Granite Theatre’s Heritage and Horizons Gala
Granite Theatre’s Heritage and Horizons Gala brings an evening of American-inspired food, music and storytelling to Stonington on Friday, September 25, while raising money for the future of one of Westerly’s longtime community arts organizations.
Held at The Hounds, the gala will mark America’s 250th anniversary with a cabaret-style celebration drawing from generations of American music and theater. Guests can expect performances, storytelling and historical theatrical imagery surrounded by vintage Americana-inspired décor.
But the evening isn’t intended simply as a look backward.
Proceeds will support Granite Theatre and its work providing live theater, educational opportunities and creative experiences in Westerly, including the theater’s growing youth programming. Granite operates as Renaissance City Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on contributions and community support.
Heritage and Horizons: Celebrating the Past, Investing in the Future
The theme for the September gala is “Heritage and Horizons: Celebrating our Foundations and Investing in our Future.”
Granite is tying that theme to the country’s 250th anniversary by presenting a cabaret-style program exploring American music and storytelling across generations.
Rather than staging a traditional theatrical production, the evening is designed as a celebration, with performances and stories woven into the event alongside food and socializing.
The fundraiser comes during an important period for the theater itself.
Granite entered its 2026 season under new artistic leadership, while continuing to develop educational programs intended to introduce younger performers to theater. Its current mission emphasizes making theatrical entertainment and education accessible throughout the community.
A Westerly Theater With a History of Its Own
Granite’s story makes the “Heritage” portion of the gala particularly appropriate.
The theater occupies a restored Greek Revival church built in the 1840s at the highest point of downtown Westerly. The former Broad Street Christian Church eventually became home to theatrical organizations before opening its doors as the Granite Theatre in 2000.
Today, the intimate theater seats about 140 people, giving productions a scale quite different from larger regional performing arts centers.
Granite has developed into a year-round community theater presenting plays and musicals while creating opportunities for local performers, technicians and volunteers.
Its 2026 mainstage season illustrates the range. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! opened the summer, followed by the youth production Willy Wonka Jr. in August and Almost, Maine in September. Following the gala, Granite will return to the stage with Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in October and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for the holiday season.
Addison Roush Leads Granite’s 2026 Season
The gala also comes during the first season under Artistic Director Addison Roush.
Roush grew up in Waco, Texas, and traces his interest in theater to seeing The Music Man and Alice Through the Looking Glass when he was 10. He began performing himself that same year. He later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing from Sam Houston State University, where his work included lead roles, directing and play workshops.
Granite audiences had already seen him onstage before he took the leadership position. Roush appeared as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the theater’s production of The Rocky Horror Show.
The Granite Theatre board selected Roush from a field of candidates to succeed Nicole DiMattei beginning in January 2026. He was initially announced as interim artistic director with responsibility for overseeing the season and personally directing three productions. Granite now lists him simply as its Artistic Director.
He’s joined in the theater’s current leadership by Theatre Manager Caitlyn Ordway, a Rhode Island native whose academic background includes writing and rhetoric, film media and theater. Granite says her role focuses in part on creating a collaborative environment for staff and volunteers and making audiences feel welcome and engaged.
Investing in Young Performers
The “Horizons” side of the fundraiser becomes clearer when you look at what Granite has been building for children and teenagers.
The theater operates educational programs designed around the idea that theater can develop more than acting, singing and dancing skills. Granite specifically identifies communication, social development, confidence and self-esteem among the benefits it hopes students gain from participating.
Its youth program serves children and teenagers and has already resulted in full productions.
In 2026, young performers ages 8 to 18 rehearsed and performed Disney’s Newsies Jr. in June. Granite followed that during the summer with Willy Wonka Jr., including a theater camp and August performances involving young actors.
That gives some substance to the gala’s promise to “invest in our future.” Money raised isn’t simply maintaining a building or filling out another theater season. It helps an organization trying to create a place where the area’s next generation can learn how theater works from both sides of the curtain.
An Americana Evening at The Hounds
The setting takes the gala across the state line from Granite’s Westerly home to The Hounds at 769 Stonington Road in Stonington.
The Hounds is an event venue situated near Stonington Borough and protected marshland, giving the fundraiser a setting that fits the evening’s New England-meets-Americana atmosphere.
Guests can expect vintage Americana-inspired décor, historical theatrical imagery and a program combining performances and storytelling.
Granite describes the evening as both a celebration of 250 years of American stories and an investment in ensuring another generation has a place to tell its own.
Event Details
Event: Heritage and Horizons: Granite Theatre Gala Fundraiser
Date: Friday, September 25, 2026
Venue: The Hounds
Address: 769 Stonington Road, Stonington, CT 06378
What to Expect: An Americana-inspired cabaret evening featuring live performances, storytelling, historical theatrical imagery, food and a celebration of American artistic traditions.
Beneficiary: Proceeds support the nonprofit Granite Theatre’s theatrical productions, educational programs and community arts mission.
