on, the club presented one-act plays in the La Porte High School Auditorium before purchasing the St. John's Lutheran Church building at the corner of 3rd Street and A Street in 1954, where it remains today. Getting the theater ready for showtime was truly a community effort, with Mr. Roy Kaber performing all the electrical wiring, Mrs. Haskell Rosenthal donating the main stage, and Ms. Julie Blankschein Hilbish's family donating the velvet curtains. Today, the La Porte Little Theater is a 200-seat community theater that aims to provide quality theatrical experiences to Northwest Indiana audiences and actors. Over the last century, the La Porte Little Theater has presented plays, musicals, mysteries, dramas, and comedies, in efforts to bring our region together through art, dance, song, and expression. It is because of the generations of dedicated volunteers who contributed their time, efforts, and talents that the La Porte Little Theater continues to serve as a beacon of creative expression for all in LaPorte County and Northwest Indiana. Through the years, the committed Board Members and volunteers of the La Porte Little Theater have selflessly dedicated their time and efforts to provide opportunities to youth and adults on stage and behind the scenes. From sidesplitting comedy to thoughtful commentary on modern society, hundreds of volunteers have contributed their skills and talents to bring stones to life on stage. Through hundreds of thousands of hours of rehearsal, tens of thousands of costumes, thousands of handmade sets, hundreds of stories brought to the stage, and one [[Page E146]] hundred years, the volunteers of the La Porte Little Theater are worthy of the highest praise. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring the La Porte Little Theater as volunteers gather to celebrate its 100th Anniversary and the magic of storytelling this Sunday, February 23, 2025. ____________________