"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.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles"

June 27 — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would roll over in his grave if he could witness this adaptation by Steven Canny and John Nicholson. But Doyle's classic tale of horror practically invites parody for today's sophisticated audiences. Jean's Playhouse in Lincoln, New Hampshire presented this madcap adaptation, directed by Courtney Self with scenic design by Evan Hill and costumes by Ariel Couture.

The best way for me to credit the actors is to present them just as they're listed on the program. John Marshall appears as Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Barrymore, Cecille Stapleton and more. Christopher Sferra plays the roles of Dr. Watson and a "yokel." Tyler Mell switches between Sir Henry Baskerville, Mortimer, Sir Charles Baskerville and more. That's it. Three actors play at least eleven parts, maybe more. I kind of lost count.

The actors range over a large stage at a frenetic pace with many costume changes and props. As chaotic as it seems, this had to be a precisely choreographed production just to keep track of everything as the actors leave parts of costumes and other items seemingly dropped randomly, but still find everything when they need it. The costumes, some only partial, were fairly on the crude side and designed to be used and discarded quickly and repeatedly. John Marshall in drag as Cecille Stapleton was the best impersonation.

It was a hilarious show, especially the first act. After intermission, the high energy of the first act seemed to flag a bit. But overall, actors and audience genuinely had fun with it. It was an evening well-spent in the heart of New Hampshire's White Mountains.

"Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven"

June 26, 2019 — I haven't been able to decide whether I liked this play. It's low-key, except for a brief, violent outburst near the end. It had an intermission, but with a total time on-stage of barely more than 90 minutes, it didn't really need it. I'm also finding it difficult to review, but here goes:

On an unnamed island just off the U.S. mainland, unkempt, sloppily-dressed Thomas (Steven Michael Walters), an artist, has come down to the ferry dock, one of his favorite places to meditate. There he finds a woman (Aliah Whitmore) with a large travel case sitting alone at the end of a long bench. She's wearing a heavy winter coat and hijab, or headscarf, of the type Muslim women wear. He tries to start a conversation but she's unresponsive for several minutes, but Whitmore's silent acting is one of the highlights of the play. Her facial expressions say volumes.

She eventually warms up to Thomas' clumsy efforts to make conversation and we learn she's Iranian, a college student majoring in literature, and her brother threw her from the car after an argument and left her to make her own way back to the mainland. Thomas points out that she misread the ferry schedule and the next ferry isn't that evening but the next day. He invites her to walk to his mother's house a short distance away where she can spend the night. The door is always unlocked. She can sleep on the living room sofa. His mother won't mind.

Next morning, Mahida's on the sofa asleep, covered in blankets, headscarf off. Thomas' mother, Edna (Kathy Manfre), comes down the stairs and finds her, but doesn't seem particularly surprised. Mahida eventually awakens, conservative Edna grills her with a battery of prying questions about her nationality and her country's customs of which she has many misconceptions. When they hear Thomas begin to descend the stairs, Mahida urgently asks him to wait, finds her headscarf and dons it, carefully arranging the flowing fabric around her neck. It's interesting she can't be seen by a man with her head uncovered, although it has become obvious she's not strictly religious.

Finally, with Thomas and Mahida out for a walk, Mahida's menacing brother, Ramin (Adham Haddara) shows up at Edna's door, barges in without invitation, claims he's there to get his sister, gets some of the same line of questioning Edna used on Mahida, which he mostly ignores or scoffs at. It becomes obvious he's a much more devout Muslim than his sister. When Thomas and Mahida return, Ramin is there alone and Edna is nowhere to be seen. Ramin says she went shopping, which Thomas finds unbelievable. A violet scuffle breaks out between the two men, with Ramin easily overpowering Thomas.

The message I got from the play is that if we could accept, if not understand, our different cultures, beliefs and customs, secularism outweighs those things in our relations to one another. In the end, all except Radim, who storms out in a huff, understand this. Everyone survives their injuries, both physical and spiritual.

I never figured out the meaning of the title, "Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven" by Russell Davis. Presented at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the play was directed by Players artistic director Gus Kaikkonen. Charles Morgan designed the excellent multiple sets, and Bethany Mullins was responsible for costume design.

I guess I liked it. I was never bored at any time. Performances by the four actors were first-rate, as we've come to expect at the Players.

"The Pajama Game"

June 12, 2019 — There are many songs that are so familiar to most everyone that we recognize them immediately, but have no idea of their origin. How about "Hey There"? Have you heard "There Once Was a Man"? "Steam Heat"? "Hernando's Hideaway"? Most of us can hear them in our heads and even remember many of the lyrics upon hearing the titles. But do you know where they came from? Well, the aforementioned songs were all introduced in The Pajama Game, a musical play that premiered in 1954. It has had many revivals, won two Tony Awards over the years and was made into a movie in 1957.

The play is now in performance at the New London Barn Playhouse in New London, New Hampshire. With book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, this presentation was directed for the Barn by Chad Larabee. Brad Carlson designed the realistic set, a reproduction of a mid-20th Century factory with brick walls and high windows. Emily Kimball did the costume design and Shane Parus was music director.

Heading a large cast were Carly Valancy as union rep Babe Williams and Chris Cherin as factory superintendent Sid Sorokin. Tom Ford played the dual roles of union head Mr. Hasler and Babe's dad, masterfully handling the parts of two characters with dramatically different personalities. With the union in tough negotiations with management of the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory, things get even more complicated when union rep Babe and superintendent Sid, on opposite sides of the dispute, fall in love with one another.

