3rd Encore - Tragedy and Comedy on the Mountain - Published

Tragedy and Comedy on the Mountain - 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts is now published and available in eBook and paperback online at Amazon and CreateSpace, as well as at Blue Umbrella Books in Westfield, Massachusetts.

2nd Encore - Call for memories of theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Mass.

 

This is to put out a call for memories.  In preparation for a book I’d like to write on theatre on Mt. Tom in Holyoke, Massachusetts, I’d like anyone to contact me who is willing to share memories of experiences either as a member of the staff, an actor, or one of the audience.

 

Live theatre had seen different incarnations on Mt. Tom, some of which were discussed in thisprevious post.  The old playhouse, called The Casino at one time, hosted the Casino Stock Company in 1911.  In the 1930s there were the WPA-sponsored shows, and in 1941 came the heyday of Mt. Tom theatre with The Valley Players, some of whose members, including Hal Holbrook, went on to greater fame. 

 

In the early 1960s, with the discontinuing of The Valley Players, the Mt. Tom Playhouse played host to a variety of touring shows featuring well-known actors and actresses. 

 

The Casino is gone now, and Mountain Park was closed in 1987. 

I’d appreciate hearing from anyone with memories of theatre at Mt. Tom.  Either leave a comment or send me an email at: JacquelineTLynch@gmail.com.  I’d also be happy to conduct phone interviews or in person.  Just drop me a line and let me know.  Thank you.

Encore - Boston's Tremont Theater

A reader, John Y., recently contacted me with these two great scans of postcards of the Tremont Theater.  Though this blog has been on hiatus, I had to share them (and I'll post them as well on my New England Travels blog where my theater posts are now going).

His contribution is in response to this past post on Boston's Tremont Theater.

From John Y.: "Here you'll see an early, say, 1905 view of Tremont Street looking north towards Park Street. Just a hair to the right of center, if you look carefully, you'll be able to make out the "Tremont Theater" sign on the front of the marquis, the same as is on the first post card. On the right side of the marquis is "C. S. either Millard or Willard". The dance studio is upstairs and just to the right of that sign is a two-story tall Quaker Oats mural. Other businesses readable are Estley Organs and Weber Pianos. I'm confident that the white stone building at the right edge is the Masonic Temple.


Printed in Belgium for Kosmos Art Co., Boston, this view is dateable mostly because of the lack of electric and/or gas engine vehicles and the existence of the subway.

One of your bloggers, Herb, I think it was, correctly determined that the Astor Theater did occupy the building after our Tremont Theater.

If you or any of your friends would like, and you wouldn't mind being the connection, I'll be glad to share whatever views I have of the City. Just let me know what and whaere and I'll check my stuff."

Here is another from John's collection, dated a year later in 1906:

These are wonderful glimpses in Boston's magnificent theatre history, and I'd like to thank John very much for sharing them with us.

Last Act

Ruth Gordon in her autobiography remarks on the poignant cry of the stage manager when places for the final act of a closing show is announced to the players. Instead of calling “Act Three”, he calls, “Last Act”.

This is the last act for “Tragedy and Comedy in New England”, though not entirely a farewell. Though I will not be continuing this blog due to a work load that requires more of my attention elsewhere, I will continue to post on the history of theatre in New England on my other blog, “New England Travels”. I hope you can join me there. In the meantime, I will leave this blog up as it is for the near future, but will disable further comments.

Let’s not ring the curtain down; let’s just move the show to a different stage.

Off Topic - "Meet Me in Nuthatch" Review

Book review blog, “MotherLode” has recently reviewed my novel “Meet Me in Nuthatch”, available as an ebook through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Panned in Boston - John Philip Sousa's "Desiree"

These were hard times in the theatre in December 1884, at least in Boston’s Bijou Theater for one particular production called “Desiree”. Featured actor De Wolf Hopper got off lightly by the critic, “in spite of his exaggerations, he is a true comic artist and made all the success.”

This unnamed critic reporting in Byrne’s Dramatic Times called the play “a wearisome affair, well calculated to please Philadelphia and Washington, but devoid of any merit so far as the libretto is concerned. Some extremely pretty and fascinating music is saddled to the worst rot imaginable.”

One may ponder if the audiences of Philadelphia and Washington are less apt to spot “rot” than a New England audience, but one has to admire the old world flourish of condemnations like “rot”.

