ALBANY — For the first time in the 38-year history of Park Playhouse, the company will not present a mainstage musical during July at the Washington Park amphitheater this summer, a change necessitated by the loss of city funding and increasingly adverse weather trends, according to those involved.
The troupe’s primary productions will be at Cohoes Music Hall, with a 10-day run in the park at the end of August of a professionally performed show for family audiences. All park seating will be free.
The news has not been formally announced but is evident on the website of Park Playhouse’s parent, Playhouse Stage Company, which has the Cohoes Music Hall as its year-round base. From 2017 to 2023, Playhouse Stage performed a fall-to-spring season at the music hall, plus one mainstage musical with a professional cast during July and another in August featuring members of its youth training program. For the past two summers, one musical was presented in Cohoes. Prior to taking over management of the music hall and the adoption of the Playhouse Stage name, Park Playhouse had since 1989 produced one to three musicals annually at the Albany lakehouse amphitheater in July and August…