Port City Playhouse & Civic Opera Association Show History

These productions either took place at Port City Playhouse (now the MCT Scene Shop), at Muskegon High School, or at the Frauenthal Theater.

Port City Playhouse

Port City Playhouse got rolling in 1961 in an old church building (the former Greater Muskegon Civic Theatre) on Sanford Street, across the street from where the Muskegon High School Big Reds play football at Hackley Stadium. Starting with a production of playwright Noel Coward’s ghostly comedy of manners, “Blithe Spirit,” Port City Playhouse operated until 1983.

Civic Opera Association

Civic Opera Association was founded in 1951, when it opened with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” COA concentrated on musicals, most of them expansive. The company performed in a variety of venues, including the Central Campus auditorium at Muskegon High School and the Michigan theater which would become the Frauenthal.