Since its inception in 1993, the privately owned Lycian Centre for the Performing Arts has been working to become the “preferred” arts and entertainment destination in the mid-Hudson Valley and the surrounding region. As an equity theatre, the Lycian’s theatrical productions encompass all aspects of the performing arts, including true Broadway theatre, professional dance, musical concerts and more, pairing outstanding professional quality, sophistication, and talent with extraordinary country ambiance to create a unique cultural experience for all ages.
Located in Orange County, the fastest growing County in the state of New York, the Lycian is situated on eight park-like acres in Sugar Loaf, one of the County’s most picturesque villages. Overlooking Sugar Loaf Mountain and Creamery Pond, the Centre is comprised of:
•Lycian Centre Mainstage - a state-of-the-art, 689-seat professional theatre;
•Pavilion Theatre - a 250-seat, specially designed interactive theatre;
•Lycian Centre Galleries - a large visual art exhibition space in the Centre’s current 1,000 square-foot Lobby;
•Lycian Park - the perfect 3-acre country setting for outdoor theatrical events overlooking the pond.
The Lycian Centre has successfully endeavored to produce and present exciting and entertaining works, striking a balance of genres and styles while maintaining the highest levels of creative and production quality.
Since the Lycian Centre opened its doors in 1993, it has played host to more than 300,000 people from New York State, northern New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and has been home to more than 250 theatrical productions. A small sampling of past musicals, many of which were presented by national and international touring companies, includes Cabaret, A Christmas Carol, Chicago, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bye Bye Birdie, Footloose and Grease, as well as plays such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Equus, On Golden Pond, Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet with the National Shakespeare Company.
Celebrated Broadway stars like Chita Rivera, Julie Harris, Ben Vereen, John Amos, and Richard Kiley, as well as comedy headliners like George Carlin and Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara have performed at the Lycian to great acclaim. Film and television stars such as Loretta Swit, Jack Klugman, Troy Donohue, Barry Williams, Joyce DeWitt, Jamie Farr, and Mackenzie Phillips have also signed their names on the dressing room walls at the Lycian. Musical performances by outstanding talent such as Don McLean, Judy Collins, Rita Coolidge, Peter Noone, Tom Chapin, Arlo Guthrie and American Idol finalists Diana DeGarmo and Kimberley Locke, as well as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Mantovani Orchestra and the United States Military Academy Jazz Knights, have drawn capacity audiences. Further examples of the broad scope of the Centre’s offerings include thrilling dance performances by the New York City Ballet, the Russian National Ballet, the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, Parsons Dance, and various presentations of The Nutcracker, performed by the New Jersey Ballet, the Eglevsky Ballet, and the Russian Ice Ballet.
Kings Theatre Company was created in 1998 as a professional, not-for-profit theatre production company whose primary focus was to co-produce in-house theatre events for the Lycian Centre for the Performing Arts. In conjunction with the Lycian Centre, Kings Theatre Company created such professional theatre productions as Little Shop of Horrors, Godspell, Man of La Mancha, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and They’re Playing Our Song. In addition to these adult theatre performances, Kings Theatre Company also produced all of the Children’s Theatre performances presented on the Pavilion Theatre stage. Some of these special children's and family theatrical productions have included Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Beauty and the Beast, Narnia, Winnie the Pooh, Pocketful of Rhymes and Sleeping Beauty.
