This summer, Gloucester Stage Company is partnering with Windhover Center for the Performing Arts to present a series of shows on Windhover’s new outdoor stage. Running from June through September, Gloucester Stage will hold over 75 productions on Windhover’s stage, set in the back garden.
Located on a 4.5 acre plot near Halibut Point in Rockport, Windhover includes rolling meadows, cabins, woods, and an enchanting back garden, all dedicated to the development and creation of the performing arts.
Read: Rockport’s Windhover Holds Outdoor Performance Series This Summer
The space includes ample parking and an outdoor beer garden space where patrons can begin the evening with refreshments served out of one of Windhover’s many original structures—the property used to be a dairy farm. Guests pass under lights strung through the trees, and the evening performances begin just as the sun is setting.
The intimate venue has seating on three sides of the stage, and there’s not a bad spot in the house. The tree cover above protects audience members from any sprinkles that might pass by, but the impressive set and lighting design will make you forget you’re sitting outside in the open air. Just remember to bring your bug spray!
Currently running through July 25 is BASKERVILLE: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, written by Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig and directed by Jim O’Connor. The show is a classic Sherlock Holmes story, fast-paced and funny. Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson must solve the case of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” before the Baskerville’s newest heir becomes the hound’s next victim.
Holmes (Alexander Platt) and Watson (Bill E. Gardiner) are joined by three other cast members (Anna Bornik, Alex Jacobs, and Julian Manjerico) who together portray forty other characters. Full of stage magic, costume changes, and a bit of Halloween in July, the show is fun for folks of all ages.
Also at Windhover this summer, Gloucester Stage will put on SEARED from August 6 through August 22, and REPARATIONS from September 4 through September 27, both straight from New York. This will be the first production of SEARED since its sold-out off-Broadway run. Written by playwright Theresa Rebeck, the comedy takes place in the kitchen of a small New York restaurant. REPARATIONS recently won best play at the Audelco Theater Awards, and tells the story of a successful book editor, an aspiring Black author, and the morning after a besotted party.
Windhover also hosts a range of professional dance companies from New York—check their summer schedule for the complete lineup of shows this summer.
For more information, visit windhover.org and gloucesterstage.com.