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Photo Sue Harrison
Susan Grilli, head of Counter Productions, has signed an agreement to lease The Provincetown Theater where her company plans to stage several theatrical productions this winter, some in conjunction with the Harwich Junior Theatre. |
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This fall Kevin Rice took over as artistic director at the Payomet Performing Arts Center. |
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Local theaters overcome dramatic challenges
By Melora B. North
Banner Staff
It’s been a big year here on the Cape in the world of theater. New venues have opened, others changed leadership and yet others performed a balancing act on a wing and a prayer and, so far, things are looking good as we look back.
Using a bit of imagination and assistance from the fat burners at Willy’s Gym, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater once again hosted a winter series of staged readings at the gym in Eastham where they offered a buffet supper, drinks and a line-up of local talent hamming it up so that audience members could let their imaginations create a virtual set. Another venue they sponsored for eager theater-goers in the mood to rev up the juices was a Playmaker Series at the Wellfleet Public Library, with Stephen Russell playing host. Presented by local theater professionals, audience members were guided into the behind-the-scenes-world where sets, costumes, makeup and more were discussed.
The highlight of the WHAT season was when the new Julie Harris Stage opened on June 21 with “A Clean House,” a Pulitzer Prize finalist production written by Sarah Ruhl. As luck would have it for premiere attendees, Ms. Harris, a five-time award-winning actress and honorary chairperson of the WHAT Board of Directors, was in the audience the evening of the opening fête when stage and screen actress Jessica Pimentel starred in the production.
Change was in the wind in North Truro where playwright Kevin Rice has taken over the reins at the Payomet Theater for Guy Strauss who founded the theater nine years ago under a tent on the Noons property in North Truro. Now located at the Highlands Center, at the former North Truro Air Force Base, the tradition of historical shows, plays, classes and more promises to continue with some new offerings thrown in to mix things up a bit.
Also switching gears is The Provincetown Theater, where Susan Grilli, head of Counter Productions, has set up shop for the winter with partner-producer Joy McNulty, who worked with her this past summer on productions mounted at the Provincetown Inn: “Bingo the Musical” and “I Am My Own Wife.” The theater reverts back to the Provincetown Theater Foundation next summer. Keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming shows.
This summer brought some interesting people to the Outermost Cape. West Indian poet and playwright Derek Walcott turned the tables on the tale of Robinson Crusoe when his original work “Pantomime” was staged at the Payomet Performing Arts Center with some new twists to tease the imagination. Walcott was the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
Another surprise was avant-garde theater director Andre Gregory who performed his play “Bone Songs” at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater in July. Inspired by his late wife Chiquita who died of breast cancer at 53, the play chronicles the relationships of a married couple and was a resounding hit that touched the hearts of many.
This fall’s Tennessee Williams Festival proved to be an eclectic treat full of surprises. Two Williams plays that were recently discovered premiered at the fest: “Sun Burst” and “The Pronoun I.” In addition, Tony-nominated playwright Wendy Kesselman’s “The Foggy, Foggy Dew” was performed on the set of a life-size collage of found objects assembled by local artist Jim Peters. Inspired by Williams’ affiliation with the artists from the Hans Hofmann school, the production was a world premiere.
Women’s Week was a blur of activity and non-stop entertainment highlighted by a staging of Meryl Cohn’s “Reasons to Live” at The Provincetown Theater. A riotous production, the audience went home with stitches in their sides from laughing too hard, if you can imagine there being too much laughter in this world.
Making lemonade from lemons was Peter Earle, artistic director at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans, where he was dealt a triple blow this summer. An eternal optimist, when three of his shows got cancelled for one reason or another, Earle just put on his thinking cap, called upon his faithful stable and slapped together a musical review, “Broadway to Hollywood,” which stopped audience members in their tracks. But hey, that’s showbiz. You pull yourself together, ad lib and move forward; after all, the show must go on.
And as they say in the world of grease paint and make-believe, break a leg and let the good times continue to roll.
For stories on the year in review in the world of the visual arts, the written word and the broad range of entertainment on the Outer Cape see this week’s Provincetown Banner.
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Outer Cape Gallery Listings
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Dec 27th, 2007