1 Day, 2 Shows

June 18, 2022 — I headed for Maine for the second time this season to the town of Wells for the Maine Coastal Cruisers' 25th anniversary car show at Wells Junior High School. There was ample room on the junior high's spacious parking lots for the medium-size collection of vehicles. Although not one of the largest shows so far this season, it was rewarding in its variety. An advantage of being in Maine was that it offered many cars I hadn't seen before in my travels to car shows this year in a relatively small area of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. A highlight of the show was a fleet of beautifully restored antique pickup trucks.

Returning home from the Maine show I stopped at the Classic Car & Pin-Up Party in Manchester, New Hampshire at what appeared to be a hastily-arranged show featuring antique and late model cars and rock bands. Cars were parked at angles along a stretch of Manchester's main drag, Elm Street, with their front ends jutting out into the busy street which remained open to traffic. Getting in front of the cars for photographs took some careful timing to avoid the fast-moving city traffic that seemed to come within inches of the show cars. Overall, photography was the most difficult I could remember.

I never did learn what the "Pin-Up Party" was all about, but I didn't see any evidence of it while I was there. I left to go home for supper, thinking I might return, but it started raining, so the pin-ups, whoever they were, might never have made an appearance.

My coverage of the Maine show can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/wellscarshow/

Pictures from Classic Car & Pin-Up, minus the pin-ups, are at  this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/carsandpinup/

"Private Lives"

June 15, 2022 — Let me set this up for you. Elyot has married Victor's ex-wife, Sibyl. Coincidentally, Amanda, Elyot's ex-wife, has married Sibyl's ex-husband, Victor. By an even greater coincidence, the two couples, unknowingly, have booked adjacent honeymoon suites in a luxury hotel in France. Got that? Only Noël Coward could have dreamed up such a scenario. "Private Lives" has been hailed by some critics as his finest work. I first saw it at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire fourteen years ago. When I discovered it was being staged at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire this year, I decided enough time had gone by so I could enjoy again, and made a reservation.

It seems as though Nicholas Wilder is everywhere. I've been seeing him at least once per season for several years. A versatile actor, especially in comedy, he's equally comfortable in Monty Pythonesque silliness or a comedy of manners like "Private Lives" where he appears as Elyot.

Amanda, Elyot's ex-wife, is portrayed by Molly Kane Parker. Haley Jones plays the part of Sybil, now married to Elyot. Both these women are strong-willed and self-assured, and it's 1930, a time when women were expected to be subservient and submissive. Michael Luongo plays Amanda's current husband. All the actors were excellent in a demanding play. All Americans, their British accents were well-practiced and convincing. Gwen Elise Higgins appeared briefly as a French maid. More about her further on.

It's obvious from the start there are already tensions in the two new marriages. Elyot is annoyed by Sybil's questions about his previous marriage. Victor is angered by what he perceives as  Elyot's cruelty toward Amanda during her marriage to him. Their conversations tend to fluctuate back and forth between affection and acrimony. The two couples eventually discover each other in the adjacent suites, both using the same open terrace.

By the end of the first act, Elyot and Amanda have discovered they still love one another. Beautiful set design and construction is a highlight of all Winnipesaukee productions, and in the second act, after a conversion from the terrace of the hotel to Amanda's luxurious apartment, Elyot and Amanda are together again. But soon the same tensions that led to their divorce rise again, and the second act ends with Amanda smashing a phonograph record over Elyot's head, Elyot throwing Amanda on the sofa, Amanda dragging Elyot across the floor, numerous objects being thrown, and the act ends just as Victor and Sybil walk in.

The third act begins the next morning. I mentioned Gwen Elise Higgins in a previous paragraph. She proved to be a great audience-pleaser in her brief appearance as a French maid, disgusted with the mess in the apartment left by Elyot and Amanda's free-for-all she had to clean up. Her limited English and the two couples' limited French trying to converse led to the most laughs from the audience up to that point.

All I'll say about the ending is that it's not what you might have expected. I was right in my belief I could enjoy it all over again after fourteen years. Clayton Phillips directed this production. Michelle Elyse Levinson was the stage manager. Hannah Joy Hopkins designed the set and an excellent job it was. Lighting was by Heather M. Crocker. Adrianne Williams did the costume design. Winnipesaukee Players producing artistic diector Neil Pankhurst handled sound design.

 

Thunderama

June 11, 2022 — New England's Vintage Thunderbird Club, Inc. held it's show at the Little Red School House in Dunstable, Massachusetts, better known as the site of the AACA's fall meet in October which I've been attending for many years. As you might expect from the organization hosting it, this June show was dominated by Thunderbirds, but all makes were welcome.

It was a good show, especially for Thunderbird enthusiasts, but a scattering of other makes gave the show a good mix. Even if you're not particularly enthused by Thunderbirds, you probably would have found the history of this iconic brand and its many reinventions well-represented by the models from its origins in the '50s to 2005 fascinating.

If you missed the show, check out my representative sampling of the best it had to offer at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/thunderama2022/

1 Weekend, 2 Shows

June 4-5, 2022 — A weekend of perfect weather guaranteed success for two popular car shows. First, on Saturday, Goffstown Rotary Club in Goffstown, New Hampshire held its 9th annual show featuring an eclectic collection of cars of all makes and years, classic and custom, both domestic and imported.

With temperature in the low 70s and low humidity, it was far more comfortable than the past two weekends that saw the thermometer soar to an unseasonable 90 with humidity in the oppressive range. We expect this kind of whether in July, but our bodies just weren't ready for it this soon.

Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday weather-wise for the 12th annual Marlborough Main Street Car Show, held in downtown Marlborough, Massachusetts. Returning after a two-year absence due to COVID, pent-up spectators came out en masse, filling Main Street with a crowd so dense it was difficult to move around. Photography was challenging.

The show in the past had a good mix, but was slightly dominated by customs this year. The classics had a larger share in previous years. Even imports, well-represented in the past, were hard to find. Still, it was worthwhile, always one of my favorite early-season shows, and I expect I'll be there in the future.

The Goffstown series can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/goffstown2022/

Select this link to view the Marlborough photos, including one video:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/marlborough22/