Bob Butterley sings bring him home from our production of Les Miserables.
The Cultural Arts Playhouse
Founded in 1995 by owner Bruce Grossman, the Cultural Arts Playhouse (CAP) in Syosset, and now in Merrick, is a year-round regional theater known for its off-off Broadway style productions. Over the years, CAP has produced more than 500 shows, including educational and touring performances, earning it a reputation as one of Long Island’s Best Live Theaters, as named by the Long Island Press.
Serving over 20,000 people annually, CAP offers a wide range of professional adult productions, children’s theater performances, and theater education classes for ages 7-18. Through its Musical Theater and Acting Academy (MTAA) and Young People’s Theater (YPT), more than 5,000 students have had the opportunity to learn from some of the finest instructors in the New York area.
With over 150 years of combined experience among its staff, many of CAP’s students and performers have gone on to pursue careers in professional theater, recordings, television, and film, applying the skills and talents they developed at CAP.
Bruce Grossman - Owner, Artistic Director
Bruce is so proud of the accomplishments of the Cultural Arts Playhouse over the last two decades. As owner and artistic director since its inception in 1995, Bruce and his staff have been bringing joy and laughter to Long Island families and audiences for twenty years and counting!! Bruce started his career as a performer, which allowed him to understand the needs of actors on stage and how to get the most out of them. But even at an early age, and while getting his Bachelors and masters from Stony Brook University in theater and education, he always had a desire to direct. During his college days , he produced a production of Hair which was voted the show of the decade by Newsday! Bruce has a wealth of performing credits in commercials and film and tours. Some of his credits include the European tours of West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar and the national tour of the Emmy award winning None for the Road, a show preaching the evils of drinking and driving. As a performer, he has been received favorably by Long Island audiences and Newsday as Julian Marsh in 42nd Street and Josh Baskin in Big. Other credits include Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Father in Ragtime, Pseudolus in Forum and Captain Walker in Tommy to name a few. Bruce is pleased to have produced and or directed Long Island premieres of Big, Parade, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Carrie, Assassins, Altar Boyz and Spring Awakening to name a few. Cap has always been known for doing shows that are cutting edge and that other theaters don't do. Bruce has been featured on the nationally syndicated Twilight Zone radio series starring Jim Caviesel and Jason Alexander to name a few of the actors in the series. Bruce has taught at the collegiate and high school level over the years and currently is on staff at several elementary schools and high schools on Long Island. But for all of these accomplishments, Bruce is most proud of his children! Not just his daughter Brooke and son Jared, both flourishing at Universities and who grew up at the playhouse and made countless friends and memories, but the thousands of kids he has come into direct contact with as a director and teacher and mentor. To see the pride on a kids face as they excel in front of Cap audiences and the joy it brings to parents and family! There is nothing more rewarding than that. Growing the confidence and self esteem of a child is what Cap stands for! We also take pride in training our students for professional careers. Over 30 of Bruce's students and actors have made it to Broadway and film and tours and commercials. Some of the Cap alumni include Jamie Lynn Sigler of Soprano and Beauty and the Beast fame, Marissa McGowan as Eponine in Les MIs on Broadway . Bonnie and Clyde and A Little Night Music with Katherine Zeta Jones, Dan Domenech in Rock of Ages, Al Calderone in 13 and Law and Order, Brian D'addario from Les Mis and Little Mermaid and Danny Quadrino from Bye Bye Birdie and Newsies to name just a few!!! No theater can boast as many success stories! Twenty years and counting!! We must be doing something right!
