Peterborough Players

Peterborough Players Summer Season Concludes with Powerful One-Woman Play, ROSE

8/31/2019

“I’m eighty years old. I find that unforgivable and suddenly it’s a millennium and I stink of the past century, but what can I do?” So asks the title character in the final show of the Peterborough Players 2019 Summer Season, Rose. Written by Martin Sherman, the celebrated American author of Bent, the play features Players’ favorite Carolyn Michel as Rose. This one woman, tour-de-force performance will run from September 11th-15th at the Players. Howard Millman returns to the Players to direct the piece.

Rose is a survivor. Her remarkable life began in a tiny Russian village, took her to Warsaw’s ghettos and a ship called The Exodus, and finally to the boardwalks of Atlantic City, the Arizona canyons and salsa-flavored nights in Miami Beach. The play is both a sharply drawn portrait of a feisty Jewish woman and a moving reminder of some of the events that shaped the 20th century. Rose premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London where it was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Play, and was produced on Broadway by Lincoln Center Theater.

Carolyn Michel has delighted Players' audiences in two one-woman-plays before: The Lady with All the Answers and Family Secrets. Rose promises to do the same. Carolyn was most recently at the Players in their production of Driving Miss Daisy with Taurean Blacque and Kraig Swartz. She has appeared on Broadway with Sid Caesar in Sid Caesar & Company, and has performed across the country. She was a resident company member of the Asolo Repertory Theatre for 24 seasons.

The work of director Howard Millman has been seen at the Players many times before, in such popular productions as Driving Miss Daisy, Nobody Don’t Like Yogi, and Visiting Mr. Green. Most recently, he directed the Players’ production of The Whipping Man. He was the Producing Artistic Director of both the Asolo Repertory Theatre and Geva Theatre, and has received multiple awards including the Richard G. Fallon Award for Excellence in Professional Theatre.

Rose will have a very limited run — from September 11th-15th ONLY. The show is exclusively sponsored by People’s United Bank. Showtimes are Wednesday, Thursdays, and Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 4pm. Tickets and more information can be found at www.peterboroughplayers.org, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585.

As the summer season comes to a close, make plans now to join the Players for Arts on Screen beginning in October including dazzling opera from The Met: Live in HD, exceptional plays from National Theatre Live, and new this year, three special screenings including a documentary and two musical theatre productions. There’s always something exciting happening at the Players – in every season.

The Tony Award Nominated Play, A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 at the Peterborough Players

8/19/2019

Peterborough Players is proud to bring the recent Broadway hit play, A Doll’s House, Part 2, to Players audiences from August 28th-September 8th. The play received 8 nominations for the 2017 Tony Awards, including one for Peterborough Players’ alumnus Jayne Houdyshell, and became the most produced play in America in the 2018-2019 season.

Lucas Hnath’s audacious comedy picks up the story of Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House, in a witty, sharp, and modern play about conflict, commitment, and consequences. It’s been 15 years since Nora slammed the door on her marriage and children in the revolutionary final scene and set off to blaze a new trail for herself and for women everywhere. Now a successful yet scandalous writer, she’s being blackmailed by a judge and needs her former husband’s help. But her family has a few grievances they need to air first.

While the play relates to Ibsen’s classic, it’s not necessary to be familiar with the original piece to enjoy A Doll’s House, Part 2. The play echoes present day issues of women’s rights, familial responsibilities, and more. Though set as a period piece, Hnath has written the play in modern language, driving home the question, “How far have we come in present time – if we’ve progressed at all?”

Players’ favorites Lisa Bostnar (Annapurna, The Voysey Inheritance at the Players, The Madras House and others at the Mint Theatre) and Carolyn Michel (Driving Miss Daisy at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and the Peterborough Players) take on the roles played on Broadway by Tony winners Laurie Metcalf and Players alum Jayne Houdyshell. Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen plays Nora’s husband, Torvald, and Second Company member Katie Shults appears as Nora’s Daughter, Emmy. Players’ Managing Director Keith Stevens directs this exciting production.

A Doll’s House, Part 2 runs from August 28th-September 8th and is co-sponsored by NBT Bank. Showtimes are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. In addition, there is a 2pm matinee on September 3rd. Tickets and more information can be found at www.peterboroughplayers.org, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585. Rated PG-13.

