Quick: Name the oldest continuously operating theater company in Colorado.

Chances are you did not guess Greeley’s Little Theatre of the Rockies, which is chugging along in its 91st summer season through ever-changing times, economics and cultural tastes.

Little Theatre is, on the one hand, the ultimate throwback company, as evidenced by its charming and unabashedly old-timey current staging of the World War II epistolary romance “Dear Jack, Dear Louise.” And yet, given its affiliation with the University of Northern Colorado’s nationally acclaimed undergrad theater program, its shows are always infused with fresh energy and fresh faces who, in short order, will be enjoying careers in Los Angeles, New York, Denver and everywhere between.

(And in some cases, like Andrea Camacho’s recent star turn as Gloria Estefan in Town Hall Arts Center’s “On Your Feet” – even before they graduate.)

The Little Theatre was founded in 1934 during the depths of the Depression by then-Colorado State College president George Frasier and the company’s first director, Helen Langworthy. At the time, Shirley Temple was just the sweetest little lollipop in America – and Adolf Hitler was becoming the führer of Germany. Broadway wouldn’t even start handing out Tony Awards for 13 more years.

By 1939, a season ticket to the Little Theatre would run you $2.50 for five plays, including “Our Town.” In 1964, young Nick Nolte was cutting his teeth as Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The company has survived two fires, a 22-summer invasion of Greeley by the Denver Broncos, and the annual Greeley Stampede, which everyone loves but stampedes all local competitors for butts in seats.

It’s been nearly impossible for all arts organizations to build audiences back to pre-COVID numbers, but many say additional post-election economic uncertainty is making 2025 particularly challenging.

The Little Theatre’s three-show summer season is expected to draw about 2,000 this summer, said Artistic Director Megan Van De Hey. That’s stable, but only about half of what the company was drawing as recently as 2009.

“The university has graciously continued to fund this program,” said Van De Hey, who is fiercely proud of the work her burgeoning student actors are delivering in a season that includes last month’s edgy musical “[title of show]” and the upcoming family crowd-pleaser “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (July 24-27).

“But you can sense that people are watching their wallets more closely. Everybody is on pins and needles right now.”  

The Little Theatre, like UNC itself, is all about preparing students for careers in TV, film and theater education. There are so many Little Theatre alumni in the Denver theater community that in Greeley, they refer to the capital city as “UNC South.”

New York might not exactly be UNC East, but the college has sent at least 55 alums into Broadway and off-Broadway shows since 1994, the school says. Recent examples include Aisha Jackson, who is currently playing Daisy Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby,” and Oscar Whitney Jr. (“Hell’s Kitchen”). Beth Malone will originate the role of Dolly Parton’s best friend when “Dolly: A True Original Musical” opens in its world premiere July 18 in Nashville. (Not a UNC grad, but Summit High School grad Mandy Moore is choreographing.)

“Dear Jack, Dear Louise” is a solid staging of Ken Ludwig’s ode to a young doctor and an aspiring actor who fall in love from different sides of the country through letters as the war threatens to end their relationship before it even begins. It stars student actors Ethan Hoover and Cate Rounds under the steady guidance of veteran Denver director Billie McBride.

“Dear Jack, Dear Louise” plays in the intimate Norton Theatre through July 13, followed by “Putnam County” in the Langworthy Theatre. Info at arts.unco.edu or 970-351-4849.