Peterborough Players Announce Creatives and More

The countdown to the Players' 2022 Summer Season is on, and excitement is in the air! A lineup of attention, transformation, beauty, and joy, the season of shows sizzles with newness, as well as the long-awaited return of Players' favorite creatives and traditions. As of May 25th, single tickets are on sale, joining popular Players' Season Subscriptions and Barn Door Flex Passes.

The season begins with the classic and bold Kander and Ebb musical, Cabaret. Running from June 23rd - July 3rd, this provocative and daring musical sees Artistic Director Tom Frey at the helm, joined by choreographer Ilyse Robbins (Beehive: The 60's Musical at the Players, Elliot Norton Award winner for Swan Lake in Blue at Greater Boston Stage Co.). In addition, the Players welcomes music director Jenny Kim-Godfrey (award-winning opera singer and Resident Music Director for Norwegian Cruise Lines). The cast features Players' newcomers Matthew McGloin (2 Pianos 4 Hands, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park) in the role of the Emcee, made famous by Joel Grey and Alan Cumming; Broadway actor Joy Hermalyn (Caroline, or Change, Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway) as Fraulein Schneider; and Brandon Grimes (National Tours of Jekyll and Hyde and All is Calm) as writer Cliff Bradshaw. Players' favorites Kraig Swartz (Fully Committed at the Players, The Legend of Georgia McBride at Florida Studio Theatre) and Bridget Beirne (The Drowsy Chaperone at the Players, Mack and Mabel at Stages Repertory Theatre) as Herr Schultz and Fraulein Kost, respectively.

Humorous and touching, Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker runs from July 7th - 17th. Directed by Frey, fabulous Players' company members Douglas Rees (Arsenic and Old Lace at the Players, Our Town at Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Kate Kenney (Our Town at the Players, National Tour of A Christmas Carol), Philip Kershaw (Our Town at the Players, Apollo 8 at A.D. Players), and Katie Shults (Beehive: The 60's Musical at the Players, Pride and Prejudice at Lost Nation Theatre) return for the production, joined by new company member Marina Re (award-winner for Master Class at Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre) for this recent, popular piece.

The U.S Premiere of Marcia Johnson's Serving Elizabeth is up next, running from July 21st- 31st. The Players welcomes Cezar Williams (Artistic Director of the Obie Award-winning Fire This Time Festival) as the director for this monumental production. Popular company members Tracey Conyer Lee (Our Town at the Players, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill around the country) and Andrea Fleming (Beehive: The 60's Musical at the Players, The Color Purple at The Phoenix Theatre Company) portray mother / daughter duo Mercy and Faith, among others, with Kate Kenney portraying then Princess Elizbeth and more.

The ever-popular 2 Pianos 4 Hands by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt makes its return to the Players with a new team of actors portraying a dazzling array of characters in this virtuoso performance. Frey directs the previously mentioned McGloin and Jefferson McDonald (2 Pianos 4 Hands at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Jefferson McDonald's Great Balls of Fire) for this constant crowd-pleaser.

The final Mainstage production of the season, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill by Lanie Robertson stunningly rounds out the summer season. Featuring a tour-de-force performance by Tracey Conyer Lee as Billie Holiday, the Players also welcomes Kevin R. Free (Artistic Director of Mile Square Theatre) as the director of this not-to-be missed production. New company member Jo'Siah Shan makes their Players' debut as Jimmy.

On dates throughout the summer, the Players welcomes the return of theatre for the young (and the young-at-heart!) with the Second Company show The Emperor's New Clothes. Directed and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins, this fun-for-all ages show features a score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and will be performed outdoors on the new and much-loved Elsewhere Stage. Members of the 2022 Second Company hail from around the country, and represent schools like Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Dillard, Hofstra, and Morgan State Universities, among others. Visit the Players website for performance dates.

Look out for post-show Talkback Nights (the first Sunday of every Mainstage run) as well as an upcoming announcement of pre-show Food Truck Nights! Single tickets are $47, and on sale as of May 25th. Season Subscriptions ($188) available for purchase through July 3rd. Barn Door Flex Passes available throughout the Summer Season. Tickets for Second Company shows are $10 for children, $15 for adults.

Peterborough Players is New Hampshire's premiere professional regional theater. The Players is known for an annual Summer Season, this year with 5 mainstage productions and 1 children's show, and continues to offer the Arts on Screen series that includes screenings of renowned performances from the Met: Live in HD. The Players enriches the human experience by producing quality live professional theatre, developing and training theatre artists, and offering New Hampshire a wide variety of performing arts events. Peterborough Players is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information please visit Peterborough Players, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 or www.peterboroughplayers.org