Echoes of Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan, adaptations of tales from children’s classic literature, and more will reverberate through the hills of Vermont as the 2008 summer season blooms. Vermont’s theatrical companies will offer performances in renovated barns, public buildings and even in the out-of-doors with only the green hills and blue skies for a backdrop.

Unadilla Theatre

With a background in acting and directing in Boston and New York and no desire to give up theatre, Bill Blachly brought his love of theatre to Vermont over two decades ago when he founded the Unadilla Theatre Company. Located at the end of Blachly Road off Marshfield’s main thoroughfare, the Company gives its performances in a barn on the farm owned by Blachly.

The reward is worth the drive as witnessed by the enthusiastic audiences who return year after year to see dramatic or musical productions by Unadilla.

A scene from David Budbill’s Judevine performed at the Lost Nation Theater in April 2007 featuring Abby Paige as Alice. Also pictured are Ben Ash, Karen Leftkoe, Bob Nuner, Scott Renzoni and Mark Roberts. Photo courtesy of Lost Nation Theater.

When the traditional proscenium-style stage and curtain opens with The Mikado, the first offering of the summer, it will mark the theatre’s 25th season. Hedda Gabler, What the Butler Saw and Chekov’s The Seagull also will be part of the seasonal offerings. Finally, LaBoheme, first performed 20 years ago, will be reprised.

Whose idea was it to present drama in this out-of-the-way place? Blachly explained. “Rehearsals were held in the barn and then we would take the plays to wherever we could book them. One day we thought, why not just give the plays here instead of using the barn for rehearsals only? That’s how Unadilla began.”

And the name, “Unadilla?” Blakley said, “I was on the barn’s phone and the caller asked the name of the theatre. I looked up into the rafters and ‘Unadilla’ was printed on every rafter. Turned out it’s the name of a silo maker. So it just stuck.”

“Our actors form a core of local people who’ve been with us for years,” he said.”Occasionally an outside actor/actress will join the company but 90 percent of the actors live in the vicinity. At least 100 people get involved with Unadilla every summer.”

Any family members involved? “Yes, this year two of our children and a grandson will participate.” He added “And my wife is the business manager!”

Lamoille County Players

The Mikado is a favorite with Vermont playgoers. In 1952, John Knight, minister of Hyde Park’s Congregational Church across main street from a town-owned building (circa. 1910) used for graduations and public meetings, was in a quandary. His church badly needed a new furnace. To meet this expenditure he had an idea. Why not stage a production in the building, sell tickets and raise the money?

That sparked his parishioners and other Hyde Park residents. And the first production, The Mikado, was an instant hit. The performance was so well-received, it was repeated a second year.

And those actors? Two seasons of The Mikado and they were hooked. While the church got a furnace, the town got a group of actors. They didn’t go away. After naming themselves the Lamoille County Players, they leased the building and never looked back.

For many years, the Players gave one show a year and most often it was The Sound of Music, which always played to a full house.

Surprisingly, Elizabeth Von Trapp, step granddaughter of Maria Von Trapp (the central character in Sound of Music) actually played the part of Maria for two seasons. Yes, grandmother Maria did attend the 1988 performance!

The playhouse boasts a traditional stage with a hand-painted old-fashioned roll-up curtain, which is raised and lowered between acts. Both sets and costumes are stored on site. Plenty of volunteers man the many jobs it takes to put on the productions.

The actors and actresses (not paid) are recruited by a member’s newsletter, in the local newspaper and word-of-mouth. Auditions are held to cast the plays or musicals. Likewise, musicians from the community form the instrumental ensembles accompanying the musicals.

The 2008 season—the 56th—will begin the first of its four productions with Neil Simon’s Jake’s Women on May 9-11 and again on May 16-18.

Very Merry Theatre

On a different note, Donald Wright of Burlington has been an enthusiastic presenter and director of age-appropriate adaptations of stories in dramatic form for children for many years. Since his undergraduate days at UVM he has worked with children’s groups to offer children who might never have any other venue a chance to learn about the classics of literature through drama.

Although Wright works with young thespians year round, his new summer program, six years old and known as the Very Merry Theatre, includes a summer camp in Charlotte with one, two and three week segments during which the children rehearse plays before bringing them to predominantly young audiences around northern Vermont.

Such favorites as The Secret Garden, The Velveteen Rabbit and even The Lone Ranger will be on the program this summer. Wright adapts the stories and writes the lyrics while another adult leader directs the music.

The shows are mounted on a truck which, when the side doors are opened, reveals a stage and set.

“We take these shows right into the neighborhoods. We can’t always expect audiences to come to us,” Wright said. “We get good crowds and the outdoor performances are a great outlet for families. We go to the north end of Burlington, downtown Battery Park, to Shelburne Farms and the Shelburne Museum.”

A highlight last summer was the “WigWag” Festival held in Roosevelt Park featuring children’s performing arts offerings. Several youth centers took part including the Boys and Girls Club, the King Street Center and the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department. Over 600 attended! This year the festival will be July 18, 10:00 to 3:00 pm.

“In August we’ll tour eight shows with the older campers from the Very Merry Theatre,” Wright said. “All shows are free except for one fundraiser to be held at Shelburne Farms on July 29.”

Lost Nation Theatre

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, opened the Lost Nation Theatre’s 2008th season in April and continues through May 11. Artistic directors Kim Bent and Kathleen Keenan already had run Lost Nation four years when the City of Montpelier officially designated the theatre as the city’s own professional theatre.

The theatre, on the third floor of city hall, continues to fill its 150 seats with enthusiastic audiences interested in intimate theatre delivered by professional actors, most of whom are Vermont residents.

A few years ago, the space (a former basketball court) was renovated to reinforce the balconies, enhance the sound system and a proper grid was built to facilitate the operation and design for the lighting setup. Also, new chairs were purchased for comfortable seating and several movable platforms were built to stage productions. The theatre space itself is accessible to everyone by elevator and parking is available in the city hall lot.

This marks Lost Nation’s 20th year at the City Arts Center. To celebrate, the company will reprise several of its most successful and well-received works from its repertoire. Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest and the stories of singer/storyteller Harry Chapin, Lies and Legends, will constitute the 20th season.

The final offering of the summer program which ends August 17, will be the one-woman show, “Shirley Valentine,” featuring Kathleen Keenan in her original role.

For a younger audience, Lost Nation will present a musical adaptation by Ms. Keenan of The Wind in the Willows. The actors in this production are chosen from participants in two youth theater labs held last February for children eight through fifteen.

Lost Nation also runs an intern program for students 17 and older. They either live at home or board with local families. Unlike many professional summer theatres, the interns are paid a stipend. They assist with the technical work for productions, make set changes, usher, and even serve the fresh coffee between acts—a product of one of Montpelier’s coffee houses- Capital Grounds!

For more information, call Unadilla Theatre at 802-456-8968, Lamoille County Players at 802-888-4507, Very Merry Theatre at 802-863-6607 or 802-355-1461, and Lost Nation Theatre at 802-229-0492.

Margery Sharp is a freelance writer from Hinesburg, Vermont.