Sumter shows love, sells out opera house's 'Broadway in Love' performance

On Feb. 11, Sumter Opera House welcomed a sold-out crowd for "Broadway in Love," a Valentine-season performance featuring real-life Broadway couple Libby Servais and Stephan Stubbins.

The cabaret-style evening was part of the opera house's Acoustic Cafe series, which transforms the City Centre into a warm, close-knit setting designed to bring the audience and artists within arm's reach of each other. Designed to introduce new and established performers to the region, every Acoustic Cafe performance has sold out, reflecting Sumter's continued investment in the arts and its growing desire for cultural experiences that are close to home.

Unlike traditional stage productions, Acoustic Cafe concerts remove the distance between performer and listener. Guests are nestled in seats, sharing in conversation until the lights begin to dim and the featured performance - be it beautiful melodies or entertaining spoken word - fills the space. The result is a shared experience where storytelling is stripped down to its most authentic form, allowing a personal connection to take center stage.

These performances are a reminder that meaningful arts and cultural experiences don't require a trip to the big city, that you can experience such moments alongside familiar faces in the spaces we know and love. In that way, showing up and supporting these events - and many others hosted across Sumter County - becomes its own expression of community pride and a simple way to show love where you live.

The Acoustic Cafe series will continue even as the opera house undergoes its monumental renovation and preservation of its historic interior.

Its final performance of the 2025-26 season will be "An Evening with Nicholas Edward Williams" on April 17. A music historian and host of "American Songcatcher," Williams explores the roots and evolution of American music as he shares the stories behind the sounds. He is also the founder of Restring Appalachia, a nonprofit that provides instruments to musicians impacted by natural disasters.

This opportunity is another chance for Sumter residents to support the arts, a beloved local venue and to keep the city's creative heartbeat strong.