35 Years of Illuminating Musical Theatre
In 2026 we are celebrating our 35th anniversary! Over the course of the year, we are excited to bring you a special series spotlighting the people, moments, and milestones that make Broadway Rose what it is today.
Whether you’ve been here since day one or have just joined us—you belong at Broadway Rose, and we look forward to sharing the journey with you.
Our first spotlight begins here, with big dreams and high hopes, when four New York City actors and artists (married couple Sharon Maroney and Dan Murphy, along with partners Matthew Ryan and Joseph Morkeys) planned to open a professional summer stock theatre in Tigard.
After pooling their savings, securing the Deb Fennell Auditorium, and hiring eight actors and a musical director from New York, they headed out to Oregon.
Broadway Rose opened its first production on July 2, 1992. With as few as 30 in the audience during the run, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat gave us our humble start.
While Matthew and Joseph eventually moved back to New York, Sharon and Dan continue to lead Oregon's premier musical theatre company.
During the first decade of operation at Broadway Rose, attendance steadily grew each summer, and by 2001 with Phantom, performances began to sell out.
As the theatre earned a reputation for producing exceptional musical productions, the company dreamed of one day becoming a year-round theatre. To that end, management started offering special events throughout the year, hired additional staff, expanded the board of directors, and began exploring the feasibility of obtaining and operating its own theater venue.
The company presented its first annual holiday show at Tualatin High School, A Taffeta Christmas, in 2001. The following year the company launched a series of cabarets—adding play readings in 2004—at Tigard Friends Community Church, filling the 240-seat venue. The two series continued through 2008.
With four main stage shows, two children’s productions, and six special events being offered each year, Broadway Rose had laid the groundwork at becoming a year-round theatre. The next goal: obtaining a permanent theater home.
Broadway Rose is committed to the development of new musicals, working with new and established artists—both local and national—to help them develop their work.
From staged readings to fully produced world premieres like Ripper in 2011, which was supported by a National Endowment of the Arts grant, Broadway Rose offers a rare opportunity for writers to develop their work while supporting them with a production team, actors, and musicians—and most important, an audience to watch and respond to their musical.
Through our long-standing membership with the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and their New Works Festival, as well as recommendations from trusted theatre colleagues, we often produce the second or third staging of a new musical, helping propel writers and their work further into the national pipeline. Examples include: Pete ‘n’ Keely, The Case of the Dead Flamingo Dancer, Getting to Know You, Adrift in Macao, Fly By Night, Trails, Ordinary Days, Up and Away, Loch Lomond, The Evolution of Mann, The Double-Threat Trio, Triangle, and In Clay.
For 35 years, our dedication to new work has helped elevate emerging voices and shape the future of musical theatre.
By the 2000s, Broadway Rose was ready to perform theatre year-round. Performances were selling out, and the lineup of productions only continued to grow. However, one thing was still missing: a permanent place to call home.
In 2006, Broadway Rose approached the Tigard/Tualatin School District with plans to renovate an abandoned building on the C.F. Tigard Elementary School campus and turn it into a 270-seat state-of-the-art theater, and the school board approved.
The company signed a twenty-year lease with the School District and began a two-million-dollar fundraising campaign for the renovation in 2007 which included major foundation support from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Collins Foundation, Ann and Bill Swindells Charitable Trust, and the Paul G. Allen Foundation.
On December 3, 2008, theater and administrative offices, designed by Soderstrom Architects and built by Robert Gray Partners, was completed and aptly named The New Stage. The inaugural performance of Celebrate Home - A Broadway Rose Christmas opened for an audience of donors just hours after the final inspection, and Broadway Rose officially achieved its goal of becoming a year-round theatre company!
As a nonprofit organization, Broadway Rose knows the necessity of asking for support. We also understand how important it is to share our experience and resources with other nonprofit and civic organizations whenever we can to help build and strengthen our community.
Our staff volunteers for and mentor other arts, education, and nonprofit groups, as well as serve on the boards of various organizations. They participate as active members of Chamber of Commerce groups, arts alliances, and service organizations.
We work with the Tigard-Tualatin School District to help bring live theatre to local students, and host an annual children’s production logo contest for students in kindergarten through 5th grade at a local elementary school in conjunction with the TTSD Schools Art Literacy program.
Broadway Rose has become a cultural hub for the City of Tigard Government and throughout Washington County. We regularly welcome community groups and nonprofits to our building as many do not have their own spaces to meet and grow. We’ve hosted all kinds of events like fundraisers, political debates, trainings, and educational seminars for various organizations. We are so proud to serve as a community resource while continuing to excel in our artistic programming!
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and to celebrate we’re highlighting the incredible women who have lit up the Broadway Rose stage for the last 35 years! From Sheryl McCallum singing the first note in our very first production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1992 to Malia Tippets starring in the one-woman show In Clay earlier this year.
Leading ladies have wowed us with powerhouse eleven-o’clock numbers and show-stopping dance breaks. In addition, fiercely talented women have brought heart and humor to supporting roles, while multi-talented ensemble members have delivered unforgettable performances for our audiences. We are deeply grateful to all the extraordinary women who have graced our stages and shared their talent and passion with our community. Who are some of your favorites?
