Famous People Players

Famous People Players is a Toronto, Ontario-based nonprofit theatre company known for black-light puppetry, visual theatre, music-driven stage shows, and its integration of people with disabilities into artistic and hospitality work. The organization calls participating employees and performers “Players.” Their responsibilities can include performing with large-scale puppets and visual effects, building or supporting theatrical work, arts administration, and serving guests in the company’s dining operation. The company was founded on June 1, 1974, by Diane Dupuy, who had received an Opportunity for Youth grant. The federal youth-employment initiative enabled Dupuy to assemble an initial group consisting of an assistant, eleven performers, and her mother, Mary Gioberti Thornton. Thornton designed and constructed early costumes and props. The company’s name reflects its theatrical practice of interpreting the music and public personas of famous entertainers and other well-known figures through oversized characters, puppetry, and black-light staging. Famous People Players’ breakthrough work was Aruba Liberace, a production featuring a life-size Liberace character playing the piano. Liberace saw the performance, invited the group to appear with him, and helped launch an important period of international exposure. The troupe made its Las Vegas debut at the Las Vegas Hilton in October 1975 and performed with Liberace in Las Vegas and other international venues during the following decade. The association gave the company a high-profile entertainment platform while establishing its signature combination of recognizable popular culture, music, theatrical illusion, and animated visual characters. During the late 1970s and 1980s, the company expanded from its original Canadian base into television, major theatrical venues, and overseas touring. It appeared regularly on CBC Television’s The Wolfman Jack Show, participated in television productions including Carnival of the Animals, and performed with the Rockettes during the 1980 reopening of Radio City Music Hall in New York. In 1982, it was invited to perform in the People’s Republic of China. Its first Broadway production, A Little Like Magic, played at New York’s Lyceum Theatre in 1986 for 49 performances. The company later returned to New York in 1994 with A Little More Magic!, presented with support associated with Paul Newman and Phil Collins. A central part of the organization’s operating model is the Dine & Dream Theatre in Toronto’s west end. Opened in 1994, the venue combines a meal served by Players with a subsequent black-light theatre performance. Paul Newman supported development of the restaurant through a contribution connected with Newman's Own products, while Phil Collins helped fund the theatre’s sound system. The performance space is known as the Phil Collins Theatre. After the company’s previous location faced demolition connected with condominium development, Famous People Players moved to Etobicoke and reopened there on October 23, 2009. The organization has also undertaken community-oriented and educational work. In 2001, it performed in Kobe, Japan, in an event intended to raise funds for children orphaned by the Great Hanshin earthquake. Its productions and history have been represented in documentaries, television specials, dramatic programming, and children’s programming. The company’s identity remains closely tied to accessible participation, inclusive employment, theatrical craftsmanship, and the use of black light to make life-size characters appear to glow and move in darkness.

Famous People Players began in Hamilton, Ontario, through the initiative of Diane Dupuy, who obtained an Opportunity for Youth grant during the early 1970s. The grant supported the creation of a youth-oriented performing group, which Dupuy formally founded on June 1, 1974. The original organization included Dupuy, an assistant, eleven performers, and Dupuy’s mother Mary Gioberti Thornton. Thornton played a significant early creative role by designing and making costumes and props. The group’s first major work was Aruba Liberace, a black-light theatre piece built around a life-size representation of entertainer Liberace playing the piano. Liberace attended a performance and invited the company to appear with him. Famous People Players made its first Las Vegas appearance at the Las Vegas Hilton in October 1975 and subsequently performed with Liberace in Las Vegas and abroad for approximately ten years. This relationship introduced the troupe to large entertainment audiences and helped establish its use of famous public figures as subjects for theatrical interpretation. The company expanded its media profile in the second half of the 1970s. It became a regular presence on CBC Television’s The Wolfman Jack Show during the 1976–1977 season and later participated in television work including Carnival of the Animals, hosted by Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent. In 1980, the group performed with the Rockettes at the reopening of Radio City Music Hall in New York, where The Sorcerer Apprentice was presented. The company was invited to perform in China in 1982, adding an important international touring milestone. Broadway followed in 1986, when A Little Like Magic opened at New York’s Lyceum Theatre. The production ran for 49 performances. Famous People Players returned to New York in 1994 with A Little More Magic!, a four-week engagement supported by Phil Collins and Paul Newman. The troupe’s work was also documented or dramatized in several screen projects. A 1984 CBS movie-of-the-week, Special People, drew on the company’s early story, while an Emmy-winning documentary about A Little Like Magic was hosted by Ann-Margret. Other appearances included the television special Blacklight Dreams, children’s programming associated with Treehouse’s Roll Play, an episode of 7th Heaven in 2002, and a Rick Mercer documentary broadcast by CBC in 2013. In 1994, the organization opened the Dine & Dream Theatre, creating a permanent format in which visitors eat a meal served by Players before attending a theatrical performance. Newman contributed to the restaurant’s development through a donation associated with the sale of Newman's Own salad dressing products. Collins supported the theatre’s sound system, and the performance venue was named the Phil Collins Theatre after his connection with the group. The venue is presented as a Canadian space dedicated to live black-light animation using large, glowing characters. The venue’s history also includes a major relocation. In 2009, the company had to leave a roughly 25-year-old site because the property was slated for demolition connected with condominium development. It moved to Etobicoke and reopened with a performance on October 23, 2009. The current venue remains the organization’s Toronto headquarters and combines food service, theatrical presentation, and inclusive employment. Famous People Players has used touring and special events for charitable purposes as well as entertainment. In 2001, it performed in Kobe, Japan, to help raise funds for children orphaned by the Great Hanshin earthquake. The company has also continued to create original productions. Leave the Porch Light On was developed for its twenty-fifth anniversary and was attended at its initial performance by the Governor General of Canada. Other original works include Hide and Seek: A Game of Human Spirit and A.D.H.D. (Awesome Dreams with High Drama) The Musical. Diane Dupuy has remained the company’s public leader and has also worked as a motivational speaker and author. Her honors include appointment to the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, the Ernest C. Manning Award for Merit, the Library of Congress Award, Canadian commemorative medals, and other recognition for social entrepreneurship and inclusion. A musical dramatization of her life and the organization’s origins, Changing The Label, premiered at the Dine & Dream Theatre on June 19, 2025. Across its history, Famous People Players has maintained a distinctive position at the intersection of puppetry, theatre, hospitality, television, touring, and disability inclusion.

