Theater & Dance

Barnstormers announces its summer season

Published Date

TAMWORTH — The Barnstormers Theatre of Tamworth - the only professional summer theater in the world still producing eight plays in eight weeks — announced its summer schedule.

"This is one of the most eclectic lineups we've ever had," said artistic director Bob Shea. "It's the best of both American and British theater and a great combination of music, laughs, suspense, romance and drama. This summer, there will be a play for every appetite, even for the most reluctant theatre goer. "

Launching the 2012 season is the hit musical "Big River," book by William Hauptman, music and lyrics by Roger Miller, and adapted from Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." July 10 to 14.

Tina Howe's "Painting Churches" is a funny, expressive look at an uppercrust Boston couple and their artist daughter, who returns home to help her parents pack-up their Beacon Hill townhouse as she paints their portrait. July 17 to 21.

Ken Ludwig's "Leading Ladies" is a gender-bending farce in which nephews turn out to be nieces and things are not always as they seem. July 24 to 28.

Agatha's Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" takes us into the British courtroom and beyond. July 31 to Aug. 4.

Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" is a play that begins with what seem like every day transactions that become meaningful, poignant events spanning three decades in an early twentieth-century, New Hampshire town. First opening in Tamworth in 1939, this will be The Barnstormers' seventh production of "Our Town." August 7 - 11.

Playwright team Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna's "It Had to Be You" is a two-character, madcap comedy in which love conquers all - with a little help from subterfuge, hysteria, sex and the weather. Aug. 14 to 18.

Larry Shue's "The Foreigner" is a delightful comedy about miscommunication and transformation. The script is populated by a host of interesting, zany characters with countless twists and quirky surprises. August 21 - 25.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Steven Canny and John Nicholson is a farcical adaptation of Sherlock Holmes' most famous adventure with three actors playing 16 roles. Aug. 28 to Sept. 1.

The theater is air-conditioned with tiered, comfortable seating, handicapped accessible and boasts a new hearing assistance system.

Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 323-8500 or visit the website at www.barnstormerstheatre.org.