page_title: Broadway by the Bay
section_title: Move to musical theatre
hierarchical_section_title: Broadway by the Bay / History / Move to musical theatre
caption_attribution_description: English: (Generated from English Wikipedia) Broadway by the Bay/San Mateo Civic Light Opera - Members of the cast of the 1966 production of Oklahoma!
context_page_description: Broadway by the Bay, is a community-based musical theatre company located in the San Francisco Bay Area and performing in Redwood City. It also provides a "Theatre Arts Academy" offering performing arts experiences to local children. After beginning in with productions of three annual Gilbert and Sullivan productions, the company shifted its focus to modern musicals in 1966. Since then, it has produced musicals continuously in San Mateo County. In 1983, the group changed its name to Peninsula Civic Light Opera, and again in 1999, to Broadway by the Bay.
context_section_description: After presenting the three Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the San Mateo Community Theatre moved in a different direction.  Although Campagne returned, he was joined by a staff that included Kenneth L. Ton, the drama director at Capuchino High School, and Ben Denton, the choral director at Aragon High School. For the first time, in 1966, SMCT presented a classic Broadway musical: Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein.  Once again, the cast and orchestra were drawn from high school and college students throughout San Mateo County.  The performances were moved to the little theater at the College of San Mateo.  The production was a success and encouraged SMCT to produce more musicals.
  Hunt returned as a director for the 1967 production of West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.  The performances were given at the auditorium at San Mateo High School, later known as the San Mateo Performing Arts Center.  This remained the home of the company until 2011. The company continued to produce musicals each year, and later productions mixed professional and semi-professional talent with amateur singers and dancers, increasing the quality of the shows.
  The San Mateo Community Theatre became a non-profit organization in 1978. In 1983, the Board of Directors expanded the focus of the company and changed the name to Peninsula Civic Light Opera.  In 1999, a decision was made to gradually change the name to Broadway by the Bay to more accurately reflect the group's focus on Broadway-type musicals instead of light operas.
caption: Members of the cast of the 1966 production of Oklahoma!
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