The Peterborough Players Announces the 2008 Summer Season
February 14, 2008

For Further Information, Contact:
Jon Egging, Marketing Director (603)924-9344

At the 2008 Annual Meeting on February 16, the Peterborough Players announced its 75th Anniversary season of plays to be produced at its historic theatre on Hadley Road. Season highlights include the return of James Whitmore Senior and Junior, two Pulitzer Prize winners, a legendary catcher, 3 British comedies, a timeless poet and, for the second year, a seventh show in the mainstage season. There will also be two shows for young audiences that will be produced and performed by the Players Second Company of interns and apprentices. There are also a number of 75th Anniversary events throughout the summer including: A Family/Children’s day July 12th, Players Alumni Weekend August 1 – 3, and a kickoff Cabaret with Lucie Arnaz on May 17th.

Critically acclaimed star of stage, screen, radio and television--and daughter of Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz--Lucie Arnaz will provide a fantastic evening of star quality singing to kick off the 75th Anniversary. Ms. Arnaz began her career in a recurring role on television on The Lucy Show, opposite her mother, Lucille Ball. Since then she has had numerous roles on stage, television and in film. She has brought her nightclub act to venues in the US and Europe with stops in Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, and Feinstein’s At The Regency in New York City. She has received numerous awards including the Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award, the Theatre World Award, and Chicago’s famed Sarah Siddons Award to name just a few. This memorable evening will begin with special hosted dinners before the show, and will end with a post-concert champagne reception. Get your tickets early for this unique and sure to be memorable show.

Following Lucie, and still before the official opening of the summer season, thanks to a grant from the Goyette Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Fund as well as strong community support, the Players will then produce the Ascending Stars Project, its eighth collaborative project with area schools. In the tradition of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, PEG O’ MY HEART, LIGHT UP THE SKY, LA DISPUTE, LOVE’S LABOURS LOST, MUSEUM, and last year’s critical success PICNIC this year’s production will feature the best in local high school talent working alongside professional actors, directors, designers, and technicians. This production is tentatively scheduled for June 5 through June 8, although the dates may change depending upon schools end-of-year schedules.

The summer season opens with NOBODY DON’T LIKE YOGI, a one-man show by Thomas Lysaght running June 18 - 29. This wonderful show will showcase the talents of David Howard who will be remembered for his portrayal of Mr. Green in VISITING MR.GREEN last season. It is the story of Yankee legend Yogi Berra. But it covers much more than his life in the dreaded pinstripes. It is a celebration of its namesake’s humor, loyalty and wisdom as the most quotable athlete of our time. It weaves together a portrait of a player, father, and friend, which demonstrates the importance of trusting your convictions. Donald Lyon of the New York Post writes “A respectful, indeed adoring portrait of a believably good man…a home run.” NOBODY DON’T LIKE YOGI is rated PG.

Next, STONES IN HIS POCKETS, a comedy written by Marie Jones, runs from July 2 - 13. Set in a small village in rural Ireland where a major Hollywood studio is making a mega-hit film, the play centers on two down and out Irishmen, happy to be making 40 pounds a day as extras. In an acting tour de force two actors take a number of roles in rapid succession, easily moving from trendy movie moguls to slouching Irish underdogs. This play moves with lightening quick precision, and has been called: “A comedy on several layers — overtly funny at times, self-reflexive at others, poignant and touching throughout. A must see!” – BBC. STONES IN HIS POCKETS is rated PG-13, and contains some adult situations.

PRIVATE LIVES, a comedy by Noel Coward, follows as the third show of the season and runs from July 16 – 27. A classic comedy of bad manners, dry humor and quicksilver sparring that is both daringly hilarious and elegantly sexy; Private Lives is widely considered Coward’s greatest comedy. The action concerns a divorced couple, Amanda and Elyot, both recently remarried, who accidentally book adjoining suites at the same hotel for their honeymoons. The play centers on the two leads and their agonizing realization that they still care for each other, and it contains some of Coward’s best dialogue.
PRIVATE LIVES is rated PG-13.

