The Melon Patch Players recently kicked of its 2026-27 season that will include six shows, a special engagement and a special film premiere for its 75th season.
“It’s been a lot. We are trying to continue the momentum by getting ready for the second full season in the new space — it’s been a mad dash,” said Dustin Lavine, executive director of the Leesburg nonprofit community theater.
Since its debut in 1951, the Melon Patch Players has produced more than 400 live community productions. The troupe performed in an elementary school auditorium, The Women’s Club and Leesburg’s Community Building before the City of Leesburg donated a building, 311 North 12th St., as its permanent home. In January 2025, it moved to the historic Tropic Theater, 122 W Main St.
“Previously, we worked a lot on the audience experience. Now, we are trying to help with the actor experience,” Lavine said. “We’ve been doing a lot of small things that audience members may not necessarily notice, like reworking some of the backstage to make sure everything is on the up and up. The happier the actors are, the better the shows are.”
The Melon Patch Players opened its new season on Aug. 21 with “Rehearsal for Murder,” a play adapted from a made-for-TV movie.
What starts out as a standard rehearsal for a playwright and the cast and crew turns into a real-life murder mystery.
Lavine said it’s a unique murder-mystery because of the setting.
“The Villages’ audience really loves a good murder-mystery,” he said. “Last season’s Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ was our best-selling show of all time. This season, we went with a lesser-known murder-mystery, but one that is thematic in the way it takes place in the theater. The audience, though not having to participate directly, get to be immersed in the experience because the whole theater is used.”
“Rehearsal for Murder” will run through Sept. 6, with Friday and Saturday shows starting at 7 p.m. and Sunday matinees starting at 2 p.m. Tickets for adults are $25 per person and $15 for students with ID.
For the first time, the Melon Patch Players is hosting a special film premiere. There will be two showings of “Greetings from Florida,” at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 12. The documentary by Matt Wilcox explores Florida’s history through vintage postcards.
Wilcox said he is excited the Melon Patch Theatre is screening his film he has yet to show anyone.
“My business plan is to make independent films that we can show at historic theaters across the state of Florida,” said the Brooksville-based filmmaker. “The relationship I have with Melon Patch is fantastic because it is a true partnership where we both benefit and can give back to the community. I’m hoping to bring in people from all over Central Florida to Downtown Leesburg.”
Along with a chance to hear from the filmmaker and learn the research that went into the documentary, the event will explore how postcards were keepsakes of early tourism and often served as guides to find famous landmarks.
“I want people to learn about Florida history from 1920 to the 1960s,” Wilcox said. “Without giving too much away, it will take you through railroad tycoons, the Great Depression and the late ‘40s and ‘50s. There’s a few little things that you may know, but may not know well, so there’s a lot to learn.”
Lavine is hoping the film premiere will lead to more screenings in the future.
“I love the fact that it is bringing the story of Florida to the big screen,” Lavine said. “Matt’s done great work and research for the film. For the local audience it will be very interesting to see the story and have the filmmaker here. I think it will also bring a new audience for us.”
After the curtains close on the murder-mystery and the credits roll on the film premiere, the theater will put on a special engagement of “The Addams Family,” in partnership with Soul Men Productions.
The musical comedy — which will run from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1 — will explore how the Addams family, particularly Gomez, the family patriarch, fairs when daughter Wednesday falls in love with a “normal” boy and the family must host the boy and his parents for dinner.
“We did that 10 years ago and it was a huge success,” Lavine said. “We’d like to bring back that excitement.”
Tickets for the show will be $28 for adults and $15 for students with ID.
The last production of the 2026 will be “Every Christmas Story Ever Told and Then Some.”
From “Frosty the Snowman” to “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” the 90-minute play will feature three actors combining every Christmas story they know with crazy costumes and strategic special effects. The play will be showing at the theater from Dec. 4 to Dec. 20. Tickets for adults are $25 per person and $15 for students with ID.
The performance lineup for the first half of 2027 is already solidified with three plays on the playbill schedule.
“Peter Pan Goes Wrong” will play from Jan. 22 to Feb. 7. “Pictures from Home” will play from April 30 to May 16 and “No Exit” will show from June 11 to June 27.
After a year in its current location, Lavine said the theater will continue to provide live entertainment and access to the arts to patrons.
“We went very bold this season,” he said. “We have always done one or two musicals, but it seems the plays are what are selling best — not necessarily the musicals. Though we do have a special engagement with an outside production (company) with ‘Addams Family,’ the remaining shows of the season are all plays — comedy, mystery and a little mix. We wanted to see how that would go and if that is something that our audience really liked. Thus far, ticket sales show they are just as excited about plays.”
For more information about the Melon Patch Players, visit melonpatchplayers.org or call 352-787-3013.
