HOT ceased operations in 2013. This page is kept open for nostalgia purposes. From 1994-2013 Huntington Outdoor Theatre was a regional theater group based in Huntington, WV. It ended its 20 year run with "Hairspray" in the summer of 2013. The Theatre produced outdoor musicals at Huntington's Ritter Park Amphitheater. These shows ran for a four week period during the month of July. Auditions for sh
ows took place in April of each year. Local actors volunteered their time for the shows with rehearsals beginning in May. HOT was founded by Helen Freeman (President and Artistic Director) with the assistance of Patti Shaver (Vice-President and Managing Director). Helen, who is also a Theater teacher at Huntington High School in Huntington, WV, and Patti, who with her husband run a successful business in Huntington, decided that local people needed a place to perform in the summer. They also felt that the area needed an additional tourist activity. With grants from local businesses - the Cabell County Commission, City of Huntington, and especially the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District, HOT became a reality. From a rather humble beginning, HOT in 20 years had grown to a major event in the Huntington Area, with over 10,000 people seeing shows in the 2005 season, where the hit musical, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, was presented. A new group moved in to Ritter Park Amphitheater to continue the tradition the following summer, in 2014. Huntington Area Regional Theatre (HART), also known as Hart in the Park picks up the torch carried by Huntington Outdoor Theatre for 20 years. Check them out and like / follow on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HARTInThePark
