YOUNGSTOWN - The Youngstown Playhouse is celebrating a milestone of bringing the Mahoning Valley a century of creative arts. 

“It's really cool that we actually made it to this point. A lot of people came before us,” John Cox, the Board President for the Youngstown Playhouse said. “A lot of people put a lot of work over a lot of years.” 

The theater has been a staple in the community since 1924. Even though it's changed buildings and expanded over the years, board members say it holds the record for the oldest continuous theater program in Northeast Ohio. 

Looking toward the future, the playhouse wants to focus on bringing more kids into their space - offering more youth programs to teach valuable life skills while being a part of something big.

“You learn that it's okay to be a little bit different,” Cox said. “There's more to do than just sport in the area. There's the artistic side which creates empathy, it creates people learning how to listen, how to integrate with each other.”

As the theater battles against other entertainment mediums like social media apps and movies the playhouse hasn't seen things slow down too much. Audiences keep coming back to feel that more connected form of art.

“I think live theater there's nothing better. It's like going to a concert or listening to the album ... you’re like 'oh it sounds good one way' but being there and feeling it is different,” Cox said. "It's good that people come together and that's the age-old tradition.”

The playhouse recently received a $60,000 grant from the Youngstown Foundation. With the funds they will be able to give away 150 tickets for free to each of their productions. Cox said those tickets will typically go to people who haven’t been able to experience a production before.

“Maybe they see something they never knew about or they see that they are more connected than they thought they were,” he said. “It’s a way for the community to be able to connect.”

The Youngstown Playhouse will officially start their 100th season on Friday Sept, 20 with their production of Something Rotten. The theater will host a pre-party before the first show.