Special thanks to the AJC for the article on our beloved Theatre in the Square…

in the park on the Marietta Square.

The public is invited to enjoy birthday cake, drawings for theater tickets and music by the cast of “Smoke on the Mountain.” The annual summer musical and “The 1940s Radio Hour” have been big money-makers for the theater.

This season’s first play is also drawing big crowds, said marketing director M.J Conboy.

“Turned Funny,” based on the memoirs of Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Celestine Sibley, is selling out some nights, she said. Last week, 96 percent of the seats were full.

“That’s unheard of. It’s a wonderful thing for us,” she said. “We’ve had to add two phone lines to handle the calls.”

Palmer Wells, producing director, and the late Michael Horne opened the theater with 85 seats in a freight storage room behind the former Marietta train depot. It was a low-budget venture the first three years, Wells said.

Patrons often brought cushions to pad straight-back chairs. And Wells and Horne, who worked for IBM, took turns during lunch checking the theater’s answering machine.

“There was a buzz on opening night and

we knew that this was going to work,” said Wells, 69. “For all of the ups and downs through the years, this has been amazingly satisfying.”

The theater, now at 11 Whitlock Ave., seats 225 for main stage performances and 123 at the Alley Stage at the back of the building. The theater had 3,700 season subscribers last year and a budget of more than $1.7 million.

“I can’t imagine not doing this,” said Wells. “I wouldn’t look back for a minute. I am always looking ahead.”

Information: 770-422-8369 or www.theatreinthesquare.com.