Boy, 2014 sure went out with a bang! The year wrapped up with both the successful Jean’s Playhouse National Tour of A Christmas Carol and the naming of The Merry Wives of Windsor (with Advice to the Players in August, 2014) as a finalist for Best Comedy/Drama in the New Hampshire Theatre Awards!
First – the tour. We traveled all over the eastern United States and played at beautiful historic venues, modern arts centers, and local playhouses and civic centers. Personal favorites included the 1894 Opera House in Galveston, Texas (the official opera house of the state of Texas), the Strand Theatre in Shreveport, Louisiana (the state theatre of Louisiana), and the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Virginia (our first stop). The company was wonderful and the production received much praise from our one-night-only crowds (and there were some pretty big crowds!). I was also happy to encounter some faraway friends and family along the way!
It looks like the tour will be heading out again in 2015 for another Christmastime tour — with some valuable improvements, of course. We all have some wonderful memories from the experience, but also learned a lot.
And while on the road, we learned that the Advice to the Players production of The Merry Wives of Windsor was named a finalist for Best Comedy/Drama in the New Hampshire Theatre Awards! The 2014 summer production in Sandwich, NH was an unbelievably positive experience…a New Hampshire Theatre Award for our deserving company would be a fitting garnish for an already tasty dish. Stay tuned to find out if we win!
Next up for me is Romeo and Juliet with Advice to the Players in Sandwich. I’ll be playing Mercutio, a juicy role that’s on many actors’ bucket lists. I’m excited to head back north in March to meet the company and get to work! The show plays March 27 – April 12 at both Your Theatre in North Conway, NH and Town Hall Theatre in Center Sandwich, NH. Stay tuned for updates. For more info now, check out the ATTP website.
February Follow-up: Unfortunately, Advice to the Players walked away from the NH Theatre Awards empty-handed this year. We had several top-2 finishes, but alas…no trophies. Congratulations to all the deserving winners! I hope to have Romeo and Juliet on the ballot again for 2015!