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8th Annual Alumni Show a Success
Taking in the antics on the Weathervane stage from the vantage point of the downstage right "wings" has been an off and on habit of mine since 1990. Original barn to new barn for ten seasons, I have watched my summer family transform into characters of all sorts. Every Alumni Weekend I have attended, I find myself, at some point during the show, in the downstage right wing, watching a different cross section of those summer families perform, and marveling at what I see and hear.
Whether it's been twenty years or just last summer that you were at the theatre, arriving back in the mountains of New Hampshire resurrects the focus, the drive and, yes, the panic of putting up a show in an impossible amount of time. This was all present when the whole cast of the 2008 Alumni Show finally assembled at the Grange Hall on Saturday morning, to secure music and blocking. Also present was a confidence only the Weathervane can build: that in about thirty hours, we were going to be able to put on quite an enjoyable show. Off book! Indeed, Gone on Gershwin, conceived and directed by Vicki Navarro and Jennifer Newland, and under the music direction of Barbara Anselmi, was a resounding success on Sunday afternoon.
At the close of the show, Gibbs called to the stage Richard and Terry Portner to officially announce Richard's retirement as managing director of the theatre. In their honor, we, the WVAA, are establishing The Richard & Terry Portner Fund to develop new programs to support the Weathervane. To a couple who have given so much of themselves to the founding and preservation of this theatre, it is a small, yet, significant way for us to continue their legacy and say, "Thank you!"
After the show, as the cast and audience mingled over wine and cheese, on the deck in front of the theatre, Gibbs Murray and Jac-ques Stewart presented Mary Jane Chase with a drummer boy sculpture to honor her commitment to the theatre and the tireless and various ways in which she volunteers and rallies for us. I am pleased to be part of a theatre that honors this kind of work.
Watching the show from downstage right, I saw a sampling of the talent that has poured through the doors of this theatre over the years. I am inspired by and honored to share the stage with each of you. But the weekend was made most memorable and fun by the warmth of the people involved: meeting your significant others, your children, catching up and reminiscing. We came to the Weathervane to do a job, but closed our season knowing, and left the alumni weekend reminded, that we are part of a wacky, wonderful family.
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