When eastern Sussex County real estate agents tout their properties, they usually note their proximity to the beach. In many parts of the area, however, some take a different tact. “When you see advertisements for house sales in Milton and in the Lewes-Ellendale area, they literally say that it’s five minutes to the theater, 10 minutes to the theater, 15 minutes to the theater. So it is being used as a selling point for people,” says John Paul Lacap, marketing director for the Milton Theatre.
In the 10-plus years since executive director Fred Munzert took over operations, the performing arts hub on Union Street has become as synonymous with Milton as the Broadkill River and horseshoe crabs.
Riding a wave
Originally opened in 1914 as the Fox Theatre, it has survived three fires and a string of nor’easters. Milton couple Glenn and Lisa Howard purchased the theater in 2013 after years of neglect. They hired Munzert, a longtime production company owner and theater manager, to run things in 2014. Under his leadership that first year, the Milton Theatre hosted 75 shows. This year, it will present about 400.
“It is definitely a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. I feel incredibly grateful,” Munzert says. “I’ve spent my whole life—since I was 14 years old—working in this industry. I tell people all the time [that] I’ve never seen anything like this. I feel like I came and jumped on a wave just as it was beginning to crest and have been privileged to ride it this many years.”
A capital campaign allowed the theater’s nonprofit arm, the Calliope Project, to purchase the theater from the Howards in 2017, along with a nearby house for artists (now there are three), and funded a partial reconstruction of the balcony. The rest of the balcony should be complete by the end of the year, pushing capacity to 350 seats. Other upgrades have included a large bar, a box office, a director’s booth, and a new sound system. The theater also plans to break ground on an education wing this month, expanding the classes and summer camp offered there.
“Our education program is sold out year-round,” Munzert says. “We have a waiting list for all of the programs.”
Broadway on the Broadkill
Along with its full slate of concerts, comedy, drag shows, and tribute acts, the Milton Theatre has become known for full-scale productions of familiar Broadway shows. The first was in 2019, with “Jesus Christ Superstar.” After a COVID-19 delay in the early 2020s, musicals returned to great success with shows like “Legally Blonde,” “Annie,” and “Heathers.” “Jersey Boys,” presented in February and March of this year, broke several theater records, with 23 performances drawing more than 5,500 attendees.
“We really have gained national attention on these shows,” Munzert says. “In 2024 alone, we had over 6,000 people nationwide audition for about 110 stage positions. We have [musicians] playing on our stage [who] play in Broadway pits. One of our [musical directors] subs on Broadway shows. It’s been phenomenal. The audience is just eating it up.”
For Darby Pumphrey, an up-and-coming actor and singer from Philadelphia, performing in these professional regional productions has been a boon to her career. She has played Janet in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” twice, took part in “Godspell,” and played the lead role of Elle Woods in the musical version of “Legally Blonde.” She has also been in several musical cabarets.
“It really feels like home to me. Every time I go back, I get the same room. I brought my dog for ‘Legally Blonde.’ I have been to all the shops in Milton and gone to Rehoboth and just done it all,” she says.
Pumphrey loves the theater’s loyal audience. “Even after the show, going to Irish Eyes across the street, you’ll see the whole group that was just in the audience, and they celebrate you. It’s like you’re a little local celebrity,” she says. “It’s so nice to have a town that appreciates the arts. You can go to [other] places where the building next door has no idea that you’re in the show there or that they’re even doing a show.”
Next up is “West Side Story,” starting July 10.
Other programming
Milton Theatre also offers a free outdoor summer concert series called Quayside@ Nite along the Broadkill each Thursday at 6 p.m. “We put up an outdoor bar and snack bar, and there is a rotating food truck every week. It’s a $5 donation to rent tables and chairs, but for the most part, it’s free—general admission. It’s become a local favorite every summer,” Lacap says. “This really stemmed from the pandemic, when we were doing outdoor shows, and the local community actually came together and donated and helped us purchase an outdoor stage for that space.”
Pride Month activities will highlight June, while Milton Zombie Fest, which drew 7,000 people last year, is set for October.
“This [theater] has transformed the town of Milton in many ways,” Munzert says. “It’s given life to a street that was quiet, with no cars, on a Friday night. And it’s given life to businesses in the area when people are lined up out the door to get their food before [a show] or to stop at the bar [afterward]. I don’t think I would have pictured this 10 years ago.”
For more information, visit the Milton Theatre website.
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