September First Friday Event an Examination of Design and Production from Peterborough Players

8/19/2019

Join us for our September Peterborough Players First Friday event in downtown Peterborough on September 6th from 6:00-7:00pm. The Mariposa Museum will once again host this event, this time a discussion with costume designer Bethany Mullins and Managing Director Keith Stevens on theatrical design process, from inception through production.

This event offers another rare “look behind the curtain” at what our audiences don’t see – the process, inspiration, collaboration, and finally creation that goes behind design elements that come together on a given show. What an audience experiences at a performance is the culmination of countless hours of design and direction work that result in an overall cohesive look, feel, sound, or flow of a production.

Bethany Mullins is both the Costume Shop Manager and Resident Costume Designer at the Players. She is a New York City based costume designer and technician. This summer, her deisgn work was featured in our productions of Mahida’s Extra Key to Heaven and Gertrude Stein and a Companion, and will be seen in A Doll’s House, Part 2, and Rose. She has worked at theatres in New York and around the country as a designer, wardrobe supervisor, or stitcher. She has contributed her talents to touring productions like The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables. She attended the University of North Alabama as well as Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, where she graduated from their Wardrobe Technician and Costume Design Specialist programs in 2018.

This year, Keith Stevens marks his twenty-fourth summer season as Managing Director of the Peterborough Players. Under his leadership, the Players has greatly expanded its season, increased its budget, established a cash reserve, successfully completed two major capital campaigns, and renovated its facilities. Prior to coming to Peterborough, Keith worked for five years as the General Manager of the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, MA. He has served on negotiating committees for the Council of Resident Stock Theatres and the League of Resident Theatres, and he holds an MFA in Arts Administration with a concentration in Directing from Virginia Tech and a BA in Theatre with a Capstone in Business/Marketing from Ohio State. He currently teaches as a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Keene State College, serves as an adviser to the drama program at ConVal High School. This season, he directs A Doll’s House, Part 2 at the Players.

Be sure to bring your questions and thoughts to this unique event. Admission is free, doors open at 5:30 pm, and the program will begin at 6:00pm at the Mariposa Museum, 26 Main St, Peterborough, NH 03458.

Peterborough Players Performs Modern Musical Version of the Cinderella Story, CINDY REILLY

8/15/2019

The Peterborough Players has another great musical coming up for our young audiences - and the young at heart! Bring the family to see Cindy Reilly, a modern, musical retelling of the beloved Cinderella story performed by the Players’ Second Company, running from August 17th-24th.

Anyone familiar with the tale of Cinderella will recognize Cindy Reilly’s journey - Cindy is a hard-working, bespectacled CPA, in her family-run luxury hotel, surrounded by her chic stepsisters, a rockstar “formerly known as Prince Charming,” and her Leona Helmsley-ish “Queen of Mean” stepmother. With the help of some of her furry (and not-so-furry) friends, will Cindy be able to live the life of her dreams? The 10 members of the very gifted Second Company – young artists from around the country – bring Cindy and her family and friends to life.

Written by Players’ Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen and Players’ favorites Kraig Swartz and composer Ellen Mandel, Cindy Reilly is tailor-made for young audiences, but filled with plenty of laughs for adults. A runtime of under an hour makes it the perfect activity for summer!

Please note that Cindy Reilly is a VERY limited run, so be sure to reserve your tickets! Performances are Saturday, August 17th at 2pm, Monday August 19th at 7pm, Tuesday, August 20th at 10:30am, Friday, August 23rd at 2pm, and Saturday, August 24th at 2pm. Visit www.peterboroughplayers.org for tickets, or call the box office at (603) 924-7585.

Peterborough Players Playwright-Director Downtown at Mariposa Museum for First Friday

7/20/2019

Join the Peterborough Players at the Mariposa Museum for First Friday in August. Playwright and Director, Charles Morey, will give a peek behind the curtain at the process of writing, and then directing his upcoming play Dumas’ Camille.

Mr. Morey is the author of eleven produced plays. Figaro was commissioned and produced Off-Broadway by the Pearl Theatre Company in 2012 and was named a NY Times “Critic’s Pick.” The Granite State was premiered by the Peterborough Players in the summer of 2014. In addition he has written Laughing Stock – a hilarious romp, loosely based on his time as Artistic Director of the Players in the 70s -- which has received close to 200 hundred productions around the world, The Yellow Leaf, The Ladies Man (an adaptation from Feydeau with over 70 productions to date) as well as adaptations of the 19th century classic novels, The Count of Monte Cristo, A Tale of Two Cities, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dracula and The Three Muskateer. His plays have been produced at numerous professional theatres around the country, and Laughing Stock has been in continuous production in Russia since 2013. His current projects include a commission to write the Libretto for a Music-Theatre piece about Walter Reuther and the American Labor Movement with composer Greg Pliska, tentatively titled A Most Dangerous Man. He is also working on the first draft of a new play, Monadnock, the third of the ‘New Hampshire Plays’ including The Granite State and The Third Sky.

