UPPER DARBY — Upper Darby Summer Stage will present its 50th Season Gala Weekend on Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center and Drexelbrook Event Center. This milestone event will kick off a spectacular summer season with a musical celebration unlike any other — and everyone is invited.
The weekend will feature two unforgettable events: the Gala Show, taking place on both nights, and the Reunion Celebration on Friday. Together, these gatherings aim to raise vital funds to preserve and propel the legacy of Summer Stage. Everyone is invited to join in celebrating 50 magical seasons and to help ensure the next 50 are just as extraordinary.
More than 175 Summer Stage alumni, representing five decades of performances, will return to the stage to sing, dance, and celebrate the program that helped launch countless careers and lifelong friendships. The 50th Season Gala Celebration Show will feature beloved numbers from past Mainstage productions including “Crazy for You,” “Newsies,” “West Side Story,” “Joseph,” “Barnum,” “Titanic,” “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Hairspray” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Show Performances are planned for 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 27 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 28 at Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, 601 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill. Tickets cost $30 to $100.
The Gala Show, a landmark production, is directed by Marcus Stevens, Richard Rodgers Award-winning playwright and co-creator of “Mythic.”
“My vision for the Summer Stage Gala Show is to celebrate both where we’ve been and where we’re headed,” Stevens said. “It’s a chance to look back on some of our most iconic performances — those favorite numbers we all remember — while also looking ahead to the next 50 years of Summer Stage. More than just a showcase, the gala is an opportunity for us as a community to recommit to the values that make this program so special. Summer Stage has never been just about creating great performers, it’s about building empathy, confidence, collaboration and lifelong friendships. It’s a true community, one that stays with you long after the final curtain.”
Musical direction is by longtime Summer Stage veteran Gina Giachero, with orchestrations by Vince Leonard of the Philly Pops.
Julianna Schauerman, an original Summer Stager, serves as producer, with WHYY’s Tristan Horan creating video content.
Summer Stage founder Harry Dietzler is contributing to music preparation, and Allie Steele is coordinating the 50th season events.
In an undated photo, Harry Dietzler, the founder and former longtime executive director of Upper Darby Summer Stage, with one of Summer Stage’s most famous alumna, Tina Fey, actress, writer and producer. (COURTESY OF UPPER DARBY SUMMER STAGE)
“I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life but directing children’s theater at Upper Darby Summer Stage might have been my favorite,” Summer Stage alum Tina Fey said in a statement. “Putting up shows with sixty kids that then would be seen by five hundred little kids every morning, we were really providing something fun and wholesome to the community.”
Summer Stage alumni are some of the most accomplished in the performing arts world, including:
• Fey, writer, actress and producer
• David Corenswet, star of Warner Brothers’ “Superman” film, due out July 11
• Monica Horan, “Everybody Loves Raymond”
• Terrence Nolen and Amy Murphy, co-founders of Arden Theatre Company
• Gianna Yanelli, currently starring in Broadway’s “Six”
• Josh Young, Tony-nominated actor
• Jeremy Morse, “Waitress on Broadway”
• Alyse Alan Louis, “Mamma Mia on Broadway” and “Teeth” (Lucille Lortel Award and Outer Critics Circle nominee)
• Marie Eife, “Wicked,” and Kait Kerrigan, “The Great Gatsby”
“I made many of my closest friends and most cherished performance memories on and off the stage at Upper Darby Summer Stage,” Corenswet said. “But more than that, I learned a valuable lesson about life and career: dream of the leading role, compete hard for it, then let it go and enjoy the chorus. Dance your feet off in the ensemble. You may have your solo moments center stage in life, but if you’re lucky, you’ll spend most of your time surrounded by a chorus of friends and family, singing in harmony together. The culture, the leadership, and the people of Summer Stage instilled that truth in us, and continue to remind us, summer after summer.”
Upper Darby Summer Stage was founded in 1976 by Harry Dietzler and has grown to become one of the nation’s premier youth theater programs, empowering young performers while providing affordable, family-friendly entertainment to residents of the Greater Philadelphia region.
Dietzler’s leadership has earned widespread recognition, including a Barrymore Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), an honorary doctorate from Villanova University (2014), and a Tony Award for Theater Education finalist nomination (2016).
The 2025 season of Summer Stage shows:
• July 1-3: “Dare To Dream: A Disney Musical Revue”
• July 8-10: “How to Train Your Dragon Jr.”
• July 15- 17: “Disney’s Frozen Jr.”
• July 22- 24: “Junie B’s Essential Survival Guide To School Jr.:
• July 29- 31: “Annie Jr.:
• Aug. 5-7: “The SpongeBob Musical”
The Young Adult’s Main Stage production for this year will be “Something Rotten,” which will run July 25 to Aug. 2. Tickets are currently on sale for all of this season’s shows.
“This (50-year) milestone is a testament to the visionary support of township and district leaders, the dedication of our staff, the commitment of our Summer Stagers, and the support of our families and audiences,” Dietzler said. “Summer Stage has changed our lives, and we are grateful beyond words. Now, it’s time to ensure future generations can experience this precious program. Let’s commit to supporting Summer Stage in whatever way we can. Love ties us all together. My prayer is that we continue to radiate that love for many years to come.”
Named one of the Top Performing Arts Summer Camps in America by http://Playbill.com, over 800 young people from across the Philadelphia region come together each summer to create eight professional-quality shows over six weeks that entertain nearly 27,000 audience members.
Now led by artistic and Executive Director Chris Luner and supported by the Upper Darby Arts and Education Foundation’s Executive Director Justin Heimbecker, the program continues to inspire new generations.
The 50th Anniversary Reunion Celebration will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, June 27 at Drexelbrook Event Center.
The gala is open to all Summer Stagers, parents and supporters. Tickets cost $75.
A live auction will be ongoing from June 22 to 29, where people can bid on exclusive items including vacations, celebrity golf outings, memorabilia and opening night tickets to “Dear Evan Hansen” at the Arden Theatre.
To browse items and place bids: http://32auctions.com/organizations/129139/auctions/181926.
To donate or learn more, or purchase tickets for the Gala Show at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center or the Gala Reunion Event at Drexelbrook Event Center, visit www.udsummerstage.org or call 610-321-3535.
Summer Stage will present its 50th season of shows this summer. Above is the cast of a previous Upper Darby Summer Stage production of “The SpongeBob Musical.” (COURTESY OF UPPER DARBY SUMMER STAGE)