DETROIT – This is a story about players and their playhouse.

If you’re male, over 18, enjoy a cold mug of beer – and, we’ve been told, plenty of laughs and fellowship – you’re invited to come play, too.

At 3321 East Jefferson Ave. in Detroit, a few minutes east of the gleaming Renaissance Center, sits a stately architectural gem that houses The Players, a group of unabashedly amateur showmen who entertain each other with stage plays.

Two of them are Pipe Fitters Local 636 members: Roy Jendrzejewski and Dana Brooks. They join a tradition of Players who are from all walks of life. Past Players included Henry Ford’s son Edsel and1920s Detroit Mayor John Lodge, among numerous other judges, politicians and local luminaries over the years.

“Even if you have a little interest in theatre and no interest in being on stage, there’s plenty of things to do,” said Jendrzejewski, a member for 32 years. “Build sets, do make up, or sit in the audience. It’s a lot of fun.” Brooks added, “the audience is the most important part of the show.”

This is the 100^th season for The Players, an amateur men’s theatre club. Today the group stages 12 nights of theatre per year from October to May. They have their fun in a 1925 theatre built by their Player predecessors. It was constructed in a 16^thCentury English Renaissance style, complete with columns and original tapestries along the main hall and a stage that is considered one of the most mechanically-sophisticated amateur stages in the country. It’s complete with a four-story riser for the efficient movement of background scenery.

The building has state historic designation and is on the national Register of Historic Places.

Upstairs in the clubby Founders Room, shelves are lined with mugs for beer, one belonging to every player, with his name and the year he joined. Throughout the building’s stairwells, present and past Players and their shows are commemorated with caricatures drawn by commercial artists, which date to the 1920s and are pieces of art in themselves.

Shows are called “Frolics.” On Oct. 2, the 2010 season opened with an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Cask of Amontillado.” Most of three one-act shows are comedies – or can become comedies. Over the years Players have played The Odd Couple, Death Trap, California Suite, and a Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

According to Jim Turnbull, public relations director for The Players, the group has always used word of mouth to bring in new members. In the years before the Great Depression, the Players had 400 members, and a two-year waiting list. Membership dropped and then picked up after World War II, but the group has played continuously for the last century. These days, there are about 150 players, no waiting list, and the group wants others to know that if amateur theatre and making new friends is your cup of tea, you might consider joining.

Little has changed about The Players over the years, including the requirement that members wear tuxedos during shows.

“We make no secret of the fact that we’re an all-gentleman’s club, and I guess we’ll stay that way until the government finds out about us and shuts us down,” Turnbull joked, adding that it may well be the last male-exclusive theatre group in the country. “But we’re in our 100^th year, and while we have never had to before, we think it’s time to start reaching out to the community to let them know about us, and that we would welcome new members.”

Women and guests of The Players are allowed into the hall during select nights of the year. An open house is scheduled at the hall on East Jefferson from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23. Turnbull pointed out that dues are predictably modest given the economy . For more information call (313) 259-3385. Online, go towww.playersdetroit.org.

Players come from all walks of life, some are doctors, engineers, lawyers – or pipe fitters. Actors play serious and comedic characters, and just like in Shakespeare’s day, men take over women’s roles to the sounds of catcalls and whistles. Actors rehearse their roles for about a month before they put on their show.

“Some people can’t get past their own television for entertainment, and this is definitely something different,” said Brooks, who along with his wife has been a regular theatre-goer at area venues. He joined The Players last year. “I decided to give this place a try. Guys get to know you, you get to know them and it’s been a lot of fun.”

“I consider this place a big treehouse, we have a great time,” said Jendrzejewski, a past president of the group who uses his skills to help maintain the building’s heating system. “ I guess we all have two things in common. We all like amateur theatre. And we all like to have fun.”

IN THE FOUNDERS ROOM above The Players Playhouse in Detroit are (standing l-r) Roy Jendrzejewski and Dana Brooks of Pipe Fitters Local 636 and Andrew Maltese of Maltese Construction. Seated is Jim Turnbull, public relations director for the group.

THE PLAYERS hoist their mugs while awaiting a show.

THE PLAYERS PLAYHOUSE, in continuous use since 1925.