The Players : A Vital Part of the 'Community'

Although there will always be the