Chino Community Theatre celebrates 25 years

To celebrate a quarter century of stagecraft in Chino, past and present actors and crew members at the Chino Community Theatre will put on a show at 8 tonight and Saturday at the theater, 13123 Seventh St.

The presentation features scenes and songs from the past 25 years. 

A courtyard reception will be at 6:30 on both nights. The reception will include appetizers and desserts from local restaurants.

Performers will include theater president Paul Larson, artistic director Gracie Arvizu and longtime actress and former theater board member Michelle Knight.

"This has been a really successful theater," Knight said. "It's known throughout the Inland Empire as being a theater that does quality work every season, does things a little edgier and does family fare. There's something for everybody. So we're celebrating with a retrospective of snippets from shows in the past 25 years."

Larson has been with the troupe since its started at the old Chino community hall on 10th and B streets. The troupe moved to its present location in the early 1990s.

"There's a real sense of community," Larson said. "I think that's what it is when you get involved in the theater, you do it for yourself and, all of a sudden, you're in the middle of this, and the theater becomes more important. Some people come here for their fellowship and friends who they trust. Friendships here last a lifetime."

The 25th anniversary show will be a trip down memory lane, said Arvizu, who has been with the theater for the past 17 years.

"You really flash back to seven years and back to 10 years and what your life was like at the time and the productions that were going on, and you're remembering the people that you grew up with," Arvizu said.

Information: (909) 590-1149