Featured Center: Dr. Fred Pittman as Mr. Bumble in Oliver, 1982
Over the holidays we lost Dr. Fred Pittman, a longtime friend and generous patron of Charleston Stage. Fred was with Charleston Stage from its earliest days. He even appeared onstage, himself, as an actor in such roles as Mr. Bumble in Oliver, as the gentle ranch hand Candy in Of Mice and Men, and Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady among other roles.
Over the years Fred and his wife Joan have been generous donors to Charleston Stage. They provided challenge grants to our annual campaign during the great recession which helped sustain the company through those difficult times. Over the past few seasons, including those during our COVID hiatus, their continued gifts, not only helped us through the pandemic, but allowed Charleston Stage to expand its Resident Professional Acting Company from six to ten members and helped pay for vehicles to bring these talented actor/educators to education programs in more schools and afterschool programs than ever before. Last season, another generous gift helped Charleston Stage launch our new CityStage Community Engagement programming bringing the magic of live theatre to underserved communities in the Lowcountry.
Featured: The CityStage van and the 10 traveling professional CityStage Resident Actor/Educators made possible through Dr. Pittman’s generosity.
Fred’s generosity, as well as, his bountiful enthusiasm for the work of Charleston Stage and its education programs have made a real difference for over a quarter of a century. He will be sorely missed.
