NATCHEZ &8212; A full summer at Natchez Little Theatre will culminate in two big events &8212; one on July 7, when the Stan Dean Ovation Awards take place, and the other on Aug. 3, when the youth workshop actors perform in &8220;The Hobbit&8221; for a four-day run.

The gala awards evening, beginning with food and drink at 6 p.m. in the Green Room at the theater, 319 Linton Ave., features some of the best musical numbers of the past season. The entertainment leads into the awards, which include honors for directing and acting as well as sets for the past season.

&8220;This past season was a record-breaker,&8221; said Darryl Grennell, a member of the theater&8217;s board of directors. &8220;We have received commendations not just from Natchez but from other places.&8221;

One reason for success in the past couple of seasons is the emphasis on diversity, Grennell said.

&8220;The theater is offering more diverse plays, and something all ethnic and cultural groups can enjoy,&8221; he said. &8220;And I&8217;m seeing more participation by different ethnic groups, and that&8217;s a good thing.&8221;

Natchez Little Theatre is a community theater, he said. &8220;Everyone is supposed to utilize it, whether it&8217;s by attending plays, acting or helping to build sets.&8221;

Layne Taylor, NLT executive director, said the goal of the board is &8220;to present a wide range of classic works that entertain. We are in the business of entertaining.&8221;

The awards night is a bridge between seasons, celebrating the 58th season and heralding the upcoming 59th, which, in addition to the youth production, will include &8220;Big River,&8221; &8220;Deathtrap,&8221; &8220;A Natchez Christmas Carol,&8221; &8220;The Bad Seed,&8221; &8220;Twain by the Tail,&8221; &8220;Southern Exposure&8221; and &8220;Chicago.&8221;

Gina Buckley, a board member who also appears on stage in NLT productions, said she has been pleased at community response to productions. &8220;I&8217;m also pleased that the Mississippi Arts Commission thinks we&8217;re doing an outstanding job,&8221; Buckley said. &8220;They have told us we&8217;re the most active theater in the state.&8221;

The past season &8220;was a very aggressive season,&8221; Buckley said. &8220;And it brought people to the theater who had never been before.&8221;

She has high hopes for the upcoming season, as well. Already, bus tours have booked dates for the annual production of &8220;A Natchez Christmas Carol.&8221;

The awards night will include a few numbers from the musical &8220;Chicago,&8221; which will bring the 2006-2007 season to a conclusion, Buckley said.

&8220;La Cage aux Folles&8221; was one of the most successful productions in theater history, Taylor said. The musical brought the 2005-2006 season to an end and drew nearly full houses for every performance.

Important to note, Taylor said, is that probably 25 percent of the audience for &8220;La Cage&8221; came from out of town.

The theater continues to be a draw for visitors to Natchez, he said. &8220;And we&8217;re getting more and more group tours.&8221;

Since the NLT has been included in the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau &8220;nightlife&8221; listing, the theater has had &8220;20 to 25 hits a day on our Web site. People tell us how refreshing it is to know there is something else to do in the evening besides go to a bar.&8221;

Taylor and the board have an ambitious plan to increase membership and corporate sponsorship for the upcoming season.

&8220;I&8217;d like for us to have 1,000 members,&8221; Taylor said. That would mean almost doubling the number now holding season tickets.

Memberships are available in different categories, ranging in price from the patron category, $48 for one ticket to one performance of four different shows; to benefactor category, $66 for one ticket to one performance of any six shows; to grand benefactor, $90 for one ticket to one performance of every show; and angel membership, $250 for two tickets to one performance of every show and advertising options.

Higher categories of director membership at $500, producer membership at $1,000 and executive producer at $2,000 are for four, eight and 12 tickets for each show, respectively.

Individual tickets are available for $15 each for adults and $12 for seniors (60 and over) and youth (18 and younger. Senior discounts are available for all of the season memberships listed above.

Memberships are available by phone, 601-442-2233; or at

natchez@bellsouth.net

. Anyone wishing to send checks for memberships may mail them to Natchez Little Theatre, P.O. Box 1232, Natchez, MS 39121.