“It is a little bit the worst stuff presented in the name of comic opera for some time.”

He saves his best stuff for the heroine: “Miss Rose Leighton was, on the other hand, the worst. What possible excuse she had for appearing is beyond me.”

He liked the costumes.

“Desiree” was a comic operetta whose score was composed by the famous “March King” John Philip Sousa, with libretto by Edward M. Taber. Perhaps the above critic’s opinions were not unfounded, as the libretto was later revised by Jerrold Fisher and William Martin. It had premiered several months earlier at the National Theater in Washington.

De Wolf Hopper, a 6-foot, 5-inch mountain of a man, which in theatre terms made him more appropriate for comic roles than heroes, later went on to fame delivering recitations of the poem “Casey at the Bat”, which he also occasionally did for curtain calls. Perhaps that might have saved the play here.

Curtail Call, Arrested in Hartford

George and Sarah Bartley, players on the English stage from the late 1700s through the early 19th century, came to America on tour in 1818. It was a great success for them, but one episode in Hartford, Connecticut put a dent in their shiny newfound fame and fortune.

They took the stagecoach from New York City to Boston, and stopped in Hartford for a rest. According to Curtain Time - The Story of the American Theater by Lloyd Morris (Random House, NY, 1953), some prominent citizens in town invited them to present readings from plays and recitations. It wasn’t every day famous theater folk came to town. Probably because they had no theater. There were reasons for that, as we shall see.

The ballroom of Hartford’s “principal hotel” made do, but, this being New England, several more puritanical town fathers voiced opposition and demanded that the Attorney General of Connecticut “enforce the ‘blue law’ prohibiting theatrical performances and circuses.” Theatre, as we know, is a vice.

The Attorney General duly forbade the landlord of this establishment to hold his planned entertainment, but the landlord did not tell Mr. and Mrs. Bartley. So, on went the show in theatre tradition, and the thoroughly confused couple were immediately arrested after their bows, which the author notes was after midnight.

Bail was set at $500, more than a princely sum in the new republic, but fortunately, their hosts paid the bail. The court eventually let the Bartleys go, likely skedaddling up the Old Post Road with fresh horses. One hopes they had a better reception in Boston.

Upcoming Plays - December

At the Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut: “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted and directed by Michael Wilson. Runs through December 31st, 2010

At the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Center for the Arts, Old Saybrook, Connecticut: The National Theatre of London presents “Hamlet” December 9th.

“Nicholas Hytner, the National's artistic director, crafts a Hamlet for our time with Rory Kinnear, son of the late comic actor Roy, as an everyman melancholy Dane. A Hamlet for the Whatever generation, Kinnear's ‘performance is superb in its resonance and intelligence’- Libby Purves, The Times He's a ‘thrilling Hamlet in a hoodie’ - Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph. Come see what the British critics are raving about. Simulcast from the National Theatre of London.”

At the Merrimack Repertory Theater, Lowell, Massachusetts, “Beasley's Christmas Party”, adapted by C.W. Munger, from the story by Booth Tarkington. Runs through December 19th.

“From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Magnificent Ambersons comes this story of a curious journalist and his extremely eccentric next door neighbor who is planning a most unusual Christmas party. Magically and imaginatively delivered, it is a distinctly American and spiritually uplifting holiday story for the whole family filled with humor, heart and hope.”

The Portland Stage, Portland, Maine is also performing Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” December 3rd through 24th.

“Travel back in time to Victorian England where ghosts, time travel, and memories help a cold and lonely old miser regain his heart. Our adaptation remains remarkably true to Dickens' original book. Dickens' story seems best told in his words, allowing audiences to hear the richness of his language, and to experience the story of Scrooge's encounters with the spirits of past, present, and yet-to-come in the way that the author intended.”

The Shubert Theater of New Haven, Connecticut presents “Sister’s Christmas Catechism” December 3rd through 5th.

“The Mystery of the Magi's Gold…

“It's "Forensic Files goes to Bethlehem" in this holiday mystery extravaganza, from the author of Late Nite Catechism, as Sister takes on the mystery that has intrigued historians throughout the ages - whatever happened to the Magi's gold? ("We know that Mary used the frankincense and myrrh as a sort of potpourri - they were in a barn after all.")

