A 1972 exterior image of the remodeled Coaster Theatre Playhouse.
The exterior of the Coaster Theatre Playhouse today.
Coaster Theatre celebrates 50 years of performing arts
Cannon Beach theater returns
audience favorites to the stage
BY MALLORY GRUBEN
Frank Jagodnik jokes that he’s had 22
wives and counting.
Only one of those women actually wears
a matching wedding band. The rest are
friends and fellow actors who played Jagod-
nik’s wives in various performances on the
stage at Cannon Beach’s Coaster Theatre.
“We’ve all done all kinds of different
characters and relationships,” said Jagod-
nik, who has volunteered at the commu-
nity theater with his wife, Liz McCall, for
25 years.
This year the theater celebrates its 50th
year producing plays and musicals out of
the former Coaster roller rink that founder
Maurie Clark renovated to bring perform-
ing arts to Cannon Beach. And it’s dedi-
cated community members like Jagodnik
and McCall who have made the last five
decades at the Coaster a success, according
to Jenni Tronier, the theater’s marketing and
operations director.
“The Coaster Theatre is, at its heart, a
community theater with a big C and lit-
tle C,” she said. “We rely on our commu-
nity to support us and we also, hopefully,
support the community as an artistic out-
let and entertainment on the North Coast of
Oregon.”
In honor of the theater’s 50th anniver-
sary, the 2022 season will return several
6 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
A 1978 production of ‘Oliver’ at the Coaster Theatre.
audience favorites to the stage. The sea-
son also emphasizes murdery mysteries and
romantic comedies, two genres that Coaster
audiences tend to gravitate toward.
“It’s all good memories, all of the shows
we picked,” Jagodnik said.
This year’s production schedule is as
follows:
March 18 – April 16: “The 39 Steps,”
a murder mystery farce that features five
actors playing dozens of characters.
May 6 – June 4: “Barefoot in the Park,”
Neil Smon’s beloved romantic comedy.
July 6 – Aug. 6: “Murder on the Ori-
ent Express,” a well-known Agatha Chrstie
novel recently adapted for the stage.
Aug. 10 – Sept. 10: “Clue, the Musical,”
a riff on the classic board game where the
audience determines the final ending.
Sept. 30 – Oct. 29: “Gramercy Ghost,” a
romantic comedy in which a young woman
inherits her landlady’s house — and the
Revolutionary War ghost that haunts it.
Nov. 18 – Dec. 18: “Scrooge, the Musi-
cal,” a timeless musical adaptation of the
classic holiday story.
Unlike most years, summer productions
will show Wednesday, Thursday and Sat-
urday. The Coaster will reserve Friday eve-
nings for special programming, including
poetry readings, musical and dance perfor-
mances or table readings for plays.
“It’s going to be a celebration of the arts
in all capacities on those Friday nights,”
said Patrick Lathrop, executive director.
In addition to the shows, the Coaster will
host a monthly concert series throughout
the season. Starting March 12, guest per-
formers from the North Coast, Oregon and
beyond will perform live in Cannon Beach.
The first four events in the concert series
welcome back artists who have performed
at the Coaster Theatre previously. “I’m wel-
coming them back to celebrate their time at
the Coaster Theatre,” Lathrop said.
On June 28 — exactly 50 years to the
date from the opening of the first produc-
tion in the remodeled building — the the-
ater will host a traditional 50th birth-
day party, complete with a band. Lathrop
said he envisions the birthday party as the
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