Frankly, some of the singing was a bit flat and the orchestra at times sounded like a recording played off-speed. But the dance numbers were excellent, thanks to Natalie Wisdom's choreography and the fine talent and energy of Caroline Attayek as Gladys and the rest of the dance ensemble.

The New London Barn is just that, a barn. The ancient floor is worn and uneven, but the seating is comfortable. A cow bell is rung to alert patrons the show is about to start, and again when intermission is over. The acoustics of the old building are not the best, but it can be forgiven for that. It's an intimate theater experience and I always look forward to its shows. Its overall record for fine entertainment in a rustic setting in the years I've been attending has been excellent.

"Silent Sky"

April 28, 2019 — In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, Edward Charles Pickering, director of Harvard Observatory, began hiring women to analyze and catalog data from telescopic photographs on glass plates. More than 80 of these women would work for Pickering during his tenure, earning 25 to 50 cents an hour working six days a week. They computed. The were called computers.

Lauren Gunderson honored three of these dedicated women in her play "Silent Sky," presented in its New Hampshire premiere at the Derry Opera House in Derry, New Hampshire, by theatre Kapow.

Emily Karel appeared as Henrietta Leavitt in a particularly moving performance, by turns exhilarating and heart-breaking. Henrietta's observation of variable brightness of stars proved the known universe extended far beyond our own Milky Way.

Candace Gatzoulis portrayed Henrietta's sister, Margaret, who remained at home and Henrietta missed Margaret's marriage and the birth of her nephew as she labored away at her intense, tedious job in Pickering's laboratory. When their father became critically ill, Henrietta finally went home temporarily but had her work sent to her so she could continue her research. Gatzoulis moved the story along with piano and song.

Carey Cahoon, a co-founder of theatre Kapow and winner of two New Hampshire Theatre awards for best actress, appeared as Annie Jump Cannon whose strict discipline kept the research on track. The multi-talented Cahoon also designed costumes and scenery for this production.

Gail Angellis, in her tenth show for theatre Kapow, took the part of Williamina Fleming, the first woman to hold an official title at Harvard. Angellis was an audience-pleaser with her convincing Scottish accent and folksy manner.

Jimmy Stewart, the lone male member of the cast, appeared as Peter Shaw, the socially awkward assistant to director Pickering. Smitten by Henrietta, he finds endless excuses to interrupt the women in their work while seeking Henrietta's attention. Peter and Henrietta eventually do find a temporary bond, but it's a relationship not meant to be. I can't confirm this part of the story is anything but fiction, but it's a charming romantic digression.

Rachael Chapin Longo directed this excellent production. Matt Cahoon, the other theatre Kapow co-founder and winner of multiple New Hampshire Theatre awards, was stage manager. And what would a theatre Kapow presentation be without Tayva Young's lighting expertise? Her backdrop of a huge starfield and other lighting effects were as important as the performances, executed by light board operator Trey Haynes.

A well-deserved standing ovation rewarded the cast at the end of the play, another triumph of this small but always outstanding New Hampshire company.

"Insignificance"

April 13, 2019 — It's around 1954. The Professor (A. J. Ditty), with wild hair and sloppily dressed in Princeton sweatshirt, baggy pants and no shoes, is going over his research papers when there's a knock on the door. When he opens it, in barges the Senator (Thomas Daniels), with slicked-down hair, carrying a bottle of whiskey and a couple of glasses. Loud, crude and overbearing, he tries to force liquor on the non-drinking Professor, lectures him on the communist menace and tries to convince him he should testify at the Senator's House Un-American Activities Committee.

The Senator eventually leaves, but soon there's another knock on the door. This time it's the voluptuous blond Actress (Kelsey Andrae) in fur coat, huge sunglasses, figure-hugging white dress, carrying balloons. Andrae plays the part to the hilt, and I was especially impressed with the dialog she had to memorize for her explanation of highlights of the special theory of relativity to the Professor, using toy locomotives, flashlights and other props, and much to the Professor's approval, she gets it right.

Yet another knock on the door turns out to be the Actress's husband, the Ballplayer (Landon Shaw). Incensed at finding his wife in the Professor's room, he becomes belligerent and threatening, striking fear into the Professor and the Actress. In a long harangue, he pops bubblegum and boasts about his thirteen World Series rings.

The characters are not named, but those of us who were around in the fifties, or those who are students of the period, should recognize the Professor as Albert Einstein, the Senator as Joe McCarthy, the Actress as Marilyn Monroe, and the Ballplayer as Joe DiMaggio. All performances are first-rate. The part of the Ballplayer, written as a loud, bellicose bully, is not the suave, gentlemanly DiMaggio we remember, but it's appropriate for this play, and he does share the anguish and heartbreak Joe must have known. Nick Cochran had a brief non-speaking part as the Senator's tall, grim aide.

They all return in the second act, in climactic scenes, offering some insights into what motivates them. This is all fiction, of course. There's no record of these four ever meeting in a hotel room or anywhere else, except of course Monroe and DiMaggio who were briefly married. It's an often funny, sometimes poignant, very entertaining presentation.

The play, titled "Insignificance" by Terry Johnson, was staged at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse (the Winni) in Meredith, New Hampshire. Neil Pankhurst directed, Lesley Pankhurst designed the costumes and Dahlia Al-Habieli the set.