Park Theatre  in Jaffrey offering ‘First Night’

The new Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, will present its first stage play production, “First Night,” Dec. 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the 333-seat Eppes Auditorium.

The romantic comedy is written by award-winning playwright and New England native Jack Neary, whose plays have been produced all over the United States, in Canada and Europe. His most-recent play, “Trick or Treat,” written for and featuring Emmy-winner Gordon Clapp, debuted at Northern Stage in Vermont and was produced off-Broadway in 2019 at 59E59 Theaters. “Auld Lang Syne,” produced by the Peterborough Players and also starring Clapp, was the winner of five New Hampshire Theatre Awards, including Best Professional Production. It has since been produced by New Century Theatre at Smith College and Gloucester Stage.

“First Night” debuted professionally at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre before a long run at the Theatre Lobby in Boston and off-Broadway production at the Westside Theatre. The actors starring in this production, John Manning and Jocelyn Duford, did their first public reading of the play at The Park Theatre’s temporary theater, the River Street Theatre, in 2018.

“First Night” is set on New Year’s Eve, 1985. Danny Fleming, in his mid-30s, is about to close his neighborhood video store for the evening when into the store pops a woman he believes he remembers from his grammar school days. What he remembers most is that she went away to be a nun. Why is she there? Why does he care? What does she want to rent?  Manning and Dufford have brought these characters to the Actors Studio Theatre in Newburyport, the LarcomTheatre in Beverly, the Hatbox Theatre in Concord, New Hampshire; the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell; and the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport. 

 “We are thrilled to have our first theatrical stage production be Jack Neary’s ‘First Night.’ We feel a kinship to this production because John and Jocelyn did their first public reading of it at our River Street Theatre. It’s a special treat for New Year’s week, guaranteed to trigger many laughs and warm hearts,” stated Steve Jackson, CEO and managing director of The Park Theatre.

Tickets are $28 and can be purchased at theparktheatre.org or by calling the box office 603-532-8888. Masks are mandatory at the theater for all events.