Berwick Playhouse Reopens Its Doors This Summer

The lights will be back on at Hackmatack Playhouse in Berwick this summer.

Thanks to new state guidelines for staying healthy, Hackmatack will not only hold its day camp, but for its 49th anniversary season will run the musical, "The Spitfire Grill," during the month of August.

"The Spitfire Grill," an uplifting musical set in a diner in Maine, will open 8 pm Friday, Aug. 6, and continues with evening shows 8 pm Sat. Aug 7, and every Wednesday to Saturday in August after that. Hackmatack will also be offering matinee shows at 2 pm Thursdays, Aug. 12, 19 and 26.

"The state increased indoor capacity to 100 percent, so the show can go on," said Michael Guptill, owner of Hackmatack. With new recommendations for people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, Guptill is optimistic the local summer stock theater can once again provide entertainment in a barn in Maine that has been operating for more than four decades.

The musical will be directed by Hackmatack's new artistic director, Danielle Howard of Dover. Howard discovered a love for musical theater as well as for Hackmatack when she was a voice major at the University of New Hampshire. She has since earned her master's degree in directing and worked in theater around the country. She has directed several shows at Hackmatack and was hired as artistic director in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.

Hackmatack's day camp, now in its 42nd year, will run three weeks beginning on June 28 and ending with a performance of "Peter Pan." The camp is targeted to children 7 to 13.

Reservations for "The Spitfire Grill" can be made by phone at 207-698-1807 or email at hackmatackplayhouse@gmail.org.