The bright lights of Broadway are only a hop‚ skip and a jump away for Smithfield, NC and Johnston County residents‚ thanks to two local community theaters committed to keeping theater alive.

Established as an offshoot of the Benson Foundation for the Arts in 1999‚ Benson Little Theatre is housed in the W.J. Barefoot Auditorium of the Benson Municipal Building. BLT produces two shows each year and draws audiences from about a 35-mile radius.

“It truly is a community theater that exists for the enjoyment and training of people in our community‚” says Noela Woodall‚ chairwoman of the Benson Foundation for the Arts.

Memorable shows from BLT’s past include Annie‚ The Sound of Music‚ Cinderella and Grease‚ all of which garnered “really good responses” from the community‚ Woodall says.

The Neuse Little Theatre has been entertaining crowds in Smithfield and Johnston County since 1973. The Neuse puts on five shows each year in the American Legion Log Cabin (known as “The Hut”) in Smithfield.

NLT’s three decades of productions have included crowd-pleasers such as Steel Magnolias‚ Arsenic and Old Lace‚ Crimes of the Heart and the hugely successful The Wizard of Oz.

Both community theaters offer educational activities for children in the summer. BLT holds two weeks of children’s theater workshops‚ and NLT offers a two-week children’s drama camp.

NLT’s children’s drama camp also teaches the basics of drama.

Learn more about the arts scene in Smithfield.