Production History
A group of friends gathered in June 1938 and sparked a discussion that would soon unfold into the foundation of the Racine Theatre Guild. What began in a living room, soon gathered the support of 26 community members who paid 50 cents in dues, collecting $13 to produce the first season of RTG performances.
“The story does not end here…The talents of [the Guild’s] members will keep the institution in an ever changing state of creativity, offering more and more challenges to those who wish to participate actively in its productions and more entertainment and delight to those who benefit by attending the theatre.”
– Russ Stetler’s 1983 Master’s thesis, “History and Evaluation of the Racine Theatre Guild”
The Racine Theatre Guild was founded in 1938 by 26 people with $13. What began as a roaming theatre troupe performing at the Douglas Park Community House, Women’s Club, Mainstreet Theatre, and Uptown Theatre found a home at the Guild Playhouse in 1956 and then built and opened the Racine Theatre Guild in 1976. In those years, dedicated volunteers have performed over 500 plays and musicals for hundreds of thousands of patrons across generations.
A brief overview of our full history can be found on the About RTG page. In 2020, we took a deep dive into the history of our organization, taking a look decade by decade at our journey. Download your copy of “The History of the Racine Theatre Guild” to learn more about our adventure!
2020 – Present
2024 – 25 | Racine Theatre Guild
- First Date
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Little Women
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical
- Over the River and Through the Woods
- And in this Corner: Cassius Clay
- Always A Bridesmaid
- Legally Blonde
2023 – 24 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Rent
- The Cemetery Club
- Seasonal Allergies
- Disney’s The Little Mermaid
- Dial M for Murder
- Now and Then
- Stargirl
- Cabaret
2022 – 23 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Into the Woods
- Native Gardens
- Drop Dead
- Disney’s The Little Mermaid
- Perfect Wedding
- The Tin Woman
- Stand And Deliver
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2021 – 22 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Laramie Project – multimedia play film
- A Christmas Story
- Nunsense
- Guys on Ice
- Clue: On Stage
- Akeelah and the Bee
- Mamma Mia!
2020 – 21 | Racine Theatre Guild
Closed to in-person performances due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
2019 – 20 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Grease
- Lost in Yonkers
- The Mousetrap
- The Wizard of Oz
- On Golden Pond
- A Fox on the Fairway
2010 – 2019
2018 – 19 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Peter and the Starcatcher
- Blithe Spirit
- Lombardi
- A Christmas Carol: The Musical
- Things My Mother Taught Me
- Wait Until Dark
- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
- 9 to 5 The Musical
2017 – 18 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Always… Patsy Cline
- Boeing Boeing
- Indoor/Outdoor
- A Christmas Carol: The Musical
- Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
- A Comedy of Tenors
- The Boxcar Children
- Sister Act
2016 – 17 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Little Shop of Horrors
- Lend Me a Tenor
- Kitchen Witches
- Mary Poppins
- Exit Laughing
- That Darn Plot
- The Iliad, The Odyssey and all of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2015 – 16 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Marvelous Wonderettes
- Calendar Girls
- Arsenic and Old Lace
- Mary Poppins
- Design for Murder
- Jeeves Intervenes
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Fiddler on the Roof
2014 – 15 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- Duck Hunter Shoots Angel
- The Werewolf’s Curse or Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
- The Sound of Music
- One Slight Hitch
- Dixie Swim Club
- The Giver
- Spamalot
2013 – 14 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Rocky Horror Show
- Suite Surrender
- Deathtrap
- Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
- Almost, Maine
- 37 Postcards
- The Miracle Worker
- Les Misérables
2012 – 13 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Elvis Has Left The Building
- Noises Off
- A Nice Family Gathering
- Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka
- A Night at the Nutcracker
- Be My Baby
- The Three Musketeers
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
2011 – 12 | Racine Theatre Guild
- I Do! I Do!
- Comic Potential
- Doubt, A Parable
- Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka
- Glorious!
