Belfry Players, Theater venue in Delavan, Wisconsin, US.
The Belfry Players is a theater venue in Delavan, Wisconsin, housed inside a converted church building that still retains much of its original structure. The space contains a stage and audience seating, and the program covers both plays and musical performances across different seasons.
The theater was founded in 1935 as the first summer stock company in Wisconsin, and it ran continuously for decades before pausing its activity in 1969. Over those years it became known as a starting point for performers who later built careers on larger stages.
The building's origin as a church gives the interior a warmth that a conventional theater rarely has, with wooden details and high ceilings that shape how audiences experience each performance. People from across the region make the trip to Delavan specifically to attend shows here, treating it as a local tradition rather than just an outing.
Seating inside the converted church is limited, so arriving ahead of the scheduled start time is a good habit, especially for popular shows. Checking what is on before heading to Delavan helps avoid a wasted trip.
In the theater's early years, a bell still attached to the roof was rung to signal the start of each performance, a direct echo of the building's life as a church. The name Belfry, meaning bell tower, keeps that connection alive in the venue's identity today.
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