"Curtains"

August 27, 2009 — It was back to the Weathervane Theatre in Whitefield, New Hampshire this evening for a performance of Kander and Ebb's "Curtains," a musical murder mystery. In sharp contrast to the stiflingly hot theatre last week, this evening it was uncomfortably cold. This was a somewhat uneven show, with varying singing talents. The three female leads were excellent, but some of the male singers weren't quite ready for prime time. Several actors who I have admired in previous shows stumbled over their non-singing dialogue so frequently it became annoying. Maybe it's partly due to the fact the Weathervane is a repertory theatre where several different plays alternate. For instance, "Curtains" might be followed tomorrow night by "Sweeney Todd" followed by "Ain't Misbehavin'," then back to "Curtains," all with the same cast. Switching gears like this has to be difficult for actors and directors alike. The nearly three-hour "Curtains" seemed to drag at times, unlike the equally long "Heartbreak House" which seemed to move quickly.

When I left the theatre a little after 10 p.m., it was 47 degrees. I headed up to Lancaster where I had reserved a motel room where I was spending the night prior to driving up to Colebrook for the annual moose festival in the morning.

"Heartbreak House"

August 25, 2009 — The Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, off the beaten path in the former Hadley farm, has maintained a consistently high level of talent, production, direction and stagecraft. Well-known actor James Whitmore, who passed away earlier this year at age 87, was a mainstay at Peterborough, appearing as recently as last year as the stage manager in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." His son, James Whitmore, Jr., an equally excellent actor, appeared in this evening's performance of "Heartbreak House" by George Bernard Shaw. The entire cast was superb in this long play, three hours with two intermissions. But the time flew in this excellent production of Shaw's witty, sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant story of Britain's affluent but shallow society at the beginning of World War I. I thorooughly enjoyed it, and while there I made a reservation for the Players' next production, "Copenhagen."

"Hello, Dolly"

August 20, 2009 — After a delicious breakfast of brook trout fried in bacon fat, we sat outside and enjoyed more coffee and conversation with a beautiful view of the mountains of the Connecticut Lakes region. It was cool enough for jackets, a welcome change from the sweltering weather of recent days. We set out on another excursion into the wilds of northern New Hampshire. This time we got totally skunked fishing and once again there were no moose sightings, but the company of good friends and the unspoiled wilderness made it all worthwhile. The morning coolness gave way to heat once again as the sun moved higher. Around mid-afternoon, I bid a fond good-bye to my friends and began the 2 1/2-hour drive to North Conway where I had a reservation for "Hello, Dolly" at the Eastern Slope Inn Playhouse. The Playhouse was nearly but not quite as warm as the Weathervane a couple of days earlier, but A/C is rare in New England summer stock theatres. The performance was good, not quite as fast-moving and energetic as "Ain't Misbehavin'." Some of the singing talent left a bit to be desired, but there were some pretty good dance numbers.

"Ain't Misbehavin' "

August 18, 2009 — After dinner at busy, unpretentious Grandma's Kitchen in Whitefield, New Hampshire, I drove up the road to the Weathervane Theater to see "Ain't Misbehavin'." Just five performers carried this lively production of Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr.'s 1978 Tony Award-winning musical set in 1930s Harlem. In the cavernous, un-air-conditioned Weathervane, the audience happily sat sweltering through the two-hour, high-energy revue as the talented cast, two male and three female, soaked their costumes in sweat as they maintained a high level of energy under the lights on the even hotter stage. Normally, I would make the 2 1/2-hour drive home after a Weathervane show, but this time I had been invited to visit friends the next day at their camp in Pittsburg, so I drove 10 minutes north to Lancaster where I spent the night at the Lancaster Motor Inn.

Theatre Under the Stars

On a warm summer evening in the mountains, I attended an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at Theatre Under the Stars in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.

http://www.shakespeareinthevalley.com/

Many in the audience bring picnic baskets and spread out a lunch on the lawn. Wine bottles and goblets are everywhere. I attend at least a couple of performances a year here and have become acquainted with the founder and artistic director, the executive manager and several actors. The company values a friendly atmosphere and circulates among the patrons before and after the shows, getting to know as many as possible. The theatre is a New Hampshire treasure you might not know about unless you follow the performing arts.

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.