- The Curious Savage
- Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure
- Chicago
2010 – 11 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Andrews Brothers
- Southern Hospitality
- Don’t Cry for Me, Margaret Mitchel
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Don’t Hug Me
- Treasure Island
- Bull in a China Shop
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
2000 – 2009
2009 – 10 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Honky Tonk Angels
- Hotbed Hotel
- The Sunshine Boys
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Murder at the Howard Johnson’s
- A Bad Year For Tomatoes
- Holes
- The Producers
2008 – 09 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Side by Side by Sondheim
- The Nerd
- Steel Magnolias
- Beauty and the Beast
- Dearly Departed
- Leading Ladies
- The Boys Next Door
- Godspell
2007 – 08 | Racine Theatre Guild
- I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
- Laughing Stock
- King O’ The Moon
- Scrooge! The Musical
- You Can’t Take It with You
- The Gamester
- The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
- Guys and Dolls
2006 – 07 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Forever Plaid
- Mixed Emotions
- The Foreigner
- Scrooge! The Musical
- Proof
- The Uneasy Chair
- Stand and Deliver
- Gypsy
2005 – 06 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Packer Fans From Outer Space
- The Affections of May
- The Assassin’s New Friend
- Scrooge! The Musical
- Weekend Comedy
- The Supporting Cast
- Anne Frank and Me
- Lucky Stiff
2004 – 05 | Racine Theatre Guild
- My Way
- Those Crazy Ladies In the House On The Corner
- HONK!
- It’s A Wonderful Life
- Visiting Mr. Green
- Dead Guilty
- I Ought To Be In Pictures
- The Music Man
2003 – 04 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Always…Patsy Cline
- Send Me No Flowers
- HONK!
- A Christmas Story
- Taking Leave
- Move Over, Mrs. Markham
- Do Not Go Gentle
- Over The Tavern
2002 – 03 | Racine Theatre Guild
- A Grand Night for Singing
- Over The River and Through The Woods
- Murder by Misadventure
- Annie
- Vikings
- Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got The Will?)
- Flowers For Algernon
- Anything Goes
2001 – 02 | Racine Theatre Guild
- A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline
- Pools Paradise
- Escanaba In Da Moonlight
- Annie
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Scapino
- Number the Stars
- The Amorous Ambassador
2000 – 01 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Something’s Afoot
- The Sensuous Senator
- Crossing Delancey
- Oliver
- Catch Me If You Can
- Communicating Doors
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
- West Side Story
1990 – 1999
1999 – 00 | Racine Theatre Guild
- You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown
- A Thousand Clowns
- Living Together
- Oliver
- Beau Jest
- The Man Who Came To Dinner
- Twelve Angry Jurors
- Moon Over Buffalo
1998 – 99 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Have a Nice Day
- Cookin’ With Gus
- A Tuna Christmas
- Oliver
- The Trip to Bountiful
- The Crucible
- Having Our Say
- Lone Star Love Potion
1997 – 98 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
- Don’t Dress For Dinner
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- The Wizard of Oz
- Sylvia
- Camping with Henry and Tom
- The Glass Menagerie
- Squabbles
1996 – 97 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Oil City Symphony
- Wait Until Dark
- Inspecting Carol
- The Wizard of Oz
- Desire Under the Elms
- Alone Together
- The Outsiders
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
1995 – 96 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Smoke on the Mountain
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Lettice and Lovage
- The Wizard of Oz
- Out of Order
- Dancing at Lughnasa
- A Few Good Men
- Phantom
1994 – 95 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Nunsense II: The Second Coming
- I Hate Hamlet
- The Rainmaker
- Peter Pan
- The Miracle Worker
- Tons of Money
- Marvin’s Room
- Lost in Yonkers
