June 13, 2012

Contact:
Jane Wisan
Communications Director
jwisan@peterboroughplayers.org
www.peterboroughplayers.org
(603) 924-9344 ext. 105

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peterborough Players 2012 Theatre Season
New England Theatre a Short Drive Away

Peterborough, NH (June 25, 2012) – The Players - a professional theatre in operation since 1933 - runs mid-June through September, with seven Main Stage plays, an Opera Fest, and two Second Company children's plays. The air-conditioned, 250-seat theatre is state-of-the-art, yet full of charm and history. The theatre is handicapped accessible and equipped with a hearing assistance system. Parking is free, and picnicking on the grounds is available to the public.

Show times for the seven Main Stage plays are 8 PM Wed/Thurs/Fri/Sat, 4 PM Sun, 7 PM Tues. Subscription discounts, Barn Door Flex Passes, and group rates are available. Single tickets: $37 except Saturdays, $39. Box Office: 603.924.7585 or Online: www.PeterboroughPlayers.org. Opera Fest tickets: $15 adults, $10 students. Second Company children's shows: $8 children, $10 adults.

The 2012 theatre season is as follows:

Auld Lang Syne, by Jack Neary - June 20-July 1
World premiere comedy/drama. NYPD Blue Emmy award-winning actor Gordon Clapp stars as Joe LaCedra, a gangster with unsavory intentions. You will laugh, you will laugh, you will laugh! And you may even shed a few tears. This world premiere story of a two-bit thug and his unlikely New Year's Eve “business” encounter with a good Irish housewife in South Boston will be around for a long time - see it here, now! Strong Language.PG-13

I Do I Do!, a musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt - July 4-15
A musical chock full of song and dance, based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter, with music by the same team who wrote The Fantasticks. A young couple goes through their wedding night jitters, then onto a shared life spanning 50 years. They raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile, and grow old together, all lovingly to the strains of a charming musical score. Starring Kirby Ward (Olivier award nominee) and real-life wife and Broadway actress, Beverly Ward. PG

The 39 Steps, a mystery/comedy adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and from the movie of Alfred Hitchcock -July 18-29
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. Barlow created over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four Players' favorites: Bridget Beirne, Tom Frey, Ian Peakes, and Kraig Swartz). An on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance add to the fun! PG-13

The Admirable Crichton, a comedy by J. M. Barrie - August 1-12
Downton Abbey meets ,Swept Away, from the playwright who brought us Peter Pan! Once a month, Lord Loam invites his servants to the drawing room for tea, whereupon the household is forced to abandon class distinctions for an hour. His perfect butler, Crichton, has to play along, but would rather keep his place and not muddle the “natural” order of things. Aristocratic theories are put to the test when Lord Loam's family and the servants take a yacht trip and are left shipwrecked on a tropical island. Crichton is the only one with survival skills; see what happens to the natural order! PG

Present Laughter, a comedy by Noel Coward - August 15-26
An audacious comedy, starring Jack Koenig as the popular and pampered actor, Garry Essendine, who is busily making preparations for an extended overseas tour. His plans are complicated by a beautiful stage-struck ingénue and an ardent, aspiring playwright who both insist on his attentions. When his wife, his agents, and his numerous admirers arrive, Garry is hard pressed to escape. Typical of Coward's sparkling dialogue and dazzling wit, Garry finesses the situation with style. PG-13

Rounding Third, a comedy with heart by Richard Dresser - August 29-September 9
Two coaches. One believes that his job is to shield the kids from the intense pressure of competition, while making sure everyone has a good time. The other coach thinks he should be teaching the kids how to win. Out of these conflicting philosophies, the real issues of the play emerge: how should we raise our children? And what does it mean to be an American man? Funny and touching, Rounding Third knocks it out of the park! PG-13

Janie Condon: Raw & Unchained!, a comedy by Jane Condon - September 19-23
A hilarious and moving account of how a girl with working class roots became a Greenwich, CT, housewife and an award-winning comedian. Janie Condon has been a storyteller and comedian since she was born the youngest of four in an Irish Catholic family and wanted attention. She learned comedy at the knees of her masters, her fellow students at Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton, MA. Through the highs (winning audience Favorite-NY on NBC's Last Comic Standing) and the lows (her brother's mental illness), Condon's message is universal-live life to the fullest, follow your dreams, and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself once in a while. PG

Opera Fest, encore presentations from the Met: Live in HD - September 12 - 16
Six of the best-loved operas from the Met: Live in HD series, shown in high definition on the Peterborough Players' big screen! Join us for Lucia di Lammermoor - Sept. 12, 8 pm; Le Comte Ory - Sept. 13, 8 pm; Les Contes d'Hoffmann - Sept. 14, 8 pm; Anna Bolena - Sept. 15, 1 pm; Don Giovanni - Sept. 15, 8 pm; and Der Rosenkavalier - Sept. 16, 1 pm

Second Company Plays for Children and their Families:

A Duck Called Ugly, by Catherine Gray, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling- 10:30 am on June 29 & 30; July 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 20, & 21. A heartwarming tale of finding true beauty, happiness, and a sense of belonging. Watch the “ugly duckling” grow into a swan and discover that it's what's on the inside that counts!

Little Men, adapted by Gus Kaikkonen from the book by Louisa May Alcott - 2 pm August 18; 7 pm August 20; 2 pm August 21, 24, & 25. Boys---they bring joy as well as troubles! Little Women's Jo inherits the house and turns it into a school for boys; she helps them to be good in studies and good human beings.

The Peterborough Players is handicapped accessible and is equipped with a hearing assistance system. Free parking available on site.

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Hi-resolution photos and Key Art available upon request.

The Peterborough Players, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, has been providing professional theatre to audiences since 1933. Peterborough Players, PO Box 118, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458, (603) 924-9344, www.peterboroughplayers.org.

The Peterborough Players is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation-Monadnock Region.