Theatre's all about storytelling, and actors tend to have good memory, so the stories are good ones: the garage door drafted into last-minute duty as a stage extension for Civic's very first Christmas Carol, back in '31; the actors who stopped here on the Civic Little Theatre boards, on their way to Broadway; the misfires; the falling scenery; the insane nights of preparation and the unexpected challenges that make live theatre the invigorating tightrope walk we all love; and sometimes, when we're lucky, when we're not even looking for them, the moments of sheer beauty, when actors and audience come together to find magic.

These are the moments we're all here for. Have one, and you're hooked for life. This place has collected 75 years worth of such moments. They're chalked onto the walls backstage, as names and dates from before I was born. They linger in the relics of past productions, unearthed from this old building's catacombs. They're in the air, and if you sit backstage in the dark, or up in the rafters with the spotlights, or out in the auditorium, in the light of that old chandelier -- If you sit still, and you listen -- you can hear them.

I love the old stories. Five years ago, when Civic turned 70, I heard Betsy Curtis recite the monologue she delivered more than 70 years ago, just before the final curtain of one of Civic's very first shows. That monologue was one of her moments of sheer beauty, and as she stood again on our stage and shared it with us, I knew why I was here. Because these stories -- the stories we tell up on this stage, and the stories of the telling -- they're vital. They're the magic we can't do without.

And when an audience leaps to its feet in joy or in tears, we all know why we're here. Once Allentown's "Little Theatre," now its thriving Community Arts Center, Civic has in 75 years become part of this community's lifeblood. It's the campfire around which we all gather to laugh, to cry, and to marvel. Pull up a seat. Hear the stories, and tell one of your own.

And to those of you who have helped stoke the flames for the past 75 years: We thank you.

- Scott Snyder, Managing Director