The City Island Theater Group was founded and recognized by the IRS as a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization on December 12 , 1998. It gave its first performance, Play On! in April of 1999 in Grace Episcopal Church Hall and has performed there ever since.
Over the past ten years, the group has offered the City Island community a variety of theater including two benefit performances for the PS 175 Parent Teachers Association, (Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and The Dining Room), four One Act Festivals, and four Kiddy Kabarets. Walls have not contained their talent as actors and members have participated as clowns in Fleet Week Parades, helped celebrate the 101st birthday of the City Island Bridge, Christmas caroled on the Avenue and caroled on the City Island Seaside Trolley.
Three summers found them showcasing their talent in free performances of Shakespeare in Hawkins Street Park. Trinity United Methodist Church benefited from their performance of a Murder Mystery Dinner in the past and they have sung show tunes piano bar style at the Stuyvesant Yacht Club. The past two summers saw free outdoor productions for the young people of the island. In February of 2007, CITG had the honor of producing the Pulitzer prize winning play, Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, a Bronx native. Its production on City Island was the first after closing on Broadway.
The City Island Theater Group has entertained City Island audiences with a wide range of theatrical performances at a reasonable cost. Its actors and artisans are all volunteers, many of them from the City Island community. Productions have been made possible from grants and generous contributions from the community.
