The Peterborough Players have announced the shows for their summer season, from June 19 to Aug. 25, with returning favorites and a new title for its 91st year of professional theater in the barn at 55 Hadley Road.
“Noises Off,” by Michael Frayn kicks off the summer June 19 to 30. It offers a hilarious look at the inner workings of a British theater troupe and the fast-paced on-stage and off-stage antics of the actors, The winner of both Tony and Olivier awards, “Noises Off” follows a rag-tag theater company as they rehearse and perform a disastrously awful sex farce on a provincial tour. Outsized egos and emotions, slamming doors and errant plates of sardines are all part of the show.
Ira Levin’s “Deathtrap,” scheduled for July 3 to 14, is a comedy/thriller that holds the record for the longest-running play of the genre on Broadway. Murder, psychic messages, misplaced passion and jealousy are layered in this play-within-a-play-about-a-play.
Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” runs from July 17 to 28, featuring love, social mores, vanity, misunderstandings, “pride” and “prejudice” leading toward a happy ending.
Richard Strand’s “Ben Butler,” July 31 to Aug. 11, puts history center stage in the true story of the Civil War general who, with the help of an escaped slave, paved the way to the Emancipation Proclamation. Butler, the lawyer-turned-general, and refugee slave Shepherd Mallory argue their way toward mutual understanding and respect.
“Man of La Mancha” returns to the Players’ stage Aug. 14 to 25 as the season finale. Since its premiere in 1965, it has had four Broadway revivals and won multiple Tony Awards with its message of hope and idealism. Imprisoned during the Spanish Inquisition, Don Miguel de Cervantes and his manservant, Sancho Panza, enact the story of Don Quixote, bringing the prisoners into the play within a play’s action and inspiring them to “Dream the Impossible Dream.”
“Our 2024 summer season has been crafted to bring our entire community together at the Players,” stated Charles Morey. “As interim producing artistic director, I’ve assembled plays that run the gamut from riotous comedy, mystery, romance, historical drama and the uplifting experience of great musical storytelling. I hope everyone will experience the broad sweep of human emotions reflected in these five plays, to take joy and delight in these deftly crafted stories that restore our spirits, lift up and inspire us – all while delivering you a great night of theater. Never has the power of live theater, the ritual of sharing stories in a communal space, been more important in connecting communities and nurturing a sense of belonging and our common humanity.”
Ticket sales begin on March 25 for renewing subscribers, and new subscriptions will be available beginning April 4. Barn Door Passes can be purchased as of April 17. Single tickets become available on May 1, with subscriptions sales continuing until opening night June 19 and Barn Door Passes on sale throughout the season.
Morey is managing the Players during the 2024 season as interim producing artistic director, as a search committee seeks a new managing director and new artistic director starting with the 2025 season.
Players’ board member Sevanne Kassarjian is leading the committee, which has posted the openings at 38 theaters and New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, 23 colleges and universities, 15 job sites, the National Theatre Conference, the NH Center for Nonprofits and three Facebook pages.
This far, according to Kassarjian, the committee has received more than 100 applications, and that the applicants are very diverse.
“Applicants are both local and from across the U.S., some of them with considerable international experience,” she stated. “They have experience in very different size theaters. Some have deep experience leading theaters that are very similar to ours – smaller, mostly summer programs in rural areas – and others have a track record of running very large, full-year programs with over 30 productions in big cities and they are ready to scale back. Some are more mature, proven experts and some are burgeoning younger theater lovers who have assisted others and are ready to have their own place. Our task will be the alchemy of bringing the right, talented people together or choosing from among the several groups that have applied as a team.”