To celebrate the conclusion of their 97th season, the Community Players of Concord came together for an annual meeting including a pot-luck dinner and the presentation of a number of theatrical awards.

Rick and Jemi Broussard won the Karen Braz Children’s Theatre Project award, presented by Children’s Theatre Project director Karen Braz, for their dedication to local children’s theatre. The pair has designed and built props including dancing snakes, whipped-cream bazookas and fire-breathing dragons for such shows as “The Wind in The Willows,” “The Hobbit” and “The Reluctant Dragon.”

The popular Players’ Osy Strong Award was recently renamed “The Strong Award – In memory of Osmond and Harriet Strong” to include recognition of Harriet Strong, who played leading roles in the 1930s and 1940s and went on to become a director of large-scale Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals at Concord City Auditorium in the ‘50s. This year’s recipient of The Strong Award was four-time group president Ellen Burger, who led the organization through the pandemic crisis and helped them with a studio renovation and a number of successful fundraising initiatives.

The Community Players’ 98th season will begin with a free theatre camp show, Disney’s “Moana Jr.” on August 8th, followed by the Children’s Theatre fall show, “Something Rotten! Jr.,” which celebrates the the Players’ 30th anniversary. Mainstage productions begin with “The Addams Family” musical, November 21, 22 and 23, followed by a new take on Sherlock Holmes by Kate Hamill, “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson Apt. 2B “on February 13, 14 and 15. Concluding the season will be the drama “To Kill A Mockingbird,” adapted by Christopher Sergel from Harper Lee’s famous novel – on May 1, 2, 3, 2026. Information about the Community Players can be found at communityplayersofconcord.org. All shows are at Concord City Auditorium and tickets go on sale later this summer.