Retelling the story of the nativity, as only Sister can, this hilarious holiday production is bound to become a yearly classic. Employing her own scientific tools, assisted by a local choir as well as a gaggle of audience members, Sister creates a living nativity unlike any you've ever seen. With gifts galore and bundles of laughs, Sister's Christmas Catechism is sure to become the newest addition to your holiday traditions.”

Off Topic and Off Blog - Interview

John Hayes of “Robert Frost’s Banjo” recently ran interview with me on my novel “Meet Me in Nuthatch.” Have a look here. And for those in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving.

Maude Adams' Boston Box-Office Bonanza

(This portait photo of Maude Adams, taken when she was about 20 in the early 1890s, is in the public domain.)

In 1901, it was reported of actress Maude Adams, “Miss Adams’ receipts last week in Boston were the largest in the history of Boston theaters or anywhere -- $23,000.” Not bad when you think most ticket prices were probably around fifty cents.

This quote chronicled in “Curtain Time - The story of the American Theater” by Lloyd Morris (Random House, NY, 1953), though a cold, if impressive fact, barely scratches the surface to describing the popularity of Maude Adams.

Born in the 1870s, she toured in stock since her early childhood, and by the turn of the century was at the top of her game. The works of J. M. Barrie were paramount in her repertoire (his “What Every Woman Knows” was written for her), and she is noted as the first American actress to play Barrie’s “Peter Pan” in 1905. It was the highpoint of her career, an enormous success in an era where theatre was the primary entertainment and had no competing media.

Author Lloyd Morris notes, “Miss Adams was…winsome rather than pretty, slight, frail and girlish. Her lilting speech and muted laughter, the delicacy of her treat, the graceful swiftness of her movement, gave her a quality that soon was described as ‘otherworldly’. Though intensely feminine, she made a curious impression of elusiveness, as if she had an elfin strain.”

Such qualities gave magic to anyone playing Peter Pan.

“Millions of Americans saw Miss Adams on stage, rejoiced in her performances, cherished a sense of genuinely personal relationship to her. Yet, paradoxically, only a handful of people really knew her. Frohman (producer Charles Frohman) believed that the illusions of the theater would be shattered if the public saw his stars off-stage, or knew too much about them.”

Intriguing, and somehow sad. So much devotion, so many box office receipts, to be really known by only a handful of people.

The Audience That Wouldn't Leave

Sometime in the mid-1800s, when theatre was hundreds of years old and yet still, seemingly to our modern sophistication, still in its infancy, “Oliver Twist” was presented in Lowell, Massachusetts. The play, based upon the Charles Dickens novel, must have been a hit, because the audience did not want to leave.

According to the “Before the Footlights and Behind the Scenes”, a book on American theatre stories by Olive Logan, (Parmelee & Co., Philadephia, 1870), after the play ended, the audience stayed in their seats, looking, perhaps expectantly, at the drawn curtain.

It is a painful moment in theatre when the audience walks out before the play is over, but perhaps merely awkward when they choose not to leave at all.

At last, the stage manager came out in front of the curtain and handled the problem, as stage managers are supposed to do, with absolute authority, and if possible, tact. He announced,

“Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to inform you that the play has terminated. As all the principal characters are dead, it cannot, of course, go on.”

That seemed reasonable to the audience, who finally went away.

"Claudia" at the Court Square Theater

“Claudia” came to the Court Square Theater in Springfield, Massachusetts for three performances in March 1943. The play had just closed on Broadway the month before after a successful run of almost two years. The lead in that Broadway production, Dorothy McGuire, was whisked off to Hollywood to make her first motion picture. Phyllis Thaxter played the irrepressible young bride, Claudia in this road production.

This show also featured Donald Cook and Frances Starr reprising their Broadway roles. Both stage veterans with long careers, Mr. Cook also appeared in films, including the 1936 “Show Boat.”

Rose Franken, author of the play, directed both the Broadway and road shows.

Upcoming Plays

Upcoming plays for November:

At the Hartford Stage, Shakespeare’s “Anthony and Cleopatra” featuring Kate Mulgrew and John Douglas Thompson currently runs through November 6th.

At the Majestic Theater, West Springfield, Massachusetts, “Escanaba in Love” by Jeff Daniels runs October 29th through December 5th.

The Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents the east coast premiere of “Four Places” by Joel Drake Johnson through November 7th.

“This honest, compassionate and profound drama evokes the most familiar and heartfelt aspects of family relations. Two middle-aged siblings take their mother out to lunch where the conversation turns from routine banter to life-changing revelation. The indelible characters are both marvelously funny and devastatingly human as they lead one another to a place where forgiveness and understanding are tested, but love is still possible. (Contains Adult Language and Suggestive Dialogue).”

The Vermont Actors Repertory Theatre presents “The Savannah Disputation” by Evan Smith November 17th through 20th.

 “The theological back-and-forth shines a light on the combatants’ personalities, so we get a glimpse into, if not the souls, then at least the hearts and minds of four people who are secretly grappling with doubt, fear, loneliness, and regret about paths not taken. Along the way, there are plenty of laughs…In other words, faith is a complicated business-and even sometimes, as DISPUTATION shows, a funny business, too.” -Boston Globe “Smith’s script is, above all else, VERY funny; it’s comedy rooted in situation and character in the best way…blissfully entertaining. But at the same time, Smith never shies from the important subjects at the heart of his play…This is a play filled with heady and fascinating theological and philosophical debate.” -NYTheatre.com”

At the Huntington Theater in Boston, The Shirley, Vermont Plays presents “Circle Mirror Transformation” by Annie Baker, directed by Melia Bensussen, through November 14th.

See you next week.

No post today.  See you next week.

"Meet Me in Nuthatch" - A Novel

This is to announce my book.

"Meet Me in Nuthatch", a novel of humor, warmth, Christmas tree farming, dressing up like it was 1904, and selling your small town to a theme park conglomerate is now issued as an ebook on Amazon Kindle, and on Smashwords, available in a variety of formats.

Here’s the blurb:

A publicity stunt to attract tourists to a small dying town (population 63), results in the entire community turning the clock back to 1904. It is local Christmas tree farmer Everett Campbell’s idea, after watching the film “Meet Me in St. Louis,” his young daughter’s new favorite movie. What begins as half practical joke and half desperate ploy initiates the rebirth of Nuthatch, Massachusetts. Tourists do come, along with the media. Everett’s resentful teenaged son rebels at living in the pretend past. His wife, a medical transcriptionist who works at home, a self-employed and self-professed loner, has panic attacks when tourists stop to take her picture. The town’s unofficial historian, a genteel septuagenarian, supports Everett’s scheme, but for personal gain.


To Everett’s dismay, his campaign to save their community results in also attracting representatives of a chain of theme parks who want to buy Nuthatch 1904. Everett now stands to lose his town in a way he never imagined, and the community is divided on which alternate future to choose. On the sidelines but ever encroaching toward the center is a local drug dealer, the longtime enemy of Everett and his best friend Bud, who discovers a new opportunity to threaten them and exploit the town, or its new owner.

The novel is mainly humorous, a bit poignant, a little sad, briefly scary, incidentally educational, and so gosh darn entertaining if you like that sort of thing.

You do not need a Kindle or other e-reader device, as both Kindle and Smashwords versions can be downloaded to your computer. It sells for $2.99.

MEET ME IN NUTHATCH is available here on Amazon, and also available on Smashwords.

Hal Holbrook Recording Found - Valley Players, Holyoke, Mass.

A collector of old audio recordings recently contacted me about a reel-to-reel tape he discovered in a flea market in North Carolina some years ago, which features actor Hal Holbrook that was labeled: " Holbrook - recording made in Guilds living room 176 Lincoln St, in late winter 1957 of publicity material prior to his performance of Mark Twain tonight at the Mt. Park Casino to open the Valley Players 16th season".

We discussed the Valley Players of Holyoke, Massachusetts in this previous post. Hal Holbrook was among the most notable young actors who graduated from his summer stock performances there on Mt. Tom to a long career on stage, film, and television. The recording appears perhaps to be either commercial spots or recorded interviews meant for publicizing the one-man play he created, “Mark Twain Tonight”. The Guilds were Carlton and Jean Guild who founded the Valley Players in 1941.

Mr. K. Morgan found this tape with others which also includes recorded material by Orson Welles and others. He is offering these tapes to anyone who wants them, free of charge, because he does not want these tapes to be lost if they are of historical significance or value to someone. He is offering as well to digitize the material, so no worries about not having a reel-to-reel player.

