Belly up

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As Portsmouth finds its way onto top-vacation-spot lists in glossy magazines and travel websites, and as new development projects rise up next to historic homes,...

All in the family

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When Crystal Lisbon was hired at Hackmatack Playhouse in 1997, it changed the course of her life. Working at the Berwick, Maine theater convinced Lisbon...

War wounds

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In the annals of matrimony, few pages are more dog-eared and annotated than those on Ernest Hemingway, whose four marriages — and numerous flirtations and...

Play on

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When Dan Beaulieu directed a production of “Twelfth Night” at the University of New Hampshire 10 years ago as part of his senior project, he...

Summer on stage

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When the weather is at its peak, so are Seacoast theaters. Each year, local stages pack their summer seasons with captivating plays and bombastic musicals,...

Nonsense and sensibility

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In “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Roald Dahl wrote, “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” By that standard, Lewis...

Room for growth

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Miles Burns has been teaching youth and teen theater classes at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre for years, but it wasn’t until this year that he...

Pushing limits

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When Todd Hunter directed his first play 17 years ago — “Merry-Go-Round” at The Players’ Ring — he might have thrown a prop, or maybe...

Secrets and surprises

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experience — and talk about — theater Electricity changed the way theater happens, according to Catherine Stewart. Before electric lights, theaters were evenly lit, and...

The revolution, staged

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There is nothing more enervating, or even fatal, to theater than habit, which leeches plays of their vitality and muffles their existential inquiry. This applies...

Tempting fate

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Fairy tales take on different meanings for adults. Just think: what would it be like for Snow White to remember her adolescent years? Stories once...

Good advice

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Comedian Eugene Mirman offers helpful hints and reminisces about summers in N.H. Eugene Mirman just wants to help. The Massachusetts-via-Moscow native, who currently provides the...

Applause for paws

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Above, Christine Dulong and Rosie Stage Force’s latest production puts dogs in the spotlight By Charlie Weinmann Kent Stephens needed an idea. The artistic director...

The art of the pitch

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At The Players’ Ring’s producers’ meeting, playwrights make a case for their shows By Jenn Hastings, photos by Michael Sterling Gary Locke was furious. The...

Taking notes, making jokes

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Paula Poundstone talks about Twitter, comedy, and being employed by 16 cats Words and illustration by Dylan Metrano Since the 1980s, Paula Poundstone’s brand of...

A joyful rhythm

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Liz Fowler is building a community around West African dance and drumming Words and photos by Charlie Weinmann  It’s late on a Thursday evening in...

Laugh lines

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Seacoast comedians have built a scene on community, friendly competition, and unexpected laughs By Adam D. Krauss Photos by Michael Behrmann An elemental fixture of the Seacoast’s music scene, Steve Roy...

Lucky break

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At the Seacoast Rep, an impressive staging of “Guys and Dolls” marks a new beginning by Minta Carlson  It’s fitting that the Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s...

The play’s the thing

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Seacoast actors and playwrights hone their craft with play reading series by Charlie Weinmann, photos by Jasmin Hunter Actors don’t often momentarily pause a Shakespearean production...

Turning the corner

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When Craig Faulkner resigned as artistic director of the Seacoast Repertory Theatre last October, it was the latest in a long line of difficulties for...

Light and dark

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C.J. Lewis gives a striking performance in “I Am My own Wife” by Minta Carlson I Am My Own Wife” follows the life of Charlotte...

Queens of style

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For Knate Higgins, drag is an art form, a “fun form of expression” that he’s been working in for close to a decade. Higgins is...

Party like it’s 1979

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If you’re feeling nostalgic for the bell-bottom pants, platform shoes, and disco clubs of the 1970s (or if you missed the ’70s entirely because you...

Caffeine and choreography

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The Neoteric Dance Collaborative is offering a glimpse into its choreographic process with a new series held at Sole City Dance in Somersworth. And it...