Since 2001 Broadway Rose Theatre has been a proud member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), a nonprofit service organization dedicated to advancing the creation, development, and production of new musical theatre.
Founded in 1985, NAMT supports a national network of member theatres and organizations through professional development, collaboration, and advocacy. It is best known for its annual Festival of New Musicals in New York, which showcases new works in development and connects writers with producers and industry leaders. The festival is where Broadway Rose found many of the new shows we have produced including our recent production of In Clay. Dan Murphy served on the festival reading committee for several years, and both Sharon Maroney and Dan Murphy have served on the board of directors.
NAMT holds two conferences each year bringing together executive and artistic leaders and marketing and development professionals. These conferences feature panels and workshops led by top executives and creative professionals in the industry which provide valuable networking and learning opportunities.
Our leadership team often serve as panelists sharing successful Broadway Rose strategies with other national theatres. Broadway Rose is proud to have hosted this year’s spring conference titled Go with The Flow: Navigating Fundraising in 2026. Thank you NAMT for contributing to Broadway Rose’s success over the years by sharing resources, building relationships, and nurturing musical theatre.
Donors are the reason Broadway Rose Theatre has existed for 35 years—plain and simple.
They do more than help fund productions; they make our mission possible. Ticket sales cover only a portion of what it takes to produce professional musical theatre. Donors bridge that gap, ensuring Broadway Rose can hire artists, build sets and costumes, and maintain a high standard of quality while keeping tickets accessible. But their impact goes beyond the stage.
They support our access programs so more people can experience live theatre. They help Broadway Rose build community and remain a welcoming space. They sustain growth — from the opening of the New Stage and expanding our space to future artistic risks and new works. They invest in artists, staff, and the next generation of theatergoers.
From our very first donor, Gail Stuckenschneider, to our most recent contributor, and every donor in between, we say thank you!
Broadway Rose donors aren’t just supporters—they’re partners in our story, helping bring each production to life and ensuring that live theatre continues to thrive in our community.
A theatrical set designer has a lot to balance—translating story into space while navigating budgets, timelines, collaboration and compromise, engineering and safety, scene changes and flow, venue limitations, performer support, audience perspective, and emotional impact.
In many ways, set designers are magicians, and Broadway Rose has been fortunate to work with some truly remarkable Houdinis over the years. Today, we celebrate some of local set designers who have made a lasting impact on our stages throughout the past 35 years.
Joseph Morkys: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1992), Fiddler on the Roof, Little Shop of Horrors (1994), Dames at Sea
Chris Whitten: Have a Nice Day, Plaid Tidings, The Will Rogers Follies, Pump Boys and Dinettes, The Bikinis, Church Basement Ladies
Gene Dent: Always…Patsy Cline, Ripper, Gypsy
Sean O’Skea: No Way to Treat A Lady, Band Geeks, Hairspray, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Fly By Night, Into the Woods, Honky Tonk Laundry, The Evolution of Mann, Waitress
Robert Vaughn: Beehive, Your Holiday Hit Parade, A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol, Analog & Vinyl
Bryan Boyd: Oklahoma!, Mamma Mia!, Don’t Hug Me, Home for the Holidays, The Spitfire Grill, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Grease (2025)
Larry Larsen: Adrift in Macao, Snapshots, In Clay
Emily Wilken: Ordinary Days, Once, Trails
Tyler Buswell: Sh-Boom! Life Could be a Dream, 8-Track: The Sounds of the 70s, Christmas in Door County, Dear Evan Hansen
For 35 years, incredible men have taken the stage at Broadway Rose. From Bobby Belfry, the first leading man who helped launch our inaugural production in 1992 (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) to the standout performance of Ryan Burton in our recent production of Dear Evan Hansen, leading men have captivated audiences with soaring vocals, magnetic presence, and unforgettable characters.
Across the years, actors have brought depth, humor, and heart to every role—from romantic heroes to comedic scene-stealers—while versatile ensemble performers have powered each production with energy and precision. These artists have helped shape the sound, strength, and spirit of Broadway Rose productions.
We are deeply grateful to all the extraordinary men who have shared their talent and passion with our stage and our community.
Before the show begins there is a moment—quiet, expectant—when the theater is dark.
And then, the lights come up.
For 35 years at Broadway Rose, lighting designers have collaborated to bring each production fully to life. They paint with light—balancing precision with artistry, technology with instinct—crafting moments that linger long after the curtain falls.
Lighting designers don’t just shine a light on stage—they reveal what matters. They guide the audience’s eye, shape emotion, and create atmosphere in ways that are felt more than seen. A love story deepens in a soft wash. A moment of heartbreak lands in shadow. A finale bursts into brilliance, lifting the room to its feet.
Perhaps you recall the exceptional light designs that brought life to an Argentine tango parlor, a Broadway stage, a nightclub in Macao, a New York skyline, a New York Museum, an alley in Dublin, a royal ball, a forest, or a Parisian apartment.
Today we celebrate all of the lighting designers that have brilliantly illuminated our stages.
Check back here throughout 2026 for more memories, moments, and highlights from our 35 years of locally produced musical theatre!
