Saturday, April 18th of 2026
Event 7PM, Doors Open at 6:30PM
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For more than two years, the Stop Zena Development coalition has been advocating to save 600+ acres of forest in Woodstock and Ulster. The coalition, convened by Woodstock Land Conservancy with concerned community members, has worked to halt the proposal to build dozens of million-dollar houses in a beautiful forest. Legal fees are mounting, so tonight's proceeds will go directly to helping the coalition continue to fight to save the forest, the waterways, the wildlife, the flora and the fauna from destruction. 

​Length of Program: 75 minutes

THIS PERFORMANCE IS SOLD-OUT.

​Ticket Pricing:

• $25 - reserved seat
• $50 - reserved seat with a thank-you gift of a SZD bumper sticker
• $75 - reserved seat with a thank-you gift of a SZD embroidered beanie
• $100 - reserved seat with both thank-you gifts
• $125 - reserved seat with both thank-you gifts plus a "pay-it-forward" sponsorship**

PLEASE NOTE: 
Bread & Puppet describes its shows as "political and spectacular." Current national and global events -- like militarism, capitalism, ecology, Gaza and Iran -- may be featured in the performance. Both the Stop Zena Development coalition and the Woodstock Playhouse support performers' First Amendment rights, but we are nonprofit organizations focused on service to our local communities rather than national or global politics. 

The Woodstock Playhouse, established in 1938 as a rural extension of Broadway and Summer Theater by a member of one of Woodstock's Oldest Families, became a central hub for the launching of major careers on Broadway and in film and television - including Robert Hutton, Larry Hagman, Lee Marvin, Diane Keaton, Chevy Chase, Andrea Martin, Karl Malden, Kitty Kelly, Elissa Landi, Judd Hirsch, Anne Meara, Dick Van Patten and Estelle Parsons to name just a few - as it continues to do today.

During the late 1950s and into the 60s, the Woodstock Playhouse directors instituted Saturday morning children's productions & concerts as well as midnight concerts featuring such artists as Tom Paxton, Peter Yarrow, Tim Hardin, Pete Seeger, Happy and Artie Traum, Billy Faire, and Jack Elliot. The Band, including Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Jaime Robbie Robertson, would record their album Stage Fright at the Woodstock Playhouse with Todd Rundgren serving as sound engineer. As the 1960s evolved and Woodstock found itself at the center of a cultural revolution, the Playhouse was host to the final concert in a series of performances known as the Sound-Outs in 1968. Produced by John “Jocko” Moffitt and generally perceived as a precursor concert to the Woodstock Festival held in Bethel a year later, the Playhouse concert in 1968 featured Richie Havens, with additional performances by Jerry Moore, Don Preston, Major Wiley and Bunky and Jake. 

Throughout the 60s and 70s, legendary musicians and bands played at the Woodstock Playhouse, including Arlo Guthrie, Van Morrison, Orleans, Full Moon, Sonia Malkine, John Hammond, Holy Moses, Dave Van Ronk, Levon and The Band, The Montgomeries, Geoff and Maria Muldaur, Jim Rooney and Bill Keith, and after the burning and rebuilding of the Woodstock Playhouse: Leon Russell, Cindy Cashdollar, Jacke DeJohnette, Sonny Rollins, Peter Yarrow, Bethany and Rufus Cappadocia, John Sebastian, Natalie Merchant, Larry Campbell, David Bromberg, Richie Havens, Noel Paul Stookey, The Indigo Girls, Leon Russell, Well Strung, all of the amazing Headliners at the annual String Sampler Concert, and so many more. 

A more detailed history of the Woodstock Playhouse can be enjoyed by viewing the History Wall and memorabilia when visiting the Woodstock Playhouse and by viewing our history page online at  https://www.woodstockplayhouse.org/history-of-the-woodstock-playhouse where you can also read about and purchase tickets for our other upcoming events.