Asheville Community Theatre
Remembers Charlton Heston

Asheville Community Theatre is saddened at the loss of Charlton Heston, a former director at the theatre. Mr. Heston and his wife, Lydia Clarke Heston, were integral to the early success of Asheville Community Theatre and helped to shape and mold the artistic integrity that the theatre strives to maintain.

Asheville Community Theatre was formed in the summer of 1946. The inaugural season included eight plays, six of which were directed by Mr. Heston. He directed the productions of The Male Animal, Guest in the House, State of the Union, Kiss and Tell, Out of the Frying Pan and Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, which was the first post-Broadway production of that show. The Hestons left Asheville after the first season to return to New York, where Mr. Heston landed the role of Caesar's lieutenant in a Broadway production of Shakepeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

Charlton Heston is best remembered for his film career, which spanned decades and included some of the most memorable titles in cinematic history, among them The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and Planet of the Apes.

The Hestons continued to be be involved at Asheville Community Theatre. In 1992, they returned to perform in A.R. Gurney's Love Letters as a fundraiser for the theatre. In addition, Asheville Community Theatre's Mainstage is named the Heston Auditorium in honor of the Hestons.

All of us at Asheville Community Theatre are grateful to the Hestons for their involvement and support throughout the years. Our deepest sympathies go out to Mrs. Heston and the entire Heston family.