"Breadcrumbs"

February 25, 2023 — For the second time in recent years, I was an audience of one at a theatre KAPOW production when they streamed it over the Internet and I watched it on my PC screen in the comfort of my den on one of the coldest weekends of the entire winter. This is also appreciated by those of us still a bit wary of sharing space with others in an enclosed theater, even though the pandemic seems to be in retreat.

The play was "Breadcrumbs" by Jennifer Haley, directed by Catherine Stewart, first presented in three live performances at Capitol Center for the Arts on the Bank of NH Stage in Concord, New Hampshire, then live-streamed over the Internet.

The play jumps back and forth in time, a trend in drama and story-telling that seems to be increasing, but which I feel is being over-used and often confuses me, although I'll own up to being easily confused. But many times the story line doesn't make it clear which of its multiple time periods we're witnessing. But thanks to Tayva Young's ingenious use of lighting we're saved from becoming lost in time once you catch on to her technique. You can still get lost in this play, but being lost is part of the grim subject matter.

Alida (Katie Collins), a writer, has been diagnosed with dementia. Beth (Rachel Chapin) is a nurse's assistant assigned to Alida's care. Alida, already writing reminders on scraps of paper and occasionally groping for the correct word, is hoping Beth can help her write her life's story. Their relationship is not an easy one. Alida, living alone and always self-sufficient, is resentful and bad-tempered. She orders Beth out many times, repeatedly berating her for being late, lying, and having a disorganized personal life.

In flashbacks, signaled by a switch from color to black and white in the Internet version, Collins plays herself as a child and Chapin portrays Alida's' mother. This is what I meant by clearly identifying its place in time.

The two actors carry this play beautifully through its alternately heart-warming and heart-breaking progression. It has all the fine production values, direction and stagecraft we've come to expect from theatre KAPOW.

Early Landmarks

February 12, 2023 — On an unseasonably warm day for February I traveled to the Audrain Automobile Museum in Newport, Rhode Island. Their current exhibit is titled "Early Landmarks in Automotive Engineering." The exhibit featured classics no later than the '30s back to the late 19th Century. There were sixteen cars and four motorcycles in the largest collection I've seen at the Audrain in four trips to the museum.

There was a replica of the 1886 3-wheel Benz, accurate in every detail, generally credited by automotive historians as the first automobile. Also among the rare vehicles were two V16s, a Cadillac and a Marmon, the only V16s ever produced.

I photographed every vehicle and motorcycle in the exhibit, with multiple views of several. You van see them at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/audrain2023/

Christmas 2022

December 24-25, 2022 — Some of the worst weather in a generation moved cross-country from west to east, but somehow spared our small pocket in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and I was able to make my annual two-hour drive to spend one of the coldest Christmases in memory with my relatives in their south shore community.

Historic snowstorms buried cities throughout the nation, notably in Ohio and western New York. Buffalo was covered in five feet of snow, paralyzing the city and resulting in about 30 deaths. While all this was going on, a warm front brought heavy rain and temperatures in the 50s up the east coast into New England on December 23. The next day, temperature fell off a cliff to single numbers with wind chills below zero. But highways were clear.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, in an abundance of caution I've been avoiding parties with large numbers of people in enclosed spaces. So rather than join my extended family at their Christmas party, I've stayed at my sister's house and we hook up with them over Skype. You can see my Skype setup and photos and videos with contributions from photographers at both locations at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/christmas22/

"A Safe Passage"

November 5, 2022 — In the confines of a small theater with audience close to players, drama can be very intense. You're part of it. That's the way it is at the Players' Ring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The theater occupies a portion of a 19th century brick building owned by the city of Portsmouth. The brick-walled theater seats a mere 75 on three sides of a ground-level stage.

Glass Dove Productions was presenting "A Safe Passage," Ireland-based playwright Irene Kelleher's fourth play. Catherine Stewart directed this performance. Tayva Young, whose work has enhanced so many theater KAPOW productions I've enjoyed, did the very effective lighting, an important part of this play. In fact, everyone deserves recognition for tackling the unique challenges of presenting a play in such a small space. Stage design and props were the responsibility of Quentin Stockwell. CJ Lewis was in charge of sound. Corrie Owens-Beauchesne was the stage manager.

The setting is a lighthouse on the Irish coast on New Years Eve, 1979. The cast consists of just two actors. Christy (Andrew Codispoti), a lighthouse keeper who has never gotten over a tragedy in his past, has only occasional radio contact with the shore to keep him company. He takes wind and other readings and reports conditions on the radio, makes notes in his log, paces around the realistic lighthouse on the Ring's small stage with the keeper's desk and communications equipment on one side, a spiral staircase, lanterns, trunks and other clutter scattered around. We have to imagine a view of the sea from one corner that Christy keeps returning to as a storm moves in. He also frequently stops at a small table on which a bottle of Jameson's Irish Whiskey and a glass sit. He examines some papers and pictures on the table, but doesn't drink.

