Garrison landmark has hosted hundreds of shows

A rare bird has reached a milestone. The Philipstown Depot Theater, co-sponsored by the town and operated by a nonprofit, is celebrating 30 years in the second grand old depot at Garrison's Landing. The first depot, moved across the street in the 1890s, is now a part of Antipodean Books.

Over three decades, The Depot Theater has staged 90 plays and musicals, more than 180 youth productions, the long-running Depot Docs series, musical performances, storytelling and modern dance. Its latest production, The Heart Sellers, opens tonight (May 1); Amy Dul, the Depot's executive director since 1998, says that over the past two years it has been the most-produced play by theater groups in the U.S.

Two weeks from now, on May 17, the theater will host its annual gala and highlight the past and future: It plans to soon build a 6,000-square-foot storage, rehearsal and education center near the town Recreation Center on Route 9D. The theater will pay for and construct the structure, then dedicate it to the town, which will provide a 99-year lease.

Built like a tank, the former depot at Garrison's Landing has 16-inch-thick granite walls and exquisite woodwork. It's one of the most ornate stations along the Hudson Line because four railroad tycoons who lived in Philipstown during the Gilded Age wanted to wait for their elaborate private cars in style.

After closing in 1956, the depot fell into disrepair until the newly created Garrison's Landing Association purchased it from New York Central in the early 1960s for $3,000 (about $33,000 today). In 1966, a group of residents, including Russel Wright, the designer who lived and worked at Manitoga, envisioned a railroad museum and poured another $2,000 ($20,000) into sprucing up the space. The following year, the Hand to Mouth Players began presenting productions at the depot, a run that continued for 29 years.

Remember These?

The Fantasticks (2006)

A Little Night Music (2007)

Arsenic and Old Lace (2008)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2008)

The Miracle Worker (2009)

The Secret Garden (2009)

Threepenny Opera (2010)

The Seagull (2011)

The Beggar's Opera (2012)

The Way of the World (2012)

Beyond the Fringe (2013)

To Kill a Mockingbird (2013)

The Birds (2014)

A Christmas Carol (2014)

1776 (2014)

On Golden Pond (2015)

Jesus Christ Superstar (2015)

HMS Pinafore (2016)

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2016)

Company (2017)

Guys and Dolls (2017)

Steel Magnolias (2017)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2018)

The Music Man (2018)

Doubt: A Parable (2018)

The Importance of Being Earnest (2019)

Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (2019)

Nunsense (2019)

Oliver! (2021)

The Cake (2022)

God of Carnage (2023)

In 1996, Jean Marzollo and Carolyn Copeland wanted to expand their summer teen musical program from an annex at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Garrison, recalls Claudio Marzollo, who would serve as president of the newly formed Philipstown Depot Theater for 14 years. The Garrison's Landing Association ended its lease with the Hand to Mouth Players, which it said was behind on its rent, and the new troupe asked the town for funding. Philipstown came through, but "didn't know anything about running a theater, so we formed what became the nucleus of our board of directors," says Marzollo.

Today, the town covers the modest rent paid by the theater to the Landing Association and assists with other expenses. Taxpayers provide about 9 percent of the budget, says Dul; the rest comes from grants, donations and ticket sales.

Anne of Green Gables (2017)

The Full Monty (2024)

Guys and Dolls (2023)

House of Lattisville (2025)

Music Man Jr. (2025)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2018)

Young Frankenstein (2019)

Inside, the atmosphere is cozy; patrons sink into 67 chairs arrayed at a steep angle, and the tech is up to spec (sound in 2023, lighting in 2025). The group does a lot with its 18-by-19-foot stage. Alice Jankell came aboard as artistic director in 2024, succeeding Nancy Swann,...