Contact: Keith Stevens, Managing Director, (603)924-9344, kstevens@peterboroughplayers.org

At the 2006 Annual Meeting on February 11, the Peterborough Players announced the summer season of plays at its historic theatre on Hadley Road. Season highlights include the return of James Whitmore Senior and Junior, a Pulitzer Prize winner featuring Carmen Decker, a gem of a comedic “lost classic”, one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, a frothy Noel Coward comedy, and a spine-tingling thriller.

The season opens with Mitch Albom’s TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, a comedy-drama by Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher running for a special 3-week run June 21 through July 9. Based on the inspirational novel that was on The New York Times Bestseller list for over four years, TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is Albom's autobiographical story of a career-obsessed journalist and his ailing former college professor. A simple visit turns into a weekly
pilgrimage and a last class about the meaning of life. Stage and screen icon James Whitmore and his son James Whitmore Jr. return in an unforgettable performance. John Simon of New York Magazine said “No matter how well you know the story, the play makes it more vivid, more shattering, more humorous.” TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is rated PG.

In THE GIN GAME, a comedy-drama by D.L. Coburn running July 12 through July 23, Players favorites Carmen Decker and Warren Hammack star as Fonsia and Weller, two of the newer residents in a retirement home. They discover they both dislike the home and enjoy gin rummy so they begin to play and to reveal intimate details of their lives. This winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize, which originally starred Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn and revived in 1999 with Julie Harris and Charles Durning, uses the game as a metaphor for life. WABC-TV said about the play, "Extremely intelligent . . . fine bittersweet comedy. . . . Funny, sad, profane, eloquent, touching, beautiful." THE GIN GAME is rated PG.

HOBSON’S CHOICE, a comedy by Harold Brighouse, is the third play of the subscription season running July 26 through August 6. The title of this charming comedy is a colloquial English phrase for "no choice at all".
Bootmaker and small town tyrant, Horatio Hobson, has three hot-tempered daughters. He has chosen the eldest and most capable, Maggie - the “old maid“ at 30 – to take care of him and run his business as he would see fit. Can she turn the tables on him in Victorian England? Joe Adcock of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said “Odd though it may seem, justice can be jolly, even heartwarming. One of British playwright Harold Brighouse's outstanding skills was his ability to imagine jolly, heartwarming justice.” HOBSON’S CHOICE is rated PG.

THE WINTER’S TALE, a comedy-drama by William Shakespeare, will be performed August 9 through August 20. King Leontes has loyal friends, a gracious queen, an adoring son and a child on the way. Yet in a sudden fit of jealousy, he drives his family and country to the brink of ruin. In a play written at the height of his powers, the Bard finds Spring on the far side of Winter. A wise and thrilling exploration of the restoring power of time, as rich in modern psychology as it is in comic grace, THE WINTER'S TALE ends in the most daring and moving
reconciliation scene in all of Shakespeare's plays. THE WINTER’S TALE is rated PG.

FALLEN ANGELS, a comedy by Noel Coward, appears on the Players stage August 23 through September 3. This delightfully frothy comedy follows the mayhem that ensues when Julia and Jane, old friends who have settled happily into upper-class married life, discover that a suave, French ex-lover – the “grand passion” of each lady’s life – is planning to renew old acquaintances. FALLEN ANGELS is Coward at his inimitable best, infinitely sophisticated in the style that won him his reputation as the most successful purveyor of high comedy in the theatre. Coward himself said the play has “an amusing situation, very funny lines, and is vastly entertaining to the public.” FALLEN ANGELS is rated PG.

Closing the subscription season is THE TURN OF THE SCREW, a thriller by Jeffrey Hatcher from the story by Henry James, running September 6 through September 17. Madness and mystery are concealed in spine-tingling adaptation of Henry James‘ thriller. A young English governess is sent to a remote country estate, romantic yet fraught with disturbing questions. Why was her handsome young charge expelled from school? Why does his angelic young sister refuse to speak? Who are the mysterious figures wandering the ramparts? Are there ghosts or are they the product of her fevered imagination? And, most disturbing of all, what if none of this is real? This classic tale of suspense and horror is both wonderful and terrifying, providing a multi-faceted penetrating drama. Phoebe Hoban of the New York Times said “It is hard to think of an interpretation of Henry James's famously eerie novella that is more in keeping with James's own intent.” THE TURN OF THE SCREW is rated PG.

In addition to the six plays in the subscription season, the Second Company will present two plays for children and families. Second Company productions feature members of the Players Intern and Apprentice company, and are designed to be enjoyed by children age 4 and up. Plan to make a day of it by packing a lunch to enjoy on the grounds. Be sure to stick around after the show so the kids can meet the cast on the patio! Second Company productions are not included as part of any subscription package. CHARLOTTE’S WEB by Joseph Robinette from the book by E.B. White will be performed at 10:30 am June 24, 28 and 30 and July 1, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 19, 21 and 22. The whole family will enjoy this faithful adaptation of White’s classic, which was the first play presented by the original Second Company in 1996. All the enchanting characters are there: Wilbur, the radiant pig; Fern, a girl who understands what the animals say to each other; Templeton, the gluttonous rat; and Charlotte, the extraordinary spider who is a “true friend and a good writer.” CHARLOTTE’S WEB is suitable for children age 4 and up.

The Second Company will also present Thomas Olsen’s adaptation of THE SECRET GARDEN, with performances at 2 PM August 12, 7 PM August 14, and 2 PM August 16, 18, and 19. Behind a mysterious wall on the grounds of gloomy Misselthwaite Manor is a garden untouched by human hands for ten years. However, there is magic in the secret garden – enough to bring happiness to a lonely orphan girl, hope to a crippled boy, and light to the hardened heart of the lord of the manor. One of the most beloved stories of all time comes to life on the Players’ stage! THE SECRET GARDEN is suitable for children age 8 and up.

The Peterborough Players is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Monadnock Community Foundation, and the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation. Corporate Sponsors of the 2006 season committed to date include Monadnock Paper Mills, Northern Bus Sales, and Ocean National Bank. Co-sponsors include Rivermead and Belletetes.

Season subscriptions are now on sale at the Players Box Office. For reservations and further information, call (603) 924-7585, or visit the Peterborough Players web site at www.peterboroughplayers.org.