Silver Spotlight Theatre Inc. (SSTI) is rehearsing for its first production as its own charitable non-profit. The group of senior actors is rehearing three times per week in preparation for a five-day run of The Matchmaker production later this month. “If you know the story for Hello Dolly!, the Matchmaker is what it’s based on,” said Rick Smith, director of the Matchmaker for SSTI. “Dolly Levi is hired by Horace van der Gelder to find himself a new wife. Little does he know, her plan is to marry him herself. Along the way, she’s brought in other members of his of his crew and people he knows to mess things up a little bit so that she has a better chance of winning the prize at the end.” In 2025 SSTI separated from the umbrella of Musical Theatre Productions which got them started in 2023. After doing musicals including Babes in Arms, Grease, Into the Woods and Showtune this will be the first non-musical production. “I’ve wanted to work with this group for quite some time,” said Sam Sabathy, who plays Dolly and is doing her first SSTI production. “I’ve seen all their shows and when I found out that they were doing a play, that’s their inaugural production for SSTI, I thought, I’ve got to audition and Rick picked me, so here we are.” Sabathy has a degree in drama from Western University and studied in New York. She moved back to Canada and got into local theatre around Southwestern Ontario. Over the past four years, the senior actors have not only made great shows but great friends. “We have people that we’ve known through every production, but then also we meet new people,” said Mitchell Zimmer, who plays Rudolph in the play. “We meet behind the scenes at restaurants, breakfasts, get togethers. It’s become bigger than just theatre, it’s family.” Sabathy describes the cast and crew as having an “absolute blast”. “We’re laughing every single night, and it’s just so much fun and encourage everyone to try and do it,” she said. For this production, half of the cast is new to SSTI and others have experience with the company. “You can see the development over the past five productions,” said Smith. “They continue getting that support from our other experienced cast members. So, it really is that community and they’re all supportive of each other as we’ve gone through the process.” The five-day run on the Auburn Stage at the Grand Theatre takes place Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2026.
