Special to the Transcript
In the mid-1960s, local performing arts enthusiasts came together to form the Winthrop Playmakers, putting on numerous productions at the Memorial Auditorium. The Playmakers then found their permanent home in the early 1970s, raising enough money to purchase a decommissioned church. This building remained an active theater until it was sold in 2014.
Recently, two large binders consisting of Playmaker’s materials from 1967 to the mid-1970s were generously donated to Winthrop Public Library by Frank G. Iamelli, left to him by the late Ronald Lee Falls (1938-2005), former Winthrop resident and Playmakers member. These binders contain play books, newspaper clippings, flyers, and numerous photographs, including candid backstage and mid-performance moments. Iamelli states: “I would like to donate these Playmakers binders to the Winthrop Library in remembrance of Ron Falls, his best friend Charles E. Beattie (1931-2019) and all those talented Playmakers who made us laugh, cry and stand up and cheer over the years. Thank you.”
These binders will be available for public view at Winthrop Public Library and Museum via the main desk for the rest of the spring into the early summer. They will then be placed in the third floor museum.