Mr. Morey was the Artistic Director of the Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City from 1984 to 2012 where he directed more than 90 productions including world premieres of Find and Sign by Wendy MacLeod, Bess Wohl's Touch(ed) and In as well as first regional theatre productions of Les Misérables, The Producers, and The Vertical Hour. While serving as Artistic Director of the Peterborough Players from 1977 to 1988, he directed some 35 productions including significant world premieres by Percy Granger (Eminent Domain and Unheard Songs) and Poet Laureate of the United States Donald Hall’s Ragged Mountain Elegies.

Charles Morey splits his time between Peterborough and NYC. He received a BA from Dartmouth College and a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony.

He will direct Dumas’ Camille at the Players August 14th -25th. This will be the east coast premiere for this moving play filled with some of the most beautiful music ever written. It is a deeply romantic love-story about the relationship of reality to memory and art, set at a rehearsal for Verdi’s La Traviata.

“I am delighted to be part of the Players First Friday presentations and look forward to talking about the rich and fascinating history behind Dumas' Camille” says Playwright–Director, Charles Morey. “I enjoy being a part of this incredibly creative community in the Monadnock Region.”

Don’t miss the August edition of Peterborough Players First Friday downtown at the Mariposa Museum on Friday, August 2nd. Admission is free, doors open at 5:30 pm, and the program will begin at 6:00pm. Tickets for summer season shows are on sale and can be purchased at Peterborough Players, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, or by calling (603) 924-7585. For more information, please visit www.peterboroughplayers.org.

Big, Broadway-style Musical SHE LOVES ME Brings Song and Dance to the Peterborough Players

7/20/2019

"She loves me/And to my amazement/I love it knowing that she loves me/She loves me/True, she doesn't show it/How could she when she doesn’t know it?” If those well-known lyrics strike up a tune in your head, then you’re no doubt familiar with She Loves Me, this season’s big, Broadway-style musical on stage at the Players from July 31st- August 11th.

One of the most charming and popular musicals ever written, She Loves Me is a heart-stopping comedy about finding love in a very old-fashioned way. Georg and Amalia, sparring co-workers in a luxurious 1930s Budapest perfume shop, simply can’t see eye to eye. But using the “lonely hearts advertisements” in the newspaper, each of them has found and fallen for the perfect secret admirer. MGM twice used the same source material, the Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László, to make classic movies: The Shop Around the Corner starring James Stewart and In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland. Later, it served as inspiration for the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film, You’ve Got Mail.

The musical’s various Broadway productions have garnered 13 Tony Nominations and 3 Tony Awards, as well as the Olivier, Drama Desk, and Critics Circle Awards for Best Revival of a Musical. With a score by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock (the team behind Fiddler on the Roof) and a book by Joe Masteroff (the writer of Cabaret), the show is filled with now Broadway-standard songs like “She Loves Me” “Tonight at Eight” and the soaring and humorous “Vanilla Ice Cream”.

At the Players, Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen is at the helm the production with a cast of 22 accompanied by live musicians. The show will be choreographed by nationally-known choreographer and Broadway dancer Bill Burns, who returns to the Players having choreographed The Producers in 2017; Tom Martin of Dublin rejoins the Players as music director, having won the NH Theatre Award for his work on last year’s The Drowsy Chaperone.

The cast of Players includes Tom Frey (The Producers at the Players, 2 Pianos 4 Hands internationally) and Rebecca Brinkley (The Skin of Our Teeth at the Players, Hindle Wakes at the Mint Theatre) as Georg and Amalia, love-struck clerks. They’re joined by Bridget Beirne (The Drowsy Chaperone at the Players, That Time of the Year at the York Theatre) as sassy co-worker Ilona, Joe Bigelow (The Drowsy Chaperone at the Players, world tour of West Side Story) as the slick Kodaly, Kraig Swartz (Tru at the Players, Fully Committed at the Philadelphia Theatre Co. and more) as the long-suffering Sipos, and Greg Wood (Pygmalion at the Players, Skylight at the McCarter Theatre) as shop owner Mr. Maraczek.

