Woodminster Amphitheater is a city-owned venue, and from the beginning was used for a variety of concerts and other performances.  In the 1950s, the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department began producing musicals and operettas in the amphitheater, and continued into the mid-1960s, when the program ended for a variety of reasons.  Around that time, Jim and Harriet Schlader moved to the area -- after Broadway careers -- to raise their growing family in California.  They were approached about lending their expertise to reinvigorating Oakland's summer theater under the stars, and Producers Associates was born and produced its first show in 1967.  This nonprofit arts organization has now been presenting the Woodminster Summer Musicals continuously for 50 years.  Producers Associates presents at least 3 big Broadway-style musicals in the facility each summer, with shows running in July, August, and September, and is Oakland's longest continually running live theater.

Oakland has been one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country for decades, but in the 1970s, racial segregation was still a fact of life in the city.  The Schladers fought that attitude with art, producing shows that would challenge the status quo, such as No Strings (which dealt with an interracial romance) in 1970, and an Oklahoma with African Americans in leading roles in 1975.

A uniquely American art form, American musical theatre has evolved considerably over the decades. Producers Associates has always remained true to its mission of presenting big, entertaining musicals from various eras. For many Oaklanders, Woodminster was their first exposure to live theatre, and they remember being brought there as children for a picnic supper and the summertime magic of music under the stars. Some of these families have been sitting in the same seats for 3 generations, and evenings at Woodminster are an annual tradition.

Woodminster offers a Kids Come Free program, designed to make live theater affordable for families, and several thousand free tickets are given to children and teens each season.  Half price group tickets have made the musicals an annual fundraiser and/or social outings for more than 100 Bay Area organizations, including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, Coast Guard Auxiliary, United Way, EDD, Rotary, Lions, and a number of other service organizations, church groups, neighborhood groups, etc. In 2016, the organization has inaugurated a half-price program for young theater-goers aged 16-30, as a friendly investment in the next 50 years.

Woodminster Summer Musicals offers paying work to professional actors, musicians, designers, choreographers, and technicians, as well as paying stipends and offering invaluable experience to teenage backstage interns and aspiring actors, singers, and dancers.  Over the last 50 years, the organization has presented 157 productions, entertaining about a million Woodminster Summer Musicals ticket holders.  The shows have been performed by more than 5000 actors, over 20% of them members of Actors Equity Association, making the organization one of the Bay Area's most reliable employers of professional actors.  The musicals have always been performed with live professional orchestras, which have included 23 different conductors and over 1800 members of Musicians Local #6.  In addition, the organization has employed 25 professional set designers, 17 lighting designers, 24 costume designers, 6 sound technicians, 18 choreographers, 6 directors, and over 1,500 young backstage interns.

The Woodminster Summer Musicals are produced with the support of a dedicated Advisory Board of Directors, long-time East Bay residents and community boosters. Over the years, Producers Associates' tenancy has helped keep the amphitheater and surrounding area maintained, discouraged vandalism, and made a number of substantial improvements to the performance facility, including audience seating as well as improved lighting and sound systems. They have worked with the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation and the City’s Parks department to facilitate a number of other improvements, and have kept their organization financially solvent for 37 years while contributing to the artistic vitality and economic health of the City of Oakland.

Producers Associates, Inc. is a nonprofit arts organization (Tax ID #94-1688232) and depends on tax-deductible contributions to supplement ticket sales. Woodminster is proud to have the support of hundreds of individuals as well as many local businesses and corporations, large and small, whose contributions help us keep live theater affordable for the families of our community.

🎥 50 years of Woodminster Summer Musicals

Above is a slideshow including images and musical memories from all 50+ years of Woodminster Summer Musicals or click on a specific decade below to see just 10 years worth at a time. Piano accompaniment by Carl Danielsen.