There are a lot of great things happening right under our noses that we are just learning about at Scenic 98 Coastal. We need to get out more…

A couple of weeks ago, we were at Red or White with friends, and they were clamoring about how spectacular the Beauty and the Beast play that was performed the previous weekend and how wonderful the “do-it-all” Erin Langley, Executive Director, is. “You have to do a story!” The next day, Frances McGowin called, saying she went to the play with her nieces and nephews, and it was one of the best things she had ever seen.

Frances immediately scheduled a meeting with Erin.  After hearing everything she has going on, how she found the time to stop and visit with us is still a mystery!  

The 10th Annual Theater on the Bluff in Fairhope has just wrapped up, and  Erin doesn’t have much time to catch her breath because their summer programs are ramping up soon. I have a distinct feeling there is always a lot going on at the Eastern Shore Repertory Theater.

I asked Erin about how she arrived in this position. She was born in Portland, Maine. She says her first introduction to the theater was when her grandfather took her to see a local production of The Sound of Music at age seven. “I fell in love with theater immediately,” she says. Then her father was transferred to Fairhope. 

“There were very few theater opportunities for children in Fairhope when we moved here.. There was one other kid, David Scott, who was interested in theater, and we looked everywhere in the area to find something with which to get involved. There really  wasn’t anything.”

Erin attended Springhill College in Mobile and earned her degree in Elementary Education. She met her husband, Karl Langley, who also earned his Elementary Education degree at the University of Mobile. They both began their careers teaching 2nd and 3rd grade in the Baldwin County School System.

Being young and hopeful, Karl quit his teaching job after two years to pursue a music career. He is now the drummer for The Marlow Boys, who just happened to be the Live at Five Concert Series feature band the evening after our visit. Small world! Karl and his brother, from Marlow near Fish River, started the group, playing and singing, and they are really good!

Erin left teaching one year later and started working with a regional theater company. This theater company traveled to schools all over the Southeast, bringing a positive character-building message through theater. Erin wrote three original scripts, and the company performed one show all year long.

“I’ve been directing and producing theater in Fairhope since 2005.  First, I created a company called Jitterbug Theater Productions, where I wrote and toured schools in Baldwin County. In 2012, I created the nonprofit organization Eastern Shore Repertory Theater.” 

Three years later, Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation (FEEF) reached out to Erin to hire her as an artist in residence. From 2010 to 2012, she worked with schoolchildren in the Baldwin County School System, directing a few shows. “Most of these kids performing in the shows had never been exposed to the theater in their lives, didn’t even know what live theater was, and performing was the first time they had ever seen any theater before. It was eye-opening.”

Erin stays involved with Music Theater International, located in New York City, which is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies. They often ask Erin to try out new pilot production shows before they license the scripts. She has written several scripts herself, and the kids in her program perform the plays to gauge audience acceptance before taking them to broader audiences. 

ESRT is located in Daphne near May Day Park on Captain O’Neal Drive. Many of the shows, auditions, and rehearsals are performed there throughout the year. There is always something going on, and Erin is the only full-time employee. She does have a part-time assistant, but the rest are all volunteers.

Eastern Shore Repertory Theater company’s reputation has grown over the years, and is considered to be one of the best children’s programs in the country. Since the first production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2014, they have performed dozens of shows. The two main productions each year are Theater on the Bluff, performed on the Bluff at the Municipal Pier Park in Fairhope each spring. It is a spectacular setting that adds to the performance. She also does a show at the Fairhope Civic Center in the fall. 

It’s worth noting that David Scott, Erin’s childhood friend, now works for Disney Theatrical Productions in New York City. He helped create Theatre on the Bluff with Erin and returns every year to be involved in some capacity. He has co-directed at times and designs the lighting every year.

This is what Frances McGowin had to say after seeing Beauty and the Beast: 

Recently, I attended my first children’s theater on the Bluff to see the production of Beauty and the Beast. Erin Langley was the director and producer. I was a theatergoer when I lived in New York and in Montgomery, where I had seen Beauty and the Beast at the Shakespeare Festival. There was something about having the sunset over the Bay in the first act of the play that set the tone for a spectacularly engaging performance.

The talent in the play was made up of all local actors who energized the spectators as they stepped on the stage. The music, the costumes, and the choreography were stunning, adding to the professionalism of the cast and their director/producer, Erin Langley. It was all captivating. 

Community theater, especially the award-winning Eastern Shore Repertory Theater, Is a treasure and pillar in the arts community of Eastern Shore. The cast of 90 actors and the support staff of another 100 people are our friends and neighbors who volunteer their time to bring us a uniquely energized interactive evening unparalleled by Broadway.

Now that the big Spring production is behind Erin, there is no real break. The Summer Program is beginning with programs for kids ages six to seniors in high school. ESRT musicals run all season long. Open casting calls invite anyone interested to try out; no experience is necessary.  

A free “Celebrate Theater” outreach program provides a way for anyone to find their niche and get involved with theater. Kids Academy Theater is a program for 1st through 6th-grade students with classes directed by Darby Dempsey. Paid internships are available to help run the summer programs. and many of the interns are former ESRT performers.

The Eastern Shore Repertory Theater has traveled to New York City to perform in the Naumburg Bandshell for the last two years. “We received special permission from Stephen Schwartz to perform the 50th-anniversary production of Godspell in Central Park and the production of Newsies Jr in Central Park in 2022.” 

It’s also encouraging that many ESRT graduates have received theater and dance scholarships to prestigious universities and have been very successful in the world of professional theater. Many are returning to get involved whenever they can. 

So how does Erin get it all done? Over one hundred Auxiliary Volunteers work throughout every area of the production, including set and costume design, and they raise funds through concessions, ticket sales, sponsorships, and grants.   

A Board of Directors helps  Erin oversee the theater's needs. Marti Foster is the current Board Chair and also participates in the productions. I’m told she has a beautiful voice. IMPACT 100 has made two large grants for specific program use, and many community leaders are actively involved. The next goal is to create a foundation and an endowment to provide a steady source of funding for the future. Erin wants to ensure that the theater company builds a solid foundation to continue providing life-changing experiences long after her tenure is done.

Discussions are currently underway for collaborations with Auburn University’s theater program. The University of Alabama continues to recruit ESRT students to its Theater and Dance program. As its reputation grows, more and more opportunities are coming into play (pun intended). This is a testament to Erin’s vision to build a first-class theater organization along the Eastern Shore.

“This is a community effort, both public and private,” she says. “We really try to spread it out.” She encourages anyone who wants to get involved to go to the website to see what talents they can bring to the organization. “We have had people from Mobile to Pensacola get involved.” 

She goes on to say, “We’ve had lots of conversations through the years. People were skeptical at first, but now we have complete buy-in.” Frances remarked, “It’s like the community and the setting are part of the show.”

To her many credits, Erin was a finalist for a Tony Award and has received the Excellence in Theater Education Award. She has also been named a Quality of Life Recipient by the City of Fairhope, 40 under 40 by Mobile Bay Magazine, Best Baldwinian by Lagniappe Magazine, 2022 Alabama Council on the Arts Theatre Fellow, 2019 Directors Lab West Fellow (Los Angeles, CA) and a Freddie Gershon Fellow (NYC) in 2015. She is also a board member of the Alabama Arts Alliance. 

Congratulations on ten years, Erin. It’s a remarkable story of talent and perseverance! You have changed the landscape for so many people by giving them the opportunity to be involved and do what they love. We are so fortunate that your dad was transferred to Fairhope!

Stay tuned and purchase tickets early. Every show is a sellout!

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