Hackmatack Playhouse to Stage WEST SIDE STORY, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS & More in Summer 2015

Four theatrical productions that Hackmatack Playhouse has been wanting to schedule for years will materialize this summer in the big barn by the bison field. Three of the shows slated for Berwick's unique summer stock stage are musicals and one is an uproarious farce.

Opening the season on June 19 will be Unnecessary Farce, which is set in a motel room where an embezzling mayor is supposed to meet with his female accountant. In the room next door, two undercover cops are supposed to catch the meeting on videotape, but there's confusion as to who's occupying which room, who's watching the video, who's taken the money, who's hired a hit man, and why the accountant keeps taking off her clothes.

"This show is hilarious to read, and when it was performed in Vermont a few years ago I could hear the laughter in Maine," said Hackmatack owner Michael Guptill. Written by Paul Slade Smith, the show combines classic farce with a contemporary American plot.

Starting July 18, audiences will be invited to one of Broadway's all-time favorites, West Side Story, a tale of young lovers caught between prejudice and warring street gangs in a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. This memorable musical and heart-wrenching love story brings the sparring Jets and Sharks to Berwick after a 17-year hiatus.

"I'm excited to bring this back to the barn and use the space in a way that makes the audience feel like they are right in the middle of it all," said Crystal Lisbon, artistic director at Hackmatack.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, opening July 29, involves two con men, a beautiful woman and the elite of the French Riviera colliding in a sexy and irreverent farce. Hackmatack has scheduled this production more than once in the past, but Guptill is committed to showing it this year.

"We have put Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on the tentative schedule for several years now," Guptill said. "Last year we bumped it for Spamalot, the year before we bumped it for Les Mis. This year we are not going to bump it!"

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will star two of past year's big names - Steve Michaels, former Hackmatack artistic director who played Javert in Les Mis in 2013, and Dan Clay, who headlined as Harold in the Music Man last summer. It will be directed by David Kaye of South Berwick, chair of the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of New Hampshire, who has worked throughout the U.S. as a professional actor, director, and designer.

Finally, the season ends with Ruthless, opening Aug. 19, the story of 8-year-old Tina Denmark who knows she was born to play Pippi Longstocking and will do anything to win the part in her school musical. Anything includes murdering the leading lady.

Guptill was first introduced to this Off-Broadway musical hit, years ago by Michaels. This show is rarely produced, as it has little name recognition, but Guptill believes it will be a winner.

"It's funny, interesting, powerful and a great vehicle for actors of several ages," Guptill noted. "We know it will be as exciting and fun as some of our other risky productions, making our audience cry, clap and laugh like mad."

All shows run three weekends with matinees on Thursdays. To purchase a ticket in advance or see a full schedule call Hackmatack at 207-698-1807 or go to the website: hackmatack.org.

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