Because of the rising cost of set materials, royalties, and everything that goes into producing a first-class show, the Board of Directors of the Tryon Little Theater sadly must raise the price of student (age 18 and under) tickets to $10.

This year even the actors in the summer youth shows, in order to help defray the expenses, paid for the privilege of spending six weeks of hard work to present to you two exceptional productions ‐ the musical &dquo;Les Miserables&dquo; and the classic play &dquo;The Hobbit.&dquo;

Three years ago, the TLT Board made the decision to do two summer youth plays instead of one, dividing students by age ‐ 8 to 12 and 12 to 21 ‐ in order to give the younger ones a chance for more training and to have the experience of playing the leading roles.&bsp; As a result, the expenses were doubled while the potential audience was not.&bsp; These shows have thus been in the red ever since.

This summer&squo;s two shows illustrate the quality of material we wish to continue offering.&bsp; &dquo;Les Miserables&dquo; is one of the most respected and honored musicals currently in international production, and we are very lucky to get the license to do it here in Tryon.&bsp; We are also fortunate to have director Chris Tinkler and musical director Lena Duncan leading a group of 44 talented youth ages 12 to 19 in this exciting production, to play the Tryon Fine Arts Center July 9-12.&bsp; Next comes &dquo;The Hobbit&dquo; by J. R. R. Tolkien, directed by Marianne Carruth and involving 44 of the younger children; this perennial favorite is exposing its cast to good theater and its audience to a delightful show.&bsp; It plays TFAC July 30-August 2.

If you have never attended a summer youth show, this is your chance to see first hand how quickly these talented young people will pull you into their magical world.

Because TLT feels these plays are important to the youth of the community, we are committed to continue this tradition if we can at least break even financially.&bsp; Please accept our apologies for this ticket price increase, but excellence of performance is important to the participants and to you who attend, and unfortunately excellence is also expensive to achieve.