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Albany Civic Theater outlines plans for 75th season, facility upgrades and expanded youth programming
Summary
Albany Civic Theater (ACT) told the council it is marking its 75th season with marquee and lobby renovations, a new website and a downtown facade project funded in part by a city tourism grant; ACT also plans expanded youth programming and closed‑captioned performances.
Doug Moxley, president of the Albany Civic Theater board, briefed the Albany City Council on Sept. 24 about ACT’s 2025–26 season and facility projects tied to a city tourism promotion grant.
Moxley said the season is a “season of favorites,” opened Sept. 19 with Blythe Spirit and includes Evil Dead the Musical, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of Penzance and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He described the theater as volunteer‑run since its founding in November 1950 and said the group curated a year‑long exhibit at the Albany Regional Museum for the anniversary.
The council packet materials and Moxley’s presentation said the theater used a city collaborative tourism promotion grant to replace the marquee letters and fund facade improvements for the block where the theater owns a long‑vacant building at 129 West First Avenue. Planned work includes HVAC replacements and reroofing on an acquired section of building; ACT intends to use the space for rehearsal, a second stage for smaller productions and expanded youth programming. The grant will also help provide closed captioning for two performances of each show in the season, Moxley said.
Councilors and staff remarked positively on the volunteer base and the prospective reuse of adjacent downtown space. The council did not take action; the presentation was received for information.
Ending: ACT’s plans center on preserving volunteer‑led operations while expanding accessibility and behind‑the‑scenes storage and rehearsal capacity. The project ties downtown facade work to active programming and aims to use city grant support to increase accessibility and youth offerings.
