A damsel in distress. Boo. Hiss. ‘To be or not to be’ from Shakespeare. “There’s no business like”….community theater.

Grasse River Players started in 1974 with a small group of theater lovers in Canton wanting to build an outlet for creativity. Community actors, singers and theater technicians started out doing summer musicals in conjunction with a  summer stagecraft class at St Lawrence University.

Now, fifty years later, this homegrown band of performers continue to bring community theater to the region. We are lucky to have the whole of the North Country our theatre space – Pickens Hall, Edwards Opera House, The Russell Theatre, Remington Museum, college stages, churches, high school auditoriums, restaurants. We produce musicals, plays, revues, murder mysteries, readers’ theatre.

From 2012-2021, GRP partnered with the Colton Historical Society and Colton-Pierrepont Central School to form the Sunday Rock Legacy Project. Each year a summer musical was produced which was tied to an historical theme about Colton and surrounding areas. For example, one year we did “Pump Boy’s and Dinettes.” The program guide highlighted all the sites along Rt 56. When we did “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,” the theme was ‘the fabric of our lives.’ Quilts made by local women artisans dressed the stage and audience seating area.

GRP has a platform to create children's drama workshops. Members have written new plays like SPIRIT WHISPERS ON THE GRASSE about the residents of Canton’s County Home. It premiered at St Lawrence University and garnered repeat performances at the Potsdam Library and Silas Wright Museum. THE COZY MITTEN, a musical for children, was created by Barbara Burdick. Art Johnson has written dozens of murder mysteries that have been done for many non-profit organizations. As we continue our love of theatre, we invite new people to join us in our creativity.

Who We Are