Dustin Lavine believes great theater should be a mirror that reflects reality in an extraordinary way.
Lavine, executive director of the Melon Patch Theatre in Leesburg, enjoys having a hand in curating a space for the community to come together whether they are on stage or in the audience.
“For me, with acting, dancing or any of those performing arts, it becomes something very special,” Lavine said. “You get to share something with the audience and in that moment of time, you are a communal group sharing a story and feeling with each other. It’s a connection you don’t always get. I think being able to do that and touch people in that way is what really drew me to the arts.”
One of Lavine’s tasks as executive director is to help decide the shows that will be performed for the season. The 2025-26 season, the nonprofit community theater’s 74th season, has included shows such as “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Godspell” and “Nana Does Vegas.”
“I work with the board of directors and the play selection committee to choose the shows. So, it’s a bit more of a democracy than a dictatorship, which is really what you want a community theater to be,” he said. “My role is to look for different shows and try to refine that search for our board members. We have a determined goal with each show we pick.
“Our first goal is always, ‘Will it sell?’” Lavine said. “You have to pick shows that the audience wants to see to make sure you can sustain yourself. But you also have to push yourself. That’s one thing I see that I’m strong in, taking a chance — a safe chance — to push the audience to have a different experience than what they are used to. That’s very much what happened with ‘Ride the Cyclone.’”
The musical, which ended its run on April 4, told the story of six teenagers in a choir who went to limbo after being involved in a roller coaster accident. The teenagers were given the opportunity to return to life, depending on who told the best story.
“Ride the Cyclone is a show that started its fame with Gen Z,” Lavine said. “Basically, it started as a concept album, became a TikTok sensation and is very exciting among the youth. It made me question whether our general client base, which is older, would accept something that was admittedly very bizarre and was youth-driven compared to classic works that we are familiar with and safer.
“We were very blessed that this show at this point is the third most successful of the season financially, and our patrons really took to it.” Lavine said. People were enthusiastic and we were getting amazing reviews on Google and directly to us. Everyone saw the message that I saw when I originally read it. It’s a universal message about really stopping, looking around and thinking about life while you have it.”
The theater’s next production, “Going to a Place Where You Already Are,” also deals with the concept of mortality and an afterlife.
Based on a book written by Bekah Brunstetter, the play takes the audience through life, death and the afterlife via a grandmother’s claim that she went to heaven and returned.
The show opens 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, and continues at 7 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays through May 17 at the theater, 122 W Main St., Leesburg. Tickets cost $15 for students and $24 for adults.
“It’s a lesser-known work,” Lavine said, “which I do like to throw one or two of those into the season. It has such a poignant message about life, the afterlife and family. It’s funny and it’s sad then happy sad. It goes into some of the same questions that ‘Ride the Cyclone’ has. They all deal with that question of beliefs and the afterlife each in their own unique way.”
Community theaters such as the Melon Patch Theatre give a platform to amateur actors who have a love for being on stage, like Sumter County Commissioner Andrew Bilardello.
Bilardello performed in the theater’s production of “Murder on the Orient Express” and will be the off-stage narrator for “Going to a Place Where You Already Are.”
“I learned about auditions for ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ when I was walking through downtown Leesburg and saw the flier that they were looking for actors,” Bilardello said. “I said, ‘What the heck. Why not.’ I got cast to play two characters and had a fantastic time.”
“I have about 40 years of experience in law enforcement and now am a county commissioner, so I’m a little outside of my comfort zone,” he said. “But this is awesome. Before this, I hadn’t been on stage since high school in 1974. This helps give me something to do. It is a great opportunity for actors and it’s good for the community. People are able to get out of the house for a few hours, they can go get dinner at a restaurant downtown. They can have dinner and a show.”
Lavine agreed theater provides the community with a unique experience.
“Theater is more beautiful when you give the audience a chance to connect,” he said. “Being able to foster that has been very exciting and challenging. Getting to be able to put my mark on the theater in the area has been very special to me as well.”
To purchase tickets for “Going to a Place Where You Already Are,” or to learn more about the Melon Patch Theatre, visit melonpatchplayers.org.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
