[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E145-E146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF LA PORTE LITTLE THEATER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. FRANK J. MRVAN

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 21, 2025

  Mr. MRVAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect and admiration that 
I rise to recognize the La Porte Little Theater and its 100th 
Anniversary as community members gather to celebrate this weekend on 
Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the La Porte Little Theater in the City 
of La Porte, Indiana.
  The La Porte Little Theater began with an advertisement in the local 
LaPorte Herald Argus newspaper to gauge interest in a community theater 
club. The La Porte Little Theater was founded on November 11, 1925, 
when twenty-five community members convened the first official meeting 
at the local YMCA, which was considered home base for the theater for 
many years that followed. Early on, the club presented one-act plays in 
the La Porte High School Auditorium before purchasing the St. John's 
Lutheran Church building at the corner of 3rd Street and A Street in 
1954, where it remains today. Getting the theater ready for showtime 
was truly a community effort, with Mr. Roy Kaber performing all the 
electrical wiring, Mrs. Haskell Rosenthal donating the main stage, and 
Ms. Julie Blankschein Hilbish's family donating the velvet curtains.
  Today, the La Porte Little Theater is a 200-seat community theater 
that aims to provide quality theatrical experiences to Northwest 
Indiana audiences and actors. Over the last century, the La Porte 
Little Theater has presented plays, musicals, mysteries, dramas, and 
comedies, in efforts to bring our region together through art, dance, 
song, and expression. It is because of the generations of dedicated 
volunteers who contributed their time, efforts, and talents that the La 
Porte Little Theater continues to serve as a beacon of creative 
expression for all in LaPorte County and Northwest Indiana. Through the 
years, the committed Board Members and volunteers of the La Porte 
Little Theater have selflessly dedicated their time and efforts to 
provide opportunities to youth and adults on stage and behind the 
scenes. From sidesplitting comedy to thoughtful commentary on modern 
society, hundreds of volunteers have contributed their skills and 
talents to bring stones to life on stage. Through hundreds of thousands 
of hours of rehearsal, tens of thousands of costumes, thousands of 
handmade sets, hundreds of stories brought to the stage, and one

[[Page E146]]

hundred years, the volunteers of the La Porte Little Theater are worthy 
of the highest praise.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues 
join me in honoring the La Porte Little Theater as volunteers gather to 
celebrate its 100th Anniversary and the magic of storytelling this 
Sunday, February 23, 2025.

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