If anyone is interested in this audio material, please contact Mr. Morgan at: kensunm@gmail.com.

Our thanks to Mr. Morgan for respecting this material as part of our shared cultural heritage. As we’ve seen regarding the discovering of old film, it is often the private collectors who find and protect lost material, and we owe them a lot.

The Little Theatre of Fall River, Massachusetts

Theatre is a magical part of community life. Large cities boast theatrical venues as part of their urban charm. Regional theaters and summer stock companies are extolled as among the virtues of vacation destinations.

And then we have the largely un-sung but enormously important community theatre world of semi-professional and amateur meeting after work for the challenge and the fun.

One such company, or community we may call it because that’s what it really is: The Little Theatre of Fall River, Massachusetts.

Like many community theatres, this organization was for decades essentially nomadic, performing plays in any local venue that was available and it could afford. Even today, the Little Theatre splits its time between the renovated old firehouse, pictured above, and a community college auditorium.

Have a look at the group’s website for a fun history of the intrepid players. I especially love the description of how early productions at the Women’s Club allowed for no wing space and how stage right opened right out to a fire escape, and how audiences had to wait patiently while sets were changed. The writer notes, “The casts and stage crews were hardier then, as were the audiences.”

The Little Theatre performed “Pygmalion” and “Pride and Prejudice”, all manner of historical costume dramas many smaller groups tend to shy away from these days for their difficulty and expense. Impressive, when you consider this group was formed in 1936, the middle of the Great Depression.

Their next production is “Rent” to be performed at the Margaret L. Jackson Performing Arts Center at Bristol Community College in Fall River. The show runs October 7th through the 10th. Have a look at the Little Theatre website here for details on show times.

Lizzie May Ulmer on Tour

This ad from Byrnes’ Dramatic Times announces the beginning of a new season with Lizzie May Ulmer in the lead of “Dad’s Girl”, a part she would play in traveling stock for several weeks, if not years, to come. Her tour had its ups and downs.

The play, as the ad tells us, was written for her by Mr. E. J. Swartz, who was a well known journalist as well as playwright of the day. The play opened in Boston in August of 1884. We might assume that the North Scituate, Massachusetts address for G. T. Ulmer, the company’s actor/manager, could be the Ulmer summer digs, in this era before summer stock in small towns.

The play is set in New England, and a famous scene takes place on Nantasket Beach, that finger of sand that stretches out into Massachusetts Bay, just north of North Scituate.

Miss Ulmer plays Malvina Hoskins, a New England girl adopted by a grizzled adventurer from the wild West. “Dad” has made his pile and is settling down in the refined East with his tomboy charge. The ad calls it a “New England Ideal Play” and we can also assume that stereotypes abounded.

Following the play on a few stops around the country through newspaper reviews, we glimpse the astonishingly hard life the stock players had. Not only did they have to brave audiences and critics, but endured a rigorous schedule of arduous traveling.

After two weeks in Boston, the company headed for the Fourteenth Street Theatre in New York City. The New York Times of September 5, 1884 referred to Miss Ulmer as “a young actress seeking a ‘metropolitan reputation’ in a “felicitously entitled ‘Dad’s Girl’.” The slightly condescending “your playing with the big boys now” attitude fails to note that Lizzie May Ulmer had already trod the boards in traveling stock for many years, and had already had her portrait painted by Nelson A. Primus in Boston. Painted in 1876, her portrait is now part of the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford. Primus was one of the eminent African-American artists of his time.

The painting shows a dark-haired young woman, quite girlish, with an almost impish expression on her face that may have served her well in the number of child waifs and ingénue roles for which she was famous.

In “Dad’s Girl” her robust curiosity and courage helps to solve several thefts and murders. Oh, and she falls in love with a Good and Honest Man.

The review in the New York Times on September 9th hammers both the play and the actress.

The central figure in a not-over ambitious drama entitled “Dad’s Girl” cannot be said to have achieved brilliant success. To what extent this is owing to the deficiencies of Mr. E. J. Swarz’s remarkable picture of New England life, and in how great a degree to the actress’s own shortcomings cannot yet be decided. Miss Ulmer’s character is that of a slangy young woman whose heart is in the right place. If we are not mistaken, the same character has been seen before in various guises. The play is utterly improbable and is devoid of literary value. Two murders and any number of thefts are connected with the plot of “Dad’s Girl”, and its most striking scene is a view of Nantasket Beach at night, with not a soul in sight to enjoy the dazzling effect of the light of a monster moon falling upon a placid sea. Mr. Leslie Allen played a conventional old man in a conventional manner, and Mr. George C. Boniface imparted some interest to the character of an unaccountable idiot.

Still, he hands a valentine at the end:

“Last night’s audience found a great deal to admire in Miss Ulmer’s acting.”

Either the play improved, or the critics’ mood did, by the time the company reached Charlotte, North Carolina two weeks later. The Daily Mirror of October 4, 1884 noted of the September 22nd performance, that “Dad’s Girl” played to “crowded houses. Miss Ulmer has made herself a favorite, and she will always be assured of a good house here.”

On the way to Charlotte, they stopped for five days to perform at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.

However, when they played in Pittsburg the following February, The Sporting Life newspaper of Philadelphia reported:

A great misfortune occurred to Miss Lizzie May Ulmer at Pittsburg, PA on Wednesday night when she was playing in “Dad’s Girl.” At the close of the performance she fainted, and on regaining consciousness she was found to be totally blind.” This was said to be a relapse from a long illness she had in St. Paul.

When “Dad’s Girl” came back to New York, this time playing at the Third Avenue Theatre. The New York Times noted:

This was her first appearance in several weeks, as her season was interrupted at Pittsburgh some time ago by sickness. She performed her part with considerable dash and spirit, and evidently pleased the audience, which was large enough to fill half the house.

Dash and spirit, but only a half-full house. So goes another year of bringing Nantasket Beach in all its moonlit glory to every great city and whistlestop.

Upcoming Plays for September and October

Here are some upcoming plays for September and October, 2010:

At the Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, Massachusetts: Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.”

Directed by Julianne Boyd, the show runs October 6, 2010 - October 24, 2010.

“The Crucible was written in response to Joseph McCarthy’s blacklisting of Americans suspected of being Communists in the 1950s. Set in 1692, The Crucible focuses on the witch hunts in Salem, Massachusetts where a community is engulfed by hysteria after a group of teenage girls, accused of witchcraft, begin naming names. A timeless classic and one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.”

At the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, Massachusetts:

The world premiere of “No Wake” written by William Donnelly, directed by Kyle Fabel.

“An estranged couple struggles to cope with the death of their daughter in William Donnelly’s world premiere play. Edward and Rebecca have moved on since their divorce- she to a new husband and he to a series of failed relationships. However, when an unexpected tragedy brings them back together, they’re forced to navigate a web of grief and guilt that leads to tears, laughter, and, ultimately, hope. At once deeply touching and filled with humor, ‘No Wake’ takes an honest look at the grieving process and the unexpected consequences it can bring.”

At the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, “Carnival!” runs through September 18th.

“The magical and heart-warming tale of a naïve young woman who eagerly joins a traveling circus. Surrounded by a riot of acrobats and jugglers, music makers and clowns, she is dazzled at first by the troupe’s manipulative magician. In the end she finds happiness with a disillusioned puppeteer who can only express himself through his delightful puppets. Based on the film “Lili” and with songs like “Love Makes the World Go Round” and "Her Face," Carnival! casts a romantic spell over the entire audience.”

Music and lyrics by Bob Merrill, book by Michael Stewart.

At The Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut, William Shakespeare’s “Antony & Cleopatra” will be presented from October 7th through November 7th.

Directed by Tina Landau

“Joining critically acclaimed Shakespearean actor John Douglas Thompson as Mark Antony is the incomparable Kate Mulgrew (Broadway’s Equus, TV's Star Trek: Voyager and Ryan’s Hope) as Cleopatra, returning to Hartford Stage for the first time since her memorable portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Tea at Five!”

The Ivoryton Playhouse in Ivoryton, Connecticut presents “Driving Miss Daisy”
September 29th through October 17th.

The Majestic Theater in West Springfield, Massachusetts presents “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” runs through October 17th.

The Merrimack Repertory Theater presents “The Complete World of Sports (abridged)” by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, featuring the Reduced Shakespeare Company runs through October 3rd.

“The “bad boys of abridgement” sprint through the world of sports at record-breaking speed in this brand-new championship comedy. From the earliest cavemen playing “Neanderthal in the Middle” to your own kid’s soccer practice, it’ll be a marathon of madness and mayhem as the entire history of world sports explodes in a tour de farce of physical theatre.”

The New Repertory Theatre of Watertown, Massachusetts presents David Mamet’s “Boston Marriage” in the Charles Moseisan Theater through October 3rd.

“In this biting comedy by David Mamet, Anna and Claire, two “women of fashion” who have long resided together, scheme to obtain the objects of their desire. Anna maintains their upper-middle class Victorian lifestyle as the mistress of a wealthy man who provides her with a healthy income and a distinctive emerald necklace for her companionship. When Claire’s attentions stray from Anna, Anna devises the “perfect plan” that grows in outlandishness, even as it backfires and the innocent parlor maid gets caught in the crossfire.”

The North Shore Music Theatre of Beverly, Massachusetts presents “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” September 21st through October 10th.

“Based on the popular 1988 MGM film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS centers on two con men living on the French Riviera – the suave and sophisticated Lawrence Jameson, who makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money; and a small-time crook named Freddy Benson, who, more humbly, swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother’s failing health. After meeting on a train, they unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this small French town isn’t big enough for the two of them. So they make a bet: the first one to swindle $50,000 from a young heiress, triumphs and the other must leave town. What follows are a series of schemes, masquerades and double-crosses in which nothing may ever be exactly what it seems.”

Book by Jeffrey Lane, music and lyrics by David Yazbek.

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” starring Christopher Lloyd plays at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland, Vermont September 28th.

At the Portland Stage, Portland, “Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps”, adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan runs September 28th through October 4th.

“Mix an Alfred Hitchcock classic with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of vintage Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone that loves the magic of theater. This Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 characters – played by a talented cast of four – handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance.”

The American Repertory Theater of Cambridge, Massachusetts presents “Cabaret” through October, featuring Amanda Plummer at The Emcee. Book by Joe Masteroff

The Huntington Theatre presents “Bus Stop” by William Inge, directed by Nicholas Martin September 17th through October 17th at the Boston University Theatre.

“A snowstorm strands a bus outside of Kansas City, and its passengers — including a stubborn, lovestruck cowboy and the nightclub singer he hopes to marry – seek shelter and warmth at a roadside diner. The motley crew spends one night together, filled with bluster, heartache, and laughter, searching for love in this classic American comedy.”

The Ridgefield Theater Barn of Ridgefield, Connecticut presents Neil Simon’s “The Prisoner of Second Avenue.” Directed by Matt Austin, the show runs through October 2nd.

“The story revolves around the escalating problems of a middle-aged couple living on Second Avenue on the Upper East Side of New York City. Mel Edison has just lost his job after many years and now has to cope with being unemployed at middle age. An intense summer heat wave and a prolonged garbage strike just exacerbates his plight to no end as he and his wife Edna deal with noisy neighbors, loud sounds emanating from Manhattan streets up to their apartment and even a robbery of their apartment during broad daylight. Neil Simon walks a tightrope between comedy and drama in this bittersweet production.”

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse, Weirs Beach, Laconia, New Hampshire presents “Love Letters” by A. R. Gurney, staring Broadway veteran Carolyn Kirsch, October 8th through 10th.

“Letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together but went their separate ways teach us what is implied is as revealing and meaningful as what is actually written.”

Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre Play Writing Contest

The Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre are now opening their “Fifth Annual Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest”.

Sponsored by the Killington/Rutland Holiday Inn,

“This is the fifth year of world premiere staged One-Act Play performances to be presented in the Brick Box at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland, Vermont. The Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre in its exciting fifth season is again presenting the Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest with showcase productions of the three winning scripts on May 06 and 07, 2011. This contest features the work of three outstanding regional playwrights. Each script goes through a rigorous screening process of two panels in a blind reading. The scripts with the highest scores are submitted to the final reader who selects the three scripts to be showcased.”

Entry information is available at www.actorsrepvt.org or can be requested by writing to:

The Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest
Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre
PO Box 580
Rutland, Vermont 05702

Or by emailing at:   actorsrepvt@aol.com