Big, Broadway-style Musical SHE LOVES ME Brings Song and Dance to the Peterborough Players7/20/2019
"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 Traviata7/20/2019
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 Players7/15/2019
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. 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, 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. Peterborough, NH – A chance encounter between a young American artist and an Iranian college student waiting for a ferry sets the scene for Mahida’s Extra Key to Heaven, by New Hampshire Playwright Russell Davis. Kicking off the theatre’s 86th year, the show opens on June 19th and runs through June 30th.
Directed by Players’ Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen, Mahida’s Extra Key to Heaven gracefully plumbs the cultural collision between two very different families and brings into stark relief the disparity between our preconceived notions about those whose culture, race, or religion differs from our own. When Thomas offers Mahida shelter for the evening in his mother’s home, the simple offer triggers a chain of events that threatens to engulf them all. “I think clearly this play is driven in part by a desire to refute that kind of literal minded, black and white, opportunist thinking,” says playwright Russell Davis, “and to articulate how complex and gentle an alternative might be.” Aliah Whitmore, a third generation Peterborough Player, appears in the title role of Mahida. She follows a long history of family members who’ve delighted the audiences of the Peterborough Players, including her grandfather, beloved stage and film actor James Whitmore, and her father, James Whitmore, Jr. She graces the Players’ stage for the first time. Players’ favorites Steven Michael Walters and Kathy Manfre return as Thomas and his mother Edna, respectively. Walters was most recently seen at the Players in Born Yesterday, and Peterborough resident Manfre appeared as Mrs. Tottendale in The Drowsy Chaperone. Rounding out the cast is newcomer Adham Haddara, a New York based actor at the Players for the first time, as Mahida’s brother Ramin. Playwright Davis is a resident of West Chesterfield, NH, having grown up in Europe and the Middle East, he came to the United States for college. His plays have been produced around the country, and he’s been the recipient of the Pew Fellowship for the Arts, among other recognition. Of the play, Kaikkonen says that, “It’s definitely about America…there’s peril in the play. There’s danger in the play, and the peril and the danger comes out from the meeting of these two cultures – Iran and America – but it comes out in ways that are subtle and inevitable.” Mahida’s Extra Key to Heaven runs from June 19th-30th and is sponsored in part by Atkins Callahan PLLC and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. 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, June 25th. Tickets and more information can be found on our website or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585. Peterborough, NH – Join the Peterborough Players at the Mariposa Museum for First Fridays beginning in June. At the inaugural event Artistic Director, Gus Kaikkonen, will introduce the 2019 Summer Season and popular company members, Bridget Beirne and Tom Frey, will perform Friday, June 7th 6:00 – 7:00pm at the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough. Kaikkonen will preview the upcoming 86th summer season which offers a wide variety - from classic drama and good comedy, to the best of contemporary theatre, an East Coast premiere, and a popular musical. It’s a season featuring plays by two local playwrights with national recognition, and is filled with incredibly strong female roles, bringing back Players’ favorites Bridget Beirne, Lisa Bostnar, Rebecca Brinkley, Dale Hodges, Becky London, Kathy Manfre and Carolyn Michel among others. The season opens June 19 with Mahida’s Extra Key to Heaven by Russell Davis featuring Aliah Whitmore, granddaughter of the late beloved actor James Whitmore, in the title role. It’s followed by the evocative and witty play Gertrude Stein and a Companion by Win Wells; Morning’s at Seven, the unashamedly well-made comedy by Paul Osborn; the charming and popular musical She Loves Me with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; and Dumas’ Camille by Peterborough playwright Charles Morey who will direct this moving play with beautiful music about the relationship of reality to memory and art, set at a rehearsal for Verdi’s La Traviata. The last two plays of the 2019 summer season are A Doll’s House Part 2, the contemporary Tony Award-nominated Broadway hit by Lucas Hnath, and Rose, a stirring play by Martin Sherman. Beirne and Frey will discuss how the Players helped draw them from their long-time residence in New York to a home in Peterborough, as well as perform a brief excerpt from a favorite play. "We look forward to welcoming friends downtown,” says Managing Director, Keith Stevens . “This incredibly generous community is so supportive of the Players; we love having the opportunity to step outside the barn and into the beautiful space at the Mariposa Museum for this program.” Don’t miss this first edition of Peterborough Players downtown at the Mariposa Museum on June 7th. Admission is free, doors open at 5:30 pm, and the program will begin at 6:00pm. Season Subscriptions and Barn Door Flex Passes 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. Questions? Contact: Beth Brown Telephone: (603) 924-9344 x105 Email: bbrown@peterboroughplayers.org Peterborough Players is New Hampshire’s premiere professional regional theater. Known for an annual Summer Season consisting of 7 main stage productions and 2 children’s shows, the Players also now produces a 3-play Winter Season and continues to offer the Arts on Screen series that includes screenings of renowned performances from the Metropolitan Opera and London’s National Theatre. The Players enriches the human experience by producing quality live professional theatre, developing and training theatre artists, and offering New Hampshire a wide variety of performing arts events. Peterborough Players is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information please visit Peterborough Players, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 or www.peterboroughplayers.org. “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes..." This Saturday, the quintessential tale of lust for power and political ambition unfolds at the Players. Don't miss the National Theatre broadcast of Shakespeare's Macbeth - May 4th at 1pm. The ruined aftermath of a bloody civil war. Ruthlessly fighting to survive, the Macbeths are propelled towards the crown by forces of elemental darkness. Shakespeare’s most intense and terrifying tragedy, directed by Rufus Norris (Threepenny Opera, London Road), sees Rory Kinnear (Othello) and Anne-Marie Duff (Suffragette) play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. *Please note this production contains scenes of a violent nature. "The premiere political dramatist writing in English"
-Washington Post (on David Hare) Master of British drama David Hare (Academy Award nominee for The Reader and The Hours) brings his explosive new play I'm Not Running to the National Theatre. Join us for the broadcast on April 20th at 1pm at the Players! With all of the intrigue and depth of great political dramas like House of Cards and The Bodyguard, I'm Not Running follows one woman's journey as she navigates the world of campaigning and politics. Pauline Gibson (played by Siân Brooke of BBC's SHERLOCK and DR. FOSTER) has spent her life as a doctor, the inspiring leader of a local health campaign. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, a stalwart loyalist in Labour Party politics, she’s faced with an agonizing decision. What’s involved in sacrificing your private life and your peace of mind for something more than a single issue? Does she dare? JULIE: What are we going to do? JEAN: Escape. Did you love Vanessa Kirby on The Crown? Then you must see Julie this Saturday, April 6th at 1pm. Vanessa Kirby (Princess Margaret on The Crown, NT Live: A Streetcar Named Desire) and Eric Kofi Abrefa (The Amen Corner) feature in the cast of this brand new production, directed by Carrie Cracknell (NT Live: The Deep Blue Sea). Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristina clean up as the celebration heaves above them. Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean – which rapidly descends into a savage fight for survival. This new version of August Strindberg’s play Miss Julie, written by Polly Stenham, remains shocking and fiercely relevant in its new setting of contemporary London. ★★★★ “A superlative production. Exhilarating.” Time Out |
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