For Franklin Trapp, moving from Point A to Point B, played out like a game of pinball.
Point A = Cincinnati, Ohio
Point B = Forestburgh, NY
After growing up in the Midwest, Franklin Trapp became a professional theater actor in NYC, which led to a stint as a Resident Company member at the Forestburgh Playhouse, followed by law school at Vanderbilt in Tennessee, grad school at Emory in Georgia, and a six-year law practice in Atlanta.
A Winding Road Back to Sullivan Catskills Theater
“It was a winding road to say the least,” says Trapp. “Originally, I wanted to be a teacher, but when the acting bug bit me in NYC, it hit hard. It was one of those things that no matter where I went and what I did, it was always there, especially after performing at the Forestburgh Playhouse when I was just starting out.”
At every step, someone made an impact and bumped the table one way or another, but no one more influential than Norman Duttweiler, who steered the Forestburgh Playhouse from 1992 to 2014, including the time Trapp spent there from 2001 to 2004.
“No matter where I went, Norman kept reaching out. It was genuine and after a year and a half of considering coming back to the playhouse, I decided to take the plunge,” he said of his 2014 move back to Forestburgh.
“Franklin Trapp is the perfect person to lead the Forestburgh Playhouse for the next 22 years or more,” said Duttweiler at the time. “He knows the theater, he knows the business, and above all, he knows and loves the Forestburgh Playhouse.”
He was right. The 2026 season will be Trapp’s 13th as the Producing Artistic Director for the Forestburgh Playhouse—its 80th season of operation, making it one of only a handful of small summer theaters left in America.
From Mega Law Firm to Live Theater in the Catskills
An important note to Trapp’s trajectory: the six years he spent as an attorney in Atlanta were with the world’s largest law firm. Mega Law Firm on one hand. Punchy Little Theater on the other.
“There was such a spirit with the theater and with this place as a whole,” recalls Trapp. “Just full grit stacked with a let’s-make-it-happen attitude. This is a strong, can-do community.”
Winner = Forestburgh.
Instead of scrapping programming in 2020—including its newly created youth and teen program—when nearly every theater in the country went digitally masked and virtual, Trapp and his team figured out a safe way to make it happen. Eight weekends of live outdoor performances in the Catskills featuring two shows each weekend. Grit.
“I remember the first show of that series like it was yesterday,” says Trapp. “The minute the first song started, you could see people relax and feel normal again. There isn’t a replacement for live performance. Art is transformative and allows escape. It’s critical to the vibrancy of any community.”
Little Barn, Big Stage: Catskills Performing Arts at Its Best
It’s worth mentioning that the Forestburgh Playhouse is a barn. It’s also worth mentioning that you’d never know it when experiencing a performance. Whether it’s Newsies, Hello Dolly, or Miss Saigon, the stage, set, and lighting match the caliber of the acting. Or as Trapp says, if the theater doesn’t aim to produce the best professional product, then what’s the point.
“There are so many transformative performances that I can look back on and say that was special,” he says. “Ragtime, however, might have been the most significant. It’s a powerful message about equality, unity, and acceptance with a score that I will argue is the best of all time. I could have stayed in that universe forever and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an audience so swept away by a show.”
The energy of the stage coupled with support from the Forestburgh community has driven growth for the playhouse, whose campus now includes a church across the street and multiple homes to house actors and staff.
“We see growth in production quality every year,” says Trapp. “I think that has a lot to do with the positive reputation of the theater. It’s something that was built by Norman, but also something I’ve worked hard to maintain and continually improve. You know you’re doing something right when professional actors are reaching out to us to perform here.”
Community Spirit & Arts and Culture in Sullivan County
You also know you’re doing something right when your patrons go well beyond buying tickets and writing donation checks. Some have been doing both for over 40 years. Others give a little more.
“The Sullivan Catskills as a whole has a culture of giving and I’ve certainly seen that increase over the years. Ticket sales are a percentage of what the playhouse needs to get it right, but it’s the other, maybe not-so-glamorous stuff, that makes a huge difference for a small theater,” says Trapp.
At times, a barn that originally dates pre-1940s has issues.
In 2020, one such “issue” involved a pretty complicated plumbing problem. Smalls Plumbing Heating & AC took care of that one.
When the building needed a fresh coat of paint, Debra Dalto and her team at Aglow Painting made it happen.
Need heat? Van Etten Energy Systems fills the theater’s propane tanks every summer season.
Boxes of cheese arrive from Anthony “The Big Cheese” Mongiello, owner of Formaggio Cheese, for openings and parties.
Fun fact: When Anthony was a kid, he accompanied his dad, Angelo, to a product pitch meeting. It worked and the industry-changing String Cheese Stick is now found in nearly half the homes in America. They’re also very popular at Forestburgh Playhouse openings of children’s productions.
The throughline for each? Exactly what you’d think. Each business provided the donation and continues to give their time, talent, and product to keep the theater humming with life and activity.
Growing the Next Generation of Performers
In 2025 alone, the playhouse welcomed 93 young artists to participate in three programs: a Spring Into Auditions Workshop, One Week Musical Theatre Ensemble Experience for ages 8–12, and a Two-Week Musical Theatre Intensive for ages 13–17. It was the biggest season yet with a 20% increase in registrations.
The Resident Company (ResCo) featured 15 college-age professionals from across the country. Each got the nod from a pool of over 1,000 applicants. Some from Ohio.
“It’s amazing to see what’s happening here, but even more amazing to see where our alums are going from here. This past year alone, we had over a dozen former members of ResCo perform on Broadway. That’s how you know something is working,” says Trapp, who also knows there’s always room to improve.
“The Forestburgh Playhouse will always be a theater for the community. That will never change,” he said. “But I also want to continue to grow the theater as a destination that draws people from all over to see great performances.”
So far, it’s working.
As much as the theater is an engine for art, it’s also a driver of regional economics that gives back to a community that has given, and continues to give, so much to it.
“There’s a ripple effect for sure,” says Trapp. “More and more of our patrons are traveling here for a show and staying for a few days, then saying they’re definitely coming back. That says a lot about our barn in the middle of the woods.”
It also says a lot about Trapp and his commitment to making it happen.
Forestburgh Playhouse 2026 Summer Lineup
- Murder For Two: June 23–28
- The Bridges of Madison County: June 30–July 12
- Dear Evan Hansen: July 14–26
- Hairspray: July 28–August 9
- Million Dollar Quartet: August 11–23
- Surprise Mystery Production TBA: August 25–September 6
- Once: September 8–13
- The Wizard of Oz: Family Fun Series, Thursdays and Saturdays, July 9–August 1
Individual tickets will go on sale in the spring, but season passes, multiple show flex passes, and gift certificates can be purchased now.