About the Theater
A theater the town built for itself in 1976 — with no government money, a printer's challenge, and a community that answered it. Fifty seasons on, it is still run by the people who fill its seats.
How it started
The idea began in 1974 with a challenge. Richard McCleery, founder of the McCleery-Cummings Company — the local firm that printed calendars in Washington County — offered to put up the first $500,000 toward a proposed $750,000 community center, if the town came up with the rest.
The community rose to it, and then some. When the cost of the building climbed to a million dollars, so did the contributions. It was a thoroughly community-oriented building: no government funds were used, and the three lowest bids for its construction came from local companies.
When the Washington Community Center opened in 1976, it became the permanent home of a community theater tradition that was already thirty-five years old. It has since housed Y's Men's revues, HARP Players, high school productions, dance competitions, touring performances and countless local events. In 2015 the WCC Presents series began bringing regional and national talent to town.
I don't feel that art is a frivolous extra. Art in all its forms can set the tone of a community. A place like this gives the people a place to express it.
Richard McCleery, Des Moines Sunday Register, September 26, 1976
Our mission
The Washington Community Center shall support and provide a home for community organizations, highlighting the talents of local performers, artists and ensembles as well as hosting regional, national and international touring productions.
480
Seats in the house
36′
Proscenium opening
25
Linesets on the fly system
1976
First season
Who runs it
Volunteers. Directors, actors, designers, set builders, ushers and the people selling concessions at intermission are all neighbors giving their evenings to the show. A manager on staff keeps the building and the calendar running.
Mark Fischer
Manager & Technical Director
Joined in 2026 from the 4th Street Theatre and the Moberly Council of the Arts in Moberly, Missouri.
Milestones
Richard McCleery challenges Washington to match his gift and build a theater.
The Washington Community Center opens. The first production is Of Thee I Sing.
WCC Presents begins bringing regional and national touring talent to town.
The fiftieth season. A new emblem by Kayla Schindler, a ribbon-cutting with two performers from the 1976 cast, and a Golden Gala to come.
The people who built it
Fifty seasons of volunteers have kept the lights on. A few of the founders, board members and longtime volunteers who gave the theater its start and saw it through.
Founders
Richard H. "Dick" McCleery
Challenged Washington in 1974 to match his gift, then matched it again. The Washington Community Center and its McCleery Auditorium opened October 2, 1976.
Sara McCleery
Washington High School and Stephens College graduate and a schoolteacher before her marriage. With Dick, the donor behind the building, and together they chose the opening show, Of Thee I Sing.
Dave Elder
Publisher of the Washington Evening Journal, Y's Men's director and actor, and president of the original Washington Community Theater board.
Leon Hilfman
Served on the original Building Committee and the WCT board, then directed or performed in at least 25 productions, including his best-remembered role, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
Past Board & Longtime Volunteers
Mike Kramme
High school drama director turned theater professor who designed, built and directed at WCT from Barefoot in the Park onward, and mentored a generation of Washington theater people.
Helen Thorne
Costumer, set designer and occasional villain who, with Margaret Wolf, dressed dozens of WCT shows and every high school production at the Center for years.
Cal & Margaret Wolf
Margaret designed and created costumes for dozens of WCT productions alongside Helen Thorne, a partnership that began when their paint and fabric colors first clashed on Showboat.
Mike Worley
The local electrician who ordered, installed and ran the Center's lighting and sound for more than twenty years, all as a volunteer.
Joan "Jo" Ross
Sold tickets for the Y's Men's plays, then ran the WCT box office for decades, saving regulars their Saturday-night seats. At 100, still a fan.
Served on the board, or know someone who did? Send a photo and a few lines to manager@wctheater.com and we will add them here.