about twv

Theatre West Virginia was founded as the West Virginia Historical Drama Association in 1955. The organization’s sole purpose was the creation and production of an outdoor drama that would bring tourists to the region and reinforce pride in West Virginia’s history for its citizens. With great support from the legislators, community volunteers, and civic organizations, Honey in the Rock opened at Cliffside Amphitheatre at Grandview State Park (now part of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve) near Beckley on June 27, 1961. The play by West Virginia Native Kermit Hunter (with music by Jack Kilpatrick) depicts the founding of the Mountain State in 1863.

In 1968, the outgoing Theatre West Virginia producer, Norman L. Fagan, suggested to the new producer, Ewel Cornett, that a show based on the famous Hatfield-McCoy Feud be added to the repertoire. Cornett commissioned West Virginia native Billy Edd Wheeler to write the feud play, and the musical drama Hatfields and McCoys opened June 20, 1970. Hatfields and McCoys was the only play produced that summer, and both plays ran in 1971 and later. The addition of the new play in combination with Honey in the Rock quickly doubled the attendance.

The productions became a popular tourist attraction in southern West Virginia. In 1974, Cornett assisted in reorganizing the company, forming a League of Resident Theatres (LORT) professional theater company and changing the corporation’s name to Theatre Arts of West Virginia. A branch called Theatre West Virginia began touring the state, performing classic theater works in community centers and schools. By the late 1970s, the troupe, including a traveling marionette theater, was touring the eastern United States from Florida to Pennsylvania. In the 1980s, the entire Theatre Arts operation began to refer to itself as Theatre West Virginia.

This summer, Theatre West Virginia will celebrate the 65th anniversary of Honey in the Rock and the 55th birthday of Hatfields and McCoys. Both plays continue to be produced each summer, in combination with popular theater standards such as The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, and Grease.

Facing financial troubles, the organization temporarily dissolved in 2013. However, it was announced early the next year that Theatre West Virginia would return in limited production for the 2014 season. Only Hatfields and McCoys was presented in 2014, in 17 performances beginning in July. In 2015, Theatre West Virginia returned Honey in the Rock to its schedule, with 12 performances of that drama. The theatre continues to produce these works to this day.

Theatre West Virginia regularly changes productions from year to year, with titles like Footloose and the musical Rocket Boys, based on the childhood of Homer Hickam Jr., which made its world premiere at Grandview in 2011.

Theatre West Virginia currently produces a popular summer season at Grandview, and maintains a year-round Academy training program for youth. The organization also produces a Haunted Coal Mine in conjunction with the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, and an annual production of A Christmas Carol. The Summer 2025 Season included the professional company productions Honey in the Rock, Hatfields and McCoys, Into the Woods, and the academy production Seussical The Musical. The Summer 2026 Season includes the 65th Anniversary production of Honey in the Rock and Shrek the Musical. The company plans to return Hatfields and McCoys to the repertoire after a successful “cabin campaign” to raise the funds necessary to replace the family cabins, built in 1996.

The current board and staff offer gratitude to all those who have contributed to Theatre West Virginia’s lengthy legacy.