Deertrees Theatre Launches 85th In-Person Season

The lakes region's historic Deertrees Theatre, "Maine's Most Enchanting Playhouse", celebrates the launch of its 85th anniversary season with a full summer of in-person performances and events starting June 19.

The quintessential performing arts venue, providing performing arts entertainment to the Greater Maine region since 1936, presents an eclectic offering for the summer of 2021, featuring an open house, theatrical productions, family events, comedy and several fundraisers.

The season also boasts a concert series in its broadly scheduled summer, from June through early September, detailed at deertrees-theatre.org.

In keeping with its 85-year tradition of "rising from the ashes", Deertrees Theatre once again ascends to offer summer entertainment and respite in its magical Maine lake village of Harrison. The theatre has a long history of resiliency, enduring shutdowns during wars, disrepair, financial hardship and most recently, the global pandemic.

Immediately following a community-friendly Open House and Psychic Fair, Deertrees opens the 2021 theatre season with Christopher Durang's Tony Award winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, thoughtfully selected to resonate with audiences through its lake house setting and the need for comic relief following the last pandemic-impacted year. "The play's themes of aging, loss, enduring strength and the absurdity that can be all-things-family are relatable, and an experience we can all laugh along with throughout the performance - and life!" shares Deertrees' Executive and Artistic Director Gail Phaneuf, who is especially excited about the full season calendar.

2021 Summer Mainstage Events

Open House and Psychic Fair

Saturday June 19, 12 noon to 4 pm, admission is $12, $30 for families of 4 or more

Deertrees 85th anniversary season kicks off with a multifaceted open house welcoming the public to explore the theatre, its grounds and family-friendly activities. Festival tents feature a magic show, psychic readings, children's art-making activities. Inside the theatre, guests are welcome to tour the facility, talk with a theatre historian, explore the art gallery, and enjoy live music in the Salt Lick Café.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Thursday through Sunday, June 24 to 27, 7:30 pm, tickets are $34

A hilarious, lake house-centered, Tony Award winning comedy by Christopher Durang. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike revolves around three middle-aged single siblings, two living in their parents' home during a visit by the third, Masha, an actress who financially supports their lives. Masha arrives with Spike, a very young man, and the antics escalate to hilarity heights! Revisiting their lives and loves, Masha threatens to sell the lake house. This dysfunctional trio of siblings' antics deliver laughs every minute as they face the onset of middle age.

First Night

Thursday and Friday, July 1 and 2, 7:30 pm, tickets are $32

Take a nostalgic trip back to 1986, a time of video stores and no cell phones! This bright, warm comedy by Jack Neary explores dreams, life, and love, inspiring critics and audiences to cheer at its premiere. Danny Fleming is convinced that life's dreams can't be anything more than dreams, when his eighth-grade crush, Meredith O'Connor walks back into his life - only now it's Sister Meredith Louise, making it a New Year's Eve to remember. Variety Magazine dubs the play to have "considerable charm, zest, imagination and expertise..."

Sound of Music Sing-a-Long

Monday, July 5, 6:30 pm, tickets are $22

Enjoy a family-friendly evening of singing along to your favorite songs from Rogers and Hammerstein's legendary film classic. Don a festive costume and get caught up in the fun and music! Enthusiastically sing out or just listen along as the music bursts at the seams in our beautiful theatre!

Christine Hurley Comedy!

Friday, July 30, 7:30 pm, tickets are $28

Like any great comedian, Christine Hurley has an innate ability to see humor in "everyday" situations. For years, she entertained family, friends and neighbors in their kitchens, at barbeques and the grocery store aisles, and now she uses a microphone and the stage. Christine's maiden voyage into the world of stand-up comedy was an open audition in NYC for "America's Funniest Mom." She figured if it didn't go well, no one in New York would have known who she was anyway... Turns out it went well! Christine was selected as a nationally televised finalist. Her stories and views on motherhood and marriage are exactly what everyone is living through...people get it and love it! Christine has become a favorite in the comedy world, working with and respected by comedic legends.

Annual Lobster Roll Fundraiser

Friday, August 6, $15 donation per lobster roll

Preorder by July 31st for delicious lobster rolls online from this annual fundraiser that provides support for the Deertrees' 85th anniversary season. Each donation includes a custom-made Greenwood Manor Inn lobster roll chock full of tail, knuckle and claw meat with a bag of chips and a cookie. Pick up is available at the Inn, at the Bridgeton Chamber of Commerce and at On the Commons in Waterford. Delivery is available for orders of 5+ lobster rolls.

The Knotty Nite Play Readings

Saturday, August 14, 7:30 pm, tickets are $20

This night is one to "leave the kids at home!" Deertrees will present an evening of six short "naughty" staged readings and original "naughty" songs. Actors will have minimal rehearsals for these fun short pieces, and it promises to be full of laughter, surprises, music and the occasional blush.

Drag Bingo Fundraiser

Saturday, August 28, 6:30 pm, $12 per bingo card

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns. We believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty. Since our first appearance in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1979, the Sisters have devoted ourselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment. The sisters use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit. This fundraiser will provide support for the Harrison Food Bank.

Always . . . Patsy Cline

Friday and Saturday, September 3 and 4, 7:30 pm, tickets are $32

Always...Patsy Cline is a musical based on the true story about Patsy Cline's friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger, who befriended the star in a Texas honky-tonk in l961 and continued a friendship with Cline until her death. The show is a tribute to the legendary country singer who died tragically at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963. The musical play, complete with down home country humor, true emotion includes many of Patsy' unforgettable hits such as Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Sweet Dreams and Walking After Midnight...27 songs in all. The show's title was inspired by Cline's letters to Seger, which were consistently signed "Love ALWAYS... Patsy Cline." Always...Patsy Cline has been one of the most produced musicals in America, including a successful run off-Broadway according to American Theatre Magazine.

Deertrees Theatre is committed to keeping its staff, performing artists and audience safe for in-person events and performances, adhering to official Maine venue guidelines, including staff Covid-19 training and compliance, sanitization, distancing, traffic flow, mask and reduced capacity protocols. All staff, performing artists and crew will be fully vaccinated prior to performances. For complete details on Deertrees' safety guidelines, visit Deertrees Theatre Safety Guidelines.

For more information about Deertrees Theatre, to learn more about its wide variety of performances and programs, or to purchase tickets, visit deertrees-theatre.org.

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