A crash of thunder, flash of lightning and loss of lights plunges the stage and entire theater briefly into darkness, startling the audience. In a dim returning light, a woman (Emily Karel) can be seen standing outside the lighthouse. Christy shouts at her to get off the rocks where she's in grave danger. He finally gets her into the lighthouse. She's cold, wet, wearing rather sexy party attire. He offers her blankets and dry clothes which she refuses. She remains silent as he questions her as to how she got there, her name, her intentions. Could she have been planning suicide? How could that be? He suffered devastating loss but found the will to go on. He radios shore for emergency rescue. There's no response.

When the woman finally gets her voice, she taunts Christy. Their relationship immediately turns hostile. He begins to pour a glass of Jameson's for her, but she grabs the bottle and drinks directly from it. When she urges him to drink, he claims he never touches the stuff. Their conversation becomes increasingly contentious, sometimes leading to physical violence. Christy starts hitting the Jameson's. As I mentioned at the beginning, in the small confines of this theater, the audience almost becomes part of the action, especially with such convincing actors as Codispoti and Karel.

I'm reluctant to describe any more of this tense play for fear of lessening its impact on those who may see it. As Stewart, the director, puts it, when we invite a stranger into our lives our world can be turned upside down, in good or terrible ways.

"[title of show]"

October 30, 2022 — Yes, that's the title, [title of show], brackets included. The Winnipesaukee Playhouse Education Department in Meredith, New Hampshire, staged this unusual musical, originally presented by Bridge Club Productions in 2004, produced by the Vineyard Theatre in New York City in 2006 and on Broadway in 2008. The "Winni" cast consisted of four appealing, talented teens. They were Miles Sargent as Jeff, Rafael Vazquez as Hunter, Drea Campo as Heidi and Riley DeGange as Susan. Timothy L'Ecuyer directed this production. Judy Hayward was music director and also accompanied on the piano, with occasional comments, as Mary. Matthew S. Crane designed the set and Wendy Davidson the costumes.

With music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell, the show takes us through its own creative process in dialog and song. The best was a song and dance routine by Sargent and Vazquez early in the performance, complete with bowler hats and canes, laced with profanity, mostly by Vazquez. The Winnipesaukee Playhouse's promos have the disclaimer that the production contains "mature language and some references to mature situations. It may not be appropriate for all audiences." One of the actors was 14 years old. All but one were under 18.

The young, energetic cast kept the 90-minute show without intermission moving at a fast pace. Aside from Sargent and Vazquez's routine described above, I wasn't particularly impressed with the music. But my musical theater tastes evolved in a different generation with the likes of Oklahoma, South Pacific and Brigadoon. The audience definitely was pleased with this production. Upon leaving and looking back on what I had seen, I thought yes, all and all, this was a good show. So I can still say unconditionally I've never been disappointed in a Winnipesaukee Playhouse production.

Jalopy Hill Climb

October 22, 2022 — Not a car show in the strictest sense, but a gathering of hot rods testing drivers' skill and car endurance speeding about a mile up a rough-cut dirt road at a working granite quarry. I thought it would be a fun event to end the season, and provide some good photo and video action. I wasn't disappointed.

Named Jalopy Hill Climb, the event took place in Campton, New Hampshire, on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest, with panoramic views of the mountains from the top of the hill in the waning days of fall color on a day of fantastic weather. I'm not normally a hot rod enthusiast, but I must say these people love their cars and are the most enthusiastic group I ever had the pleasure of spending a day with. I got to ride in a couple of modestly rodded-up cars, a 1950 Ford and a 1934 Chevrolet, in both cases shooting video inside the cars while interviewing the drivers.

My coverage of the event can be seen at the following link. Be sure to play all the videos, they're the best part.

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/jalopy/

Granite State Season Closer

October 15, 2022 — My second show of the day was the Granite State Season Closer, sponsored by NH Muscle Cars, a 45-minute drive away at the Brookvale Pines Farm in Fremont, New Hampshire. I arrived shortly after noontime, my first time there, to find picturesque rolling fields covered with mostly customs and muscle cars. Cars lined up to take turns on a mound above the fields to pose individually for photographers, yielding some very nice photo ops.

The show wasn't as productive for me as the Little Red School House, but the beautiful weather continued through the afternoon and colorful fall leaves provided enhanced backgrounds for the cars. You can view the results of my efforts at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/seasoncloser/