The fourth show of the season is AN IDEAL HUSBAND by Oscar Wilde, playing July 30 through August 10. This show is a dazzling blend of comedy and morality, sex and politics, which explores human frailty and social hypocrisy and uses Oscar Wilde’s signature wit and style to provide all the sumptuous elegance you come to expect. It shows how, beneath the sparkle of Edwardian London Society, there lies an undercurrent of deception and manipulation. “AN IDEAL HUSBAND [is] a 100-year-old play that, happily or not, is rich with contemporary resonance.” Variety. AN IDEAL HUSBAND is rated PG.

Occupying the fifth slot with a special three week run, August 13 – 31, is the American classic OUR TOWN. James Whitmore will reprise his role as the Stage Manager that dazzled Players audiences in 2000. Written by Thornton Wilder and inspired by his frequent stays in Peterborough as a MacDowell Colonist, the Pulitzer-Prize winning OUR TOWN has become an American stage treasure and is Wilder’s (not to mention the Players’) most renowned and frequently performed play. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the play reveals the ordinary lives of the people in the small town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, U.S.A. As the Stage Manager, Whitmore narrates Wilder’s immortal tale of love, marriage, death and daily life. Order tickets now, it’s sure to sell out soon. OUR TOWN is rated PG.

Next is DOUBT: A PARABLE, a drama by John Patrick Shanley, September 3 – 14. “Truth tends to make a bad sermon...” says the accused priest in John Patrick Shanley’s achingly taut Doubt. Set in 1964, at a Bronx Catholic School, Doubt tells the story of a strong-minded nun who wrestles with her conscience in the face of concerns about one of the priests. Doubt ran for 2 years on Broadway and in 2005 won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best New Play. Shanley is also well known for his Oscar-winning screenplay for Moonstruck. DOUBT: A PARABLE is rated PG-13.

The seventh and final show of the subscription season which will run September 17 – 28 is, THE BELLE OF AMHERST by William Luce. In this Tony Award-winning one-woman show, Luce draws heavily on the poems, letters and first hand accounts of Emily Dickinson to create a play that is an inspiring, poignant and truthful biography of one of America’s greatest literary women. Academy Award nominee, Lindsay Crouse, brings this production to Peterborough prior to a New York run. “[Emily Dickinson’s] private life, thoughts and dreams and her poetic genius have been strikingly and movingly captured by William Luce... a touching and steadily absorbing evening even to those who know so little about the superb poet.” - New York Post. THE BELLE OF AMHERST is rated PG.

In addition to the seven plays in the subscription season, the Second Company will present two plays for children and families. Second Company productions feature members of the Players Intern and Apprentice Company, and are designed to be enjoyed by children age 4 and up. Plan to make a day of it by packing a lunch to enjoy on the grounds. Be sure to stick around after the show so the kids can meet the cast on the patio! Second Company productions are not included as part of any subscription package.

HANSEL AND GRETEL - A Fairy Tale by Marjorie Sokoloff - 10:30am June 27, 28, July 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 18, 19, 23, 25, 26 Who could resist a house made of candy? Hansel and Gretel take a bite (or two) in this reworked fairy tale, but a few fresh surprises are in store for the siblings. In what is now an annual tradition, the Second Company will bring this story to life and help create family memories that you will cherish for a lifetime. HANSEL AND GRETEL is suitable for children age 4 and up.

The Second Company will also present CINDY REILLY, An updated musical story by Gus Kaikkonen and Kraig Swartz - Aug. 23, 27, 29, 30 at 2pm, & Aug. 25 at 7pm. In this modern, musical retelling of the beloved story Cinderella, Cindy Reilly is a bespectacled CPA, surrounded by her chic step-sisters, a rock star “formerly known as Prince Charming,” and her evil stepmother, a Leona Helmsley-type hotel mogul. The script and lyrics were written by Players Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen and acting company member Kraig Swartz, the music was written by Ellen Mandel, and the fun is for the whole family, not just the kids. CINDY REILLY is suitable for children age 8 and up.

The Peterborough Players is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation – Monadnock Region, New England Foundation for the Arts, the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation, and the A. Erland and Hazel N. Goyette Memorial Fund.

Season subscriptions are now on sale at the Players Box Office. For reservations and further information, call (603) 924-7585, or visit the Peterborough Players web site at www.peterboroughplayers.org.

©2001 - 2008 Peterborough Players, PO Box 118, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Deb Porter-Hayes
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