logoIn the Wings
The Newsletter of The Concord Players
January 2017                                          Robert Runck, Editor
TO CHASE THE WINTER BLAHS
 COME SEE
Noel Coward's 
Blithe Spirit comes to Concord Players' stage
Spectral farce brought welcome laughter
to wartime London
"Very gay, superficial comedy about a ghost.  Feel it may be good." That's how Noel Coward described the script of Blithe Spirit in a letter to a friend. It was good. Very good. Coward wrote Blithe Spirit in six days during the German blitz of London in 1941 while  feisty Londoners were sleeping in tunnels, rationing food and plodding through the rubble of burned-out buildings. Unfazed, Coward retired to Wales to write an "improbable farce" about an upper class household haunted by ghosts. It was exactly what war-weary Londoners needed.  They loved it. Audiences on Broadway loved it too, where it opened just four months after its London debut.
   Coward's singular gift for language ensured that Blithe Spirit would enjoy countless revivals on two continents. The story hit the big screen in 1945 starring Rex Harrison. Now this "psychic ménage-a-trois" is coming to the Concord Players' stage. It promises to be as funny, fresh and farcical as it was 75 years ago. 
   As the play opens, novelist Charles Condomine is preparing to host a séance in preparation for his new book, Unseen. He invites eccentric psychic Madame Arcati to preside, expecting nothing more than a silly escapade. When his long-dead first wife Elvira makes a spectral appearance, Charles finds himself in a delicate position with his current and very much alive wife, Ruth.
   In this day of digital sophistication, it's a plot that could engender a big yawn. But Coward's genius endures, especially under Kristin Hughes' gifted direction and set designer Allen Bantly's mesmerizing special effects.  
   Take your cue from Noel Coward, who thumbed his nose at the Luftwaffe. Come to Blithe Spirit for an evening of hearty laughter and tell Old Man Winter to take a hike!
 Blithe Spirit, written by Noel Coward. Directed by Kristin Hughes. Produced byAndrea Roessler and Kathy Lague. Dates: February 10, 11, 17, 18, 19 (matinee), 24, 25, 2017. For tickets & Info, go to the Players website
--Linda McConchie
AND FOR SPRING, DON'T FORGET TO AUDITION FOR


The Concord Players have announced auditions for its spring 2017 production of The Producers. Stage directed by Brian Kelly, with music directed by Lee Condakes and choreographed by Katie Alexander. Audition dates: Wednesday, January 4, from 7-10 p.m. and Saturday, January 7, from 1-5 p.m. in Ward Hall at The Fenn School, Concord MA. Callbacks Sunday, January 8, at 2 p.m. at 51 Walden. Go to signup for more information and to sign up.

JANUARY EVENTS AT 51 WALDEN

January 7, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. Concord Youth Theatre Cabaret, Partners in Song. A fun-filled evening of song, skits and dance by high school and college students. Tickets are $25/$40/$50, available on-line

January 27 and 28, 2017, at 8:00 p.m. The Concord Orchestra Winter Concert: Spheres of Revolution, featuring Nathaniel Abreu, the winner of the Young Artist Competition, performing Kabelevsky's Cello Concerto No. 1. Nathaniel attends the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory School, where he studies cello with Sam Ou. He won first place in the NEC Prep Concerto Competition in 2015, and his chamber groups were featured in the 2012, 2013, and 2015 Chamber Music Showcase Gala Concerts in Jordan Hall. He is a member of the Youth Symphony (principal cellist) directed by Steven Karidoyanes, and he has performed  most recently with cellist Owen Young of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
    Also on the program is Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) and Symphonic Variations by Lutoslawski. Tickets are $25/$10. Call 978 369-4967 to reserve or buy on-line

January 29, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. Hammond Real Estate Concert Series. Free concert of chamber music performed by violinist Yevgeny Kutik and pianist Dina Volnshtein. For more information or to reserve a seat, call 978 369-3999.

past issues