1993 – 94 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Cardigans
- Prelude To A Kiss
- The Cemetery Club
- Peter Pan
- Wife Begins At Forty
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- The Boys Next Door
- Broadway Bound
1992 – 93 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Tomfoolery
- Rumors
- Driving Miss Daisy
- Peter Pan
- Of Mice and Men
- Nunsense
- The Immigrant
- Lend Me a Tenor
1991 – 92 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Taffetas
- Foxfire
- The House of Blue Leaves
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
- Run For Your Wife
- Pack of Lies
- Hunting Cockroaches
- Social Security
1990 – 91 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Pump Boys and Dinettes
- I See the Sun
- Middle Age Spread
- The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
- Steel Magnolias
- Terra Nova
- Cat Among the Pigeons
1980 – 1989
1989 – 90 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
- Rough Crossing
- The Nerd
- I’m Not Rappaport
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
- Greater Tuna
- Crimes of the Heart
- They’re Playing Our Song
1988 – 89 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Little Shop of Horrors
- The Odd Couple (Female Version)
- Corpse
- The Foreigner
- The Shadow Box
- Noises Off
1987 – 88 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Seascape
- Charley’s Aunt
- My Three Angels
- The Lion in Winter
- Summer and Smoke
- Wild Honey
1986 – 87 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Morning’s At Seven
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
- Mass Appeal
- The Three Cuckolds
- Brighton Beach Memoirs
- The Fantasticks
1985 – 86 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Poor of New York
- Sherlock Holmes and The Affair of The Amorous Regent
- Season’s Greetings
- The Art of Dining
- Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
- God’s Favorite
1984 – 85 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Dracula
- Fools
- The Gin Game
- Agnes of God
- Tintypes
1983 – 84 | Racine Theatre Guild
- A Bedfull of Foreigners
- Deathtrap
- The West Side Waltz
- The Royal Hunt of the Sun
- Present Laughter
- Under the Gaslight
1982 – 83 | Racine Theatre Guild
- After Dark
- The Biggest Thief in Town
- The Little Foxes
- Private Lives
- You Never Can Tell
- The Impossible Years
- The Drunkard
1981 – 82 | Racine Theatre Guild
- See How They Run
- On Golden Pond
- Veronica’s Room
- Abelard and Heloise
- Romantic Comedy
1980 – 81 | Racine Theatre Guild
- An Italian Straw Hat
- The Owl and the Pussycat
- Bedroom Farce
- Billy Budd
- Chapter Two
1970 – 1979
1979 – 80 | Racine Theatre Guild
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
- How the Other Half Loves
- Same Time – Next Year
- Macbeth
- Bullshot Crummond
1978 – 79 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Importance of Being Earnest
- A Delicate Balance
- Walsh
- Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath or Goodnight Ladies
- A Breath of Spring
1977 – 78 | Racine Theatre Guild
- Let’s Get a Divorce
- Absurd Person Singular
- Blithe Spirit
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Scapino
1976 – 77 | Racine Theatre Guild
- The Taming of the Shrew – first show on the RTG stage in October 1976
- Sleuth
- 6 RMS RIV VU
- The Waltz of the Toreadors
- The Sunshine Boys
1975 – 76 | Guild Playhouse
- Pools Paradise
- Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
- Last of the Red Hot Lovers
- The Patriots
- No Sex, Please – We’re British
1974 – 75 | Guild Playhouse
- The Death and Life of Sneaky Fitch
- Uproar in the House
- Rashomon
- The House of Bernarda Alba
- The Prisoner of Second Avenue
1973 – 74 | Guild Playhouse
- How’s the World Treating You?
- The Imaginary Invalid
- The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Ah, Wilderness!
1972 – 73 | Guild Playhouse
- Play It Again, Sam
- The Lion in Winter
- The Innocents
- The Comedy of Errors
- Butterflies Are Free
1971 – 72 | Guild Playhouse
- Don’t Drink the Water
- Summertree
- Tevya and His Daughters
- Look Homeward, Angel
