Astor Street Opry Company

ASOC is a 501-C3-community performing arts organization, based in Astoria, Oregon. Since 1983, our mission has been and continues to be to strengthen our community through cultural enrichment while supporting regional economic growth. As the dean of local community theaters, we serve Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington through producing, educating, presenting and preserving local Theater Performing Arts and regional folklore primarily through our annual summer melodrama SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA. For over 25 years ASOC has aspire to create shows that are exceptional and reputable for all ages and backgrounds that create a connection between artist and audience through live theater, while at the same time, bring cultural enrichment through sharing local valued traditions. ASOC’s strengths as an artistic force is its appeal to a wide divergence of people which has created public’s devotion. We do this by sharing the folklore traditions that make up “Shanghaied” through, song, dance, storytelling, history and demonstration. It began in 84’ when a team of local performing artists and musicians came together to create our Broadway-Style musical melodrama SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA. These creators had a strong sense of their community’s local colorful Scandinavian folklore and a genuine sense of our Northwest fishing and cannery life. They added concepts relevant to all audiences: family, good vs. evil, loyalty and love. Our show opened with a bare bones budget, cast with local talent for 3 weeks in the summer of 85’. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, it runs all summer long and over 60,000 have sat in our audiences making “Shanghaied” truly a NW affair. Our other annual theatrical programs follow this tradition and specialized form of American Musical Theatre, whether it is our original Holiday Show, SCROOGED IN ASTORIA, or our Vaudeville Style “Olio” Shows. ASOC has created its own identity with a unique connection to the past, yet we remains dynamic, as every artist involved with ASOC adds their own originality to our annual productions. NO OTHER theatrical group in our region does what we do, making ASOC a vital component to Astoria history and livability.

Information

Categories