She Loves Me is a singing, dancing extravaganza certain to make anyone fall in love. The production is co-sponsored by Belletetes and RiverMead, and supported by the Broadway at the Players Fund. Showtimes are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. In addition, there is a 2pm matinee on Tuesday, August 6th. Tickets and more information can be found at www.peterboroughplayers.org, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585.

Lush Play with Music DUMAS' CAMILLE Tells the Story Behind The Lady of the Camellias and La Traviata

7/20/2019

A play filled with some of the most beautiful music ever written, Dumas’ Camille is both a deeply romantic love story and a thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between truth, memory, and art. Written by Charles Morey, the play with music opens at the Peterborough Players on August 14th and runs through the 25th.

In 1895 Paris, the aging Alexandre Dumas observes a rehearsal of Verdi’s La Traviata, the opera adapted from his novel and play, The Lady of the Camellias which in turn were inspired by his youthful real-life love affair with the most beautiful courtesan in Paris. Prompted by selections from the opera’s soaring arias and duets, Dumas is forced to confront his guilt, regrets, and memory of lost love.

Playwright Charles Morey also directs the production, which features Rebecca Brinkley (The Skin of Our Teeth at the Players, Hindle Wakes at the Mint Theatre Company), Jeremy Beck (Wittenberg at the Players, Conflict at the Mint Theatre Company), and Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen as Dumas. Alex Carr (An Inspector Calls at the Players, Joseph...Dreamcoat at Mac-Haydn Theatre) and Bridget Beirne (The Drowsy Chaperone at the Players, That Time of the Year at the York Theatre) sing the music of La Traviata.

Mr. Morey is the author of eleven produced plays. He has written Laughing Stock – a tongue-in-cheek romp, loosely based on his time as Artistic Director of the Players in the 70s – which has received close to 200 hundred productions around the world. He was the Artistic Director of the Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City from 1984 to 2012 where he directed more than ninety productions including world premieres. He served as Artistic Director of the Peterborough Players from 1977 to 1988. Charles Morey splits his time between Peterborough and NYC. He is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony.

Dumas’ Camille runs from August 14th-25th and is exclusively sponsored by Grove Street Fiduciary, LLC. Showtimes are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. In addition, there is a 2pm matinee on Tuesday, August 20th. Tickets and more information can be found at www.peterboroughplayers.org, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585. Rated PG-13.

Large Cast Comedy MORNING'S AT SEVEN Brings Familial Eccentricities to Life at Peterborough Players

7/15/2019

Before Paul Osborn wrote the screenplay for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s box office hit South Pacific, he wrote a hysterical, semi-autobiographical Broadway comedy that captures Midwestern eccentricity to hilarious effect. Winner of 4 Tony Awards, Morning’s at Seven is a funny and deeply poignant look at the foibles of a close-knit Midwestern family in the 1930s. It opens at the Peterborough Players on July 17th.

Theatrical director and influential critic Harold Clurman called Morning's at Seven "one of the best American comedies" with good reason. The four highly strung Gibbs sisters have lived next door to each other most of their lives. Now in their 60s, one is single and three are married. Esther, the eldest, has managed an escape with her husband, to a few blocks away. Ida has produced a child: Homer, who is now 40, and may or may not have the courage, after twelve years of courtship, to get married himself. What will the Gibbs sisters do when Homer brings his lady friend home to meet the family? With eccentricities on full display, the family navigates the visit and each other.

A large cast of Players’ favorites appear as the family of “Michiganders”. Kathy Manfre (The Drowsy Chaperone, Ripcord at the Players, Trick or Treat at NYC's 59 E 59th Theatre), Becky London (Gertrude Stein and a Companion, Full Gallop at the Players, Broadway's Marlene), Dale Hodges (Arsenic and Old Lace, Outside Mullingar at the Players, Broadway's original production of Equus), and Lisa Bostnar (Annapurna, The Voysey Inheritance at the Players, The Madras House and others at the Mint Theatre) play the Gibbs sisters.

