About an hour east of San Antonio, the town of Gonzales is home to the Gonzales Crystal Theatre. This storied theater has had many lives since it first opened in 1913, drawing audiences with vaudeville shows, silent movies, and later, talkies.
It eventually closed and later morphed into a coffee house (among other things). But when it was reborn in the early 1980s, the Crystal had a very successful 20-year run as a dinner theater where local performers staged classics such as Arsenic and Old Lace, Oklahoma!, Grease, and Steel Magnolias.
Now the theater primarily focuses on the next generation of talent with its Young Program, which is the only one of its kind in the state.
The Young Program is dedicated to providing arts-in-education opportunities for youth from all backgrounds.
It includes a year-round Shakespeare Ninja Project in partnership with the University of Texas’s Shakespeare at Winedale Outreach Program, plus a summer youth workshop that's now in its 30th year.
You can catch performances throughout the year from the theater’s Young Texian troupe, including a rotation of Shakespeare plays in the summer.
In the fall, the troupe makes an appearance at the annual Come and Take It Celebration from September 30 to October 2, 2022, where you’ll see them reenacting Texas history and reading letters of remembrances.
The celebration commemorates the first shot of the Texas Revolution in 1835, which took place near Gonzales.
The troupe also commonly performs in partnership with singer-songwriter Fletcher Clark at other celebrations of Texas independence, with dramatic readings and original ballads that bring to life the history-making struggles and sacrifices of the historic fight.
Discover upcoming performances and learn more about The Gonzales Crystal Theatre here.
The theatre's Young Texian troupe performs at celebrations of Texas independence.
