Summer Stages: Theatrical Happenings in Maine 2015

After the impossibly long winter, summer is finally coming to Maine shores, woods, and towns. And along with summer outdoors fun, comes the return of summer theatre. Maine is blessed to have a wide selected of professional and community playhouses from which to choose. Here is but a small sampling:

Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick celebrates its fifty-seventh season with four mainstage productions: The Full Monty (June 3-20), Sister Act (June 24-July 11), Music Man (July 15- August 1), and Young Frankenstein (August 5-22). In addition the company will present family performances of Curious George (June 10) and ShrekThe Musical Jr. (August 17), as well a staged concert version of Fame (June 15) and their annual Footlight Follies (August 10). The theatre will reprise its successful talk back series, A Peek Behind the Curtain at noon at bthe Curtis Memorial Library on June 10, July 3, July and August 12. Tickets: 207-725-8769 or www.msmt.org

Ogunquit Playhouse, Ogunquit begins its season with Sister Act (May 20-June 20), followed by Victor, Victoria (June 24-July 18), Nice Work If You Can Get It (July 22-August 15), a new musical comedy, Million Dollar Quartet (August 19- September 19), and Saturday Night Fever (September 23-October 25). Tickets: 207-646-5511 or www.ogunquitplayhouse.org.

Theater at Monmouth, Monmouth Their summer theme is "Magic, Murder and Mayhem" as they present in repertoire an adaptation of Henry James' Turn of the Screw, Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and Midsummer Night's Dream, Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruggidore. The annual family show is The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship. The season runs June 26-September 27. Tickets: 207-933-9999 or www.theatreatmonmouth.org.

Arundel Barn Playhouse, Arundel begins with Nunsense Amen (June 16-June 27), followed by The Addams Family (June 30-July 11), Disney's Little Mermaid (July 14-August 1), La Cage aux Folles (August 4-August 15), and Beehive: The 60s Musical (August 18-August 29). Tickets: 207-985-5552 or www.arundelbarnplayhouse.com.

Hackmatack Playhouse, Berwick, will present a mixture of musicals and straight plays including Paul Slade Smith's Unnecessary Farce (June 19-July 4), Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim's West Side Story (July 8-15), David Yazbek -Jeffrey Lane's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (July 29-August 15),Marvin Laird-Joe Paley's Ruthless The Musical (August 19-September 5. Tickets: 207-698-1807 or www.hackmatack.org.

Acadia Repertory Theatre on Mt. Desert Island mounts Jim Cartwright's Two (June 29-July12), Frederick Knott's Wait Until Dark (July 14-July 26), A.R. Gurney's Sylvia (July 28-August 16), and Jeffrey Hatcher's Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club (August 18-September 6). Tickets: 207-244-7260 or www.acadiarep.com.

Other companies closing out their early summer seasons include:

Portland Players with Hairspray from May 22-June 7) www.portlandplayers.org Lyric Music Theater, South Portland, with Lend Me a Tenor from June19-28 www.lyricmusictheater.org.

Among the many other summer companies which dot the state, check out the websites of these theatres:

Heartwood Regional Theater, Damarascotta www.heartwoodtheater.orgLakewood Theatre, Madison www.lakewoodtheater.org
LACommunity Little-Theatre, Auburn www.laclt.org

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