They're joined by Greg Wood (Pygmalion, Absurd Person Singular at the Players, Skylight at the McCarter Theatre), Kraig Swartz (The Drowsy Chaperone, Tru at the Players, Fully Committed at the Philadelphia Theatre Co. and more), Ken Sheldon (Our Town, Inherit the Wind at the Players, Fred Marple of Frost Heaves), Tom Frey (2 Pianos 4 Hands, The Producers at the Players, Road Show at Stages Repertory Theatre) and Bridget Beirne (Sexy Laundry, …Patsy Cline at the Players, That Time of the Year at the York Theatre). Directed by Players' Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen, Morning's at Seven reveals a familial - or is it familiar? - look at how we cope with those closest to us in our lives.

Morning’s at Seven runs from July 17th-28th and is exclusively sponsored by C&S Wholesale Grocers. Showtimes are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. In addition, there is a 2pm matinee on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tickets and more information can be found at www.peterboroughplayers.org, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585.

Peterborough Players Next Downtown Event a “Mini Cabaret”

7/5/2019

After our first successful Peterborough Players downtown event last June, the Players return to the First Friday lineup at the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough. On July 5th from 6:00-7:00pm, join the Players for a free “mini cabaret” performed by members of the Second Company and hosted by popular Players company member, Kraig Swartz.

For years, the late night post-show cabaret has been a must for fans of the Players. Patrons who attend our shows – and even those who don’t! – can join us after the show for free on designated cabaret evenings. This month, the Players will bring the show downtown for one night only on First Friday. Anyone who’s ever attended the fun and freewheeling post-show event that is the Players cabaret will recognize all of the vocal talents, moving storytelling, good humor and more than a bit of mayhem on full display. For those new to a Players cabaret, this is your opportunity to experience the talents of the Second Company first-hand.

Company member Kraig Swartz is a long-time favorite and has become known for his lighthearted and entertaining cabaret hosting. He’ll be joined by Acting Company member Bridget Beirne to help introduce the proceedings and join him for a song.

“Cabaret nights are one of our favorite ways to welcome our audiences and invite them to enjoy even more of the extraordinary abilities of our company members,” says Beth Brown, Director of Advancement at the Players. “It’s impossible not to enjoy yourself at a Players cabaret!”

Don’t miss the next Peterborough Players downtown event at the Mariposa Museum on July 5th. Admission is free, doors open at 5:30 pm, and the program will begin at 6:00pm. All Players summer season ticket options are now on sale and can be purchased at Peterborough Players, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, or by calling (603) 924-7585. For more information, please visit www.peterboroughplayers.org.

Peterborough Players’ GERTRUDE STEIN AND A COMPANION Explores the Relationship Between Stein and Toklas

6/25/2019

Peterborough, NH – What do Picasso, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Thornton Wilder, and Matisse have in common? They all invented themselves in the famous Paris atelier of two American expats, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Gertrude Stein and a Companion, running from July 3rd – 14th, explores the 40-year love affair between these two great minds and enduring artists of the 20th century.

Win Wells’ witty and unconventional love story looks at Stein, an avant-garde novelist, poet, playwright and art collector, and her partner, editor and muse, Alice B. Toklas –whose recipe for hashish brownies in her 1952 cookbook, Thornton Wilder called “the publicity stunt of the year.” In the early 1900s these women left behind their privileged American lives and found refuge, and each other, in bohemian Paris. Their encouragement of the “Lost Generation,” (a term coined by Stein) indelibly changed the artistic landscape of the time.

In a season full of performances by powerhouse women, two Broadway veterans and Players’ favorites return to bring Stein and Toklas to life. Becky London (Broadway's Marlene. Diana Vreeland in Full Gallop, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life... and more at the Players) plays Stein. Dale Hodges (Broadway's original production of Equus. Arsenic and Old Lace, Outside Mullingar and others at the Players) is Toklas. Gertrude Stein and a Companion won first prize at both the Edinburgh Festival and the Theatre Festival in Sydney, Australia.

“The salon has always fascinated me, that existed in Paris that these two women ran, and where all of the major artists of the early 20th century met, and argued, and conversed, and exchanged ideas”, says Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen, who also directs the piece. “It really was a matrix of so much of 20th century art and literature.” The play expounds upon how the relationship between Stein and Toklas, and those who attended their salon, affected their life and work in an enduring way.

Gertrude Stein and a Companion runs from July 3rd-14th and is exclusively sponsored by SoClean. Showtimes are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. In addition, there is a 2pm matinee on Tuesday, July 9th. Tickets and more information can be found on our website, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585. Rated PG-13.

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