• 2025

  Changing The Label premieres

  [2]Famous People Players official websitefamouspeopleplayers.com

  A musical inspired by Diane Dupuy’s life and the company’s founding premieres at the Dine & Dream Theatre.

• 2009

  Etobicoke reopening

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  Following a site relocation, the Dine & Dream Theatre reopens in Toronto’s Etobicoke district on October 23.

• 2001

  Kobe fundraising performance

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  The company performs in Kobe to raise money for children orphaned by the Great Hanshin earthquake.

• 1994

  Dine & Dream Theatre opens

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  The organization launches its combined dining and black-light theatre format in Toronto.

• 1986

  Broadway debut

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  A Little Like Magic opens at the Lyceum Theatre in New York and runs for 49 performances.

• 1982

  Invitation to perform in China

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  The company undertakes a performance engagement in the People's Republic of China.

• 1980

  Radio City Music Hall appearance

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  Famous People Players performs with the Rockettes during the reopening of Radio City Music Hall.

• 1975

  Las Vegas debut with Liberace

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  The troupe presents its work at the Las Vegas Hilton after Liberace invites it to perform with him.

• 1974

  Famous People Players is founded

  [1]Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org

  Diane Dupuy establishes the company on June 1 with an initial team that includes performers and her mother, Mary Gioberti Thornton.

An inclusive Canadian performing-arts organization distinguished by life-size black-light puppetry, music-based theatrical illusion, and the integration of people with disabilities into performance, hospitality, and administrative roles.

• Dining and theatre venue · 1994

  Dine & Dream Theatre

  The company’s signature visitor experience combines a meal with a subsequent black-light theatre performance. Players participate in both hospitality and performance roles, making the venue a practical expression of the organization’s inclusive employment model. The attached performance space is known as the Phil Collins Theatre and uses life-size illuminated characters, music, puppetry, and visual effects.

• Black-light theatrical production · 1974

  Aruba Liberace

  An early signature production featuring a life-size Liberace character playing the piano. The work helped define Famous People Players’ approach of translating famous entertainers and their imagery into large-scale black-light puppetry and visual theatre. Liberace’s favorable response led to invitations for the company to perform with him in Las Vegas and internationally.

• Musical theatre production · 1986

  A Little Like Magic

  A major Famous People Players stage production that became the company’s first Broadway engagement. It opened at New York’s Lyceum Theatre in 1986 and ran for 49 performances. The production presented the troupe’s blend of black-light animation, recognizable musical material, large puppets, and theatrical illusion to a mainstream theatre audience.

• Musical theatre production · 1994

  A Little More Magic!

• Original musical production · 1999

  Leave the Porch Light On

  The company’s first original full-length musical, created for its twenty-fifth anniversary. The production received an early performance attended by the Governor General of Canada and has continued to appear occasionally at the Toronto theatre and on tour.

• Biographical musical · 2025

  Changing The Label

  A musical dramatization of Diane Dupuy’s life and the creation of Famous People Players. Written by Gord Carruth with music developed with Amy King and directed by Willard Boudreau, it premiered at the Dine & Dream Theatre in June 2025.

• 2001Kobe earthquake-relief performance

  Japan

  Famous People Players performed in Kobe as part of an effort to raise funds for children orphaned by the Great Hanshin earthquake.

  Outcome. The performance served a charitable fundraising purpose; the available reference material does not specify the amount raised.

  Source

• 2009

  Relocation to EtobicokeStrategy

  Background

  The company’s long-standing venue faced demolition connected with condominium development.

  Action taken

  Famous People Players moved its Dine & Dream Theatre to Etobicoke and reopened on October 23, 2009.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued operating its combined dining and performance model from the relocated Toronto site.

  Source

• 1994

  Launch of the Dine & Dream operating modelStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to combine its theatrical program with a permanent hospitality experience and an inclusive workplace.

  Action taken

  It opened a restaurant and theatre complex where Players serve guests and then participate in the black-light performance.

  Aftermath

  The format became a defining part of the organization’s Toronto operations and public identity.

  Source

1. 1Famous People Playersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Famous People Players official websitefamouspeopleplayers.com