Ballwin sisters celebrate 17 years of original driveway theater

Broadway on the Driveway originated exactly how it sounds – on a driveway.

The family-friendly production company was started in 1995 by sisters Emily and Lacy Miller, of Ballwin, who decided to put on a show after seeing “Annie” on the Goldenrod Showboat. Emily was 8 years old, and Lacy was 10.

“We were really inspired so we decided to start our own theater company,” Lacy said. “We posted audition notices and hung a bed sheet across our garage door and did a play in our driveway.”

Lacy said the show went on until too many cars blocked their neighborhood street.

“Ballwin police came, and then it was time to move on to other venues,” Lacy said.

This summer, Broadway on the Driveway celebrates its 17^th season with “White Christmas” in July, a musical production showcasing the talent of about 100 people aged 7 to 25.

Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thurs., July 14 and 2 p.m. on Fri., July 16 at Missouri Baptist College in Creve Coeur.

Lacy said they decided to bring the holiday play to the summer because of a particular talent demonstrated by many of their past cast members.

“We chose ‘White Christmas’ because Broadway on the Driveway has a lot of tap dancers,” Lacy said. “So we put tap dancing in every show, and this is one where we can really highlight it.”

The company offers a two-hour “How to Audition” workshop on Sat., April 9. Auditions for the summer’s production are set for Fri., May 6 and Sat., May 7.

This year, much like all the previous years, the tickets are free.

“We just have felt that we need to do one production a year, where families can come and it doesn’t matter how many kids they have,” Lacy said. “They can bring the entire family to a show and see it for free. We’ve just always wanted to do that for the community.”

Lacy said they can keep the summer production free with a grant from the Young Singers Foundation and the support of area businesses that buy ads and provide services and materials for free.

“One year we needed a lot of chandeliers for ‘The Sound of Music,’ and a lighting company provided that,” Lacy said.

Besides the summer production, Broadway on the Driveway offers year-round classes in dance, voice, musical theater, and piano at their studio in Manchester.

For audition and workshop information and applications, visit broadwayonthedriveway.com.