- Forty Carats
1970 – 71 | Guild Playhouse
- Cactus Flower
- The Crucible
- Luv
- Little Mary Sunshine
- A Flea in Her Ear
1960 – 1969
1969 – 70 | Guild Playhouse
- Star Spangled Girl
- A Man For All Seasons
- Shot In The Dark
- She Loves Me
- Arms and the Man
1968 – 69 | Guild Playhouse
- The Odd Couple
- The Typists and The Tiger
- A Thurber Carnival
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- Life With Father
1967 – 68 | Guild Playhouse
- Any Wednesday
- Barefoot in the Park
- Anastasia
- The Amorous Flea
- Charley’s Aunt
1966 – 67 | Guild Playhouse
- Mary, Mary
- Inherit the Wind
- The Boyfriend
- The Cradle Song
- You Can’t Take It With You
1965 – 66 | Guild Playhouse
- Never Too Late
- All the Way Home
- The Fantasticks
- Everybody Loves Opal
- Sunday in New York
1964 – 65 | Guild Playhouse
- The Spider’s Web
- An Enemy of the People
- Separate Tables
- Hotel Paradiso
- The Curse of an Aching Heart
1963 – 64 | Guild Playhouse
- Lil’ Abner
- The Best Man
- Come Blow Your Horn
- Dark at the Top of the Stairs
- The Happiest Millionaire
- Bells Are Ringing
- 1962 – 63 | Guild Playhouse
- Bye Bye Birdie
- Critic’s Choice
- Our Town
- Once More With Feeling
- Monique
- Once Upon a Mattress
1961 – 62 | Guild Playhouse
- Babes in Arms
- The Pleasure of His Company
- Call Me Madam
- The Glass Menagerie
- Kind Sir
- No Time for Sergeants
1960 – 61 | Guild Playhouse
- Bell, Book and Candle
- Reclining Figure
- Death of a Salesman
- The Gazebo
- Third Best Sport
1950 – 1959
1959 – 60 | Guild Playhouse
- Witness for the Prosecution
- The Desk Set
- Light Up the Sky
- The River Line
- Visit to a Small Planet
1958 – 59 | Guild Playhouse
- The Solid Gold Cadillac
- The Great Sebastians
- Cyrano de Bergerac
- The Desperate Hours
- The Matchmaker
1957 – 58 | Guild Playhouse
- Harvey
- Hatful of Rain
- Teahouse of the August Moon
- Time of the Cuckoo
- King of Hearts
- Thieves’ Carnival
1956 – 57 | Guild Playhouse
- The Tender Trap
- The Rainmaker
- Summer and Smoke
- Bus Stop
- Mister Roberts
1955 – 56 | Guild Playhouse
- The Biggest Thief in Town
- The Little Foxes
- Sabrina Fair
- Dial M for Murder
- Stalag 17
1954 – 55 | Guild Playhouse
- My Three Angels
- The Heiress
- Late Love
- The Importance of Being Earnest
- Laura
1953 – 54 | Guild Playhouse
- Affairs of State
- The Glass Menagerie
- The Happy Times
- The Curious Savage
- The Moon Is Blue
1952 – 53 | Uptown Theatre
- Dream Girl
- Lo and Behold
- Come Back, Little Sheba
1951 – 52 | Uptown Theatre
- Mr. Barry’s Etchings
- The Father of the Bride
- Watch on the Rhine
- The Bat
1950 – 51 | Uptown Theatre
- The Silver Whistle
- All My Sons
- See How They Run
- Born Yesterday
1940 – 1949
1949 – 50 | Uptown Theatre
- Three’s a Family
- Ten Little Indians
- Heaven Can Wait
- Parlor Story
- Adam Loves Eve – RTG Original Production
1948 – 49 | Uptown Theatre
- The Night of January 16
- I Remember Mama
- Barrets of Wimpole Street
- John Loves Mary
1947 – 48 | Uptown Theatre
- I Like It Here
- R.U.R.
- Guest in the House
- Dear Ruth
1946 – 47 | Mainstreet Theatre
- Laura
- The Hasty Heart
- Angel Street
- The Royal Family
1945 – 46 | Mainstreet Theatre
- Kiss and Tell
- The Man Who Came To Dinner
- Blithe Spirit
1944 – 45 | Mainstreet Theatre
- Stage Door
- Junior Miss
- Spring Again
1943 – 44 | Mainstreet Theatre
- Papa Is All
- Claudia
- Ladies In Retirement
1942 – 43 | Mainstreet Theatre
- Arsenic and Old Lace
- Night Must Fall
- The Philadelphia Story
1941 – 42 | Woman’s Club
- George Washington Slept Here
- Margin For Error
- This Thing Called Love
1940 – 41 | Woman’s Club
- Outward Bound
- You Can’t Take It With You
- The Male Animal
1938 – 1939
1939 – 40 | Woman’s Club
- The Night of January 16
- Her Master’s Voice
- Room Service
1938 – 39 | First Season
- Three One Act Plays
“The Bride Wore Red Pajamas”
“Chinese Money”
“Murder by Morning” - The Ghost Train
- The Late Christopher Bean
- Idlings of the King
- He Ain’t Done Right By Nell
- Petticoat Fever
- Fun Dividend to Patrons of the First Season
“Good Night Please”
“A Husband for Breakfast”
“A Cup of Tea”
