"Or,"

September 4, 2020 — The Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire, closed due to the COVID-19 threat since March, is having a brief revival this fall with limited audiences and a plethora of rules and restrictions. Upon arrival for this performance in their newly constructed outdoor amphitheater, our temperature was taken, we had to answer a series of questions pertaining to symptoms, associations and recent travel, then we had to sign a statement and provide our phone number and email address for tracking purposes. You know the drill if you've been to a doctor's appointment in the last six months.

We were finally directed in an orderly fashion to pre-assigned seating, spaced well apart by groups, a group being several related or otherwise connected individuals or as few as one. Face masks must be worn throughout the performance. Theater employees, but not actors, are required to wear masks. The "Winni" deserves our gratitude for their efforts to make desperately-needed entertainment in this dismal season safe and enjoyable.

There was no relaxing of the Winni's production values and professionalism. This play ranks up there with the best they've ever produced. The actors do not wear masks or observe social distancing from each other but are safely distanced from the first theater row. They're tested for COVID and confined to their own living quarters during each performance run.

The current play is entitled "Or," (the comma is part of the title) by Liz Duffy Adams. Under the direction of Aileen Wen McGroddy, three of the Winni's most talented actors appeared in a comic take on 1660's England. London is recovering from the Great Fire and — how timely — a plague! Aphra Behn, a former spy, has just been released from debtors' prison and is intent on becoming England's first woman playwright. Charles II is King. That much is true. The rest is from Adams' fertile, bawdy imagination.

Rebecca Tucker is Aphra in a tour de force performance, rushing to get her play done in a day while balancing her gay relationship with Nell Gwynne (Haley Jones), heterosexual affair with King Charles (Nicholas Wilder) and a surprise appearance by former lover William Scott (also played by Wilder), who may or may not be involved in a plot to murder the king. Besides her role as Nell, Jones also played the maid, as well as Lady Davenant whose scenery-eating turn caused the audience to break into spontaneous applause.

The outdoor stage was perfectly built to support the play's costume-changing, door-slamming antics. The 17th Century costumes were brilliantly designed by DW along with associate designer Jennifer Paar, and there were many of them with the three actors playing six roles. Scenic design was by Gwen Elise Higgins. Nick Cochran has a minor role as the jailer.

The Winni has another outdoor play scheduled, then they move indoors for one more. If you go, plan ahead for the drive, questionnaire and strictly regulated seating, plays from one and a half to two hours without intermission, wearing a mask for the whole time, and the drive home. Frequently sanitized restrooms are available through a theater side entrance. Not exactly a casual theater experience, but personally I thought it was worth the minor inconvenience to see a live play again. Thank you, Winnipesaukee Playhouse!