An Evening at the New London Barn

Traveled to New London, New Hampshire, today to see a performance of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" at the New London Barn Playhouse. The Barn is New Hampshire's oldest continuously operating summer stock theatre, and it's on the New Hampshire registry of historic sites. As usual, I arrived early enough so I had time to stroll around the town and snap some pictures. New London, home of Colby-Sawyer College, is a pretty town with a picturesque college campus, lots of old homes, well manicured yards, and flowers everywhere.

The play was a pleasant surprise. After a summer of disappointing shows up to now, the Barn's production of "Anything Goes" was lively and entertaining, with great song and dance numbers and sparkling talent — a real audience-pleaser. The cramped coziness of the barn-like theatre made it all the more fun.

Nice touch: Near the end of the intermission, actors picked audience members and brought them on stage for a dance. I wasn't among those selected. Too bad. It was a slow waltz. I could have handled it.