This year marks the 90th birthday of the Peterborough Players, and the celebration is on. In addition to a stellar lineup of five Main Stage shows, new happenings like
Date Nights, Junior Players, and the “Players Club Lounge,” the Players welcomes first-time corporate sponsor Microspec as a leader in the season.
“Evolution and newness are the words around the Players’ these days, and we’ve been busy behind the scenes creating something very special to herald 90 years,” said artistic director
Tom Frey. “In a way, this season harkens back to the very first ones at the theatre; what the Players has always excelled at is beautiful, impactful, intimate stories, expertly told. I can’t wait to share what we’ve got in store.”
The season opens with “Souvenir,” Stephen Temperley’s humorous and poignant look into the world of socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, the infamous diva who couldn’t carry a tune. She and her accompanist Cosme McMoon form a heartwarming and hilarious partnership on the way to their Carnegie Hall debut. The show features Broadway’s Joy Hermalyn (Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, Cabaret at the Players) as Foster Jenkins. Souvenir is onstage from June 22 to July 2.
In Audrey Cefaly’s “Maytag Virgin,” Alabama schoolteacher Lizzy Nash and her new neighbor Jack Key meet-cute in their backyards, and maneuver through their mutual attraction while sorting through “life’s laundry”. The Players welcomes back real-life married couple Karen and Ian Merrill Peakes in this delightful charmer. “Maytag Virgin” runs from July 6 to 16.
In Tony award-nominated “Grand Horizons” by Bess Wohl, Nancy and Bill have been married for 50 years and they’re starting to wonder about that “til death do we part” thing. When their adult sons descend on their senior living community, they learn more about their parent’s love lives than they ever wanted to know. “Grand Horizons” features Players’ company members Kathy Manfre, Douglas Rees and new company member Nick Cearley. It runs from July 20 to 30.
“Pipeline” by Dominique Morriseau, invites us into the turbulent connection between Nya, an inner-city public-school teacher, and her ex-husband Xavier as they attempt to co-parent their son, Omari. “Pipeline” is a powerful meditation on social prophesy, social media, and a mother’s determination to redeem her son in her own eyes as well as that of the accusatory
public. Directed by Kevin R. Free, the acclaimed director behind last season’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”, the play features AntuYacob as Nya and Players company member Philip Kershaw as Dun. It runs August 3 -13 .
The season closes with” Tell Me on a Sunday,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s one-woman musical with lyrics by Don Black, onstage from Aug. 17 to 27 . The show follows one woman’s journey of finding, and losing, and finding herself again as she searches for love and success in the big city, and contains some of Webber’s most-beloved songs, including “Tell Me on a Sunday”. The woman is brought to life by Players’ favorite Bridget Beirne, with the powerhouse team of director by Ilyse Robbins and music director Jenny Kim Godfrey at the helm.
Audiences won’t want to miss out on special events this summer like date nights, food truck evenings, red carpet opening nights, and Players Junior. The Players Club Lounge will be
open with a full bar available for purchase before and after all performances. Single tickets are $49, and ticket packages are on sale now. For more information: peterboroughplayers.org or call the box office at (603)924- 7585.