When Frederic DeFeis headed up the drama department at Pennsylvania’s Duquesne University almost 60 years ago, little did he realize how far his life in theater would stretch. His troupe has performed from Pittsburgh to a Brooklyn YWCA to the former Idlewild Airport (now JFK), where “Theatre-in-the-Skies” entertained travelers in the airport control tower. In 1972, Arena Players landed a permanent home across from yet another airport (Republic) in East Farmingdale, where they have been bringing Broadway-quality shows to Long Island ever since.

Located in its own Arena Complex, the Main Stage houses 240 seats and the Second Stage houses 100. Besides premiering an eclectic mix of dramatic interpretations, the facility hosts theater festivals, rock concerts, and operas. With 58 actors, the nonprofit company performs year-round and has a following far beyond Long Island. Year after year DeFeis has been discovering the next great playwright; in 1974, he introduced then-unknown Alan Menken’s first musical, Dear Worthy Editor, to a captive audience. Menken went on to write Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, and other Disney hits. Later, Joseph Dougherty opened at the Arena with Murder For Pleasure and proceeded to write the award-winning Off-Broadway play Digby. A playwright and director himself, DeFeis’ successful track record constantly brings hopeful authors to his door. “We receive about 300 scripts a year, but only produce one or two,” he says. “We would love to show more original plays, but audiences want to see names they recognize.”

DeFeis usually opts for challenging social issues, such as war, abortion, and AIDS. “The playwright must be free to express their feelings through the plots and characters they create,” he explains, “free from the restraints of society, religion, politics, or government.” The company has survived on the premise that theater has no racial, social, or class distinctions, and for nearly six decades, it’s been a fail-proof philosophy.

Arena Players also consists of the Professional Performing Arts Institute, which offers students (age 7 and up) professional acting lessons and full-scale performances at the end of each semester. During the summer months, the Players hold their annual Shakespeare In The Park series in the courtyard of the Vanderbilt Museum, in Centerport, and a children’s series in the Planetarium.

For more information and performance schedules visit www.arenaplayers.org