"Morning's at Seven"

July 23, 2019 — Three sisters are next door neighbors, a fourth lives a few blocks away. Cora (Kathy Manfre) and her husband, Ted (Greg Wood) and Cora's single sister, Aaronetta (Becky London) have lived together for nearly 50 yearrs. Next door reside third sister Ida (Dale Hodges) and her rambling husband, Carl (Kraig Swartz). Fourth sister Esther (Lisa Bostnar) and her husband David (Ken Sheldon) have moved several blocks away because David finds the three other sisters intolerable. Got all that?

The Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, presents Paul Osborn's "Morning's at Seven," directed for the Players by artistic director Gus Kaikkonen. The title is from a line in a Robert Browning poem. The set consisted of two beautifully designed and constructed house façades side by side on the stage, the creation of  resident scenic designer Emmy Boisvert.

This comedy of a dysfunctional mid-western family takes place long before the word dysfunctional was in use in the '30s. I haven't mentioned the two most important characters yet, Homer (Tom Frey), Ida and Carl's 40-year-old son, and his fiancée, Myrtle (Bridget Beirne). They've been engaged for seven years and have been going together years before that. Homer is bringing Myrtle, who none have met, home for the first time.

I won't go into all the complications that arise when old resentments and jealousies surface. Homer may change his mind about marriage. Cora has leased the house from Ida that Homer and Myrtle had planned to live in. Cora wants to move there with Ted to get away from her single sister, Aaronetta, who has lived with them for many years. Believe it or not, this is all fun to watch. It features a cast of the Players' best actors, and the more than two hours seemed to go by quickly.

"Damn Yankees"

July 3, 2019 — I saw "Damn Yankees" fifteen years ago, but when it came to the Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire last week, I decided I had forgotten enough about it to enjoy it all over again. The musical comedy first came to Broadway in 1955, with book by George Abbott and Douglas Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Barnstormers artistic director Bob Shea directed this presentation, with set design by Sarah Rozene and costume design by Mary Selvoski.

Those of us old enough to remember the Washington Senators baseball team and especially those who may have been fans of the inept ball club can certainly commiserate with fanatical fan Joe Boyd (Doug Shapiro) and his long-suffering wife, Meg (Raissa Dorff). Joe makes a pact with the devil in the person of Mr. Applegate (George F. Piehl) who offers him the opportunity to become Joe Hardy (Alexander Molina), a terrific long ball hitter who could beat the hated Yankees in the race to the American League pennant. Joe insists on an escape clause where he can revert to his former life if he doesn't play in the Senators' final game.

Of course, complications arise, and Joe Hardy in his travels with the Senators begins to miss being Joe Boyd and especially misses Meg, who has no idea where he disappeared to. Joe is dogged by intrepid reporter Gloria (Cheryl Mullings) who is finding gaps in his past that can't be accounted for.

I'd like to give special mention to Piehl, a Barnstormers regular, always outstanding, but he gives a boffo performance in this play as Applegate. Lola (Becca Gottlieb), his accomplice, is great in the song and dance numbers. I won't attempt to name all thirty members of the cast, ensemble and orchestra, but a fine group was assembled for this production. Singing was OK but not outstanding, but those great dance numbers, led by Sara Coombs and Pim van Amerongen, got the most enthusiastic response from the audience.

I was right. I had forgotten almost everything about "Damn Yankees" from fifteen years ago, and it seemed like an all-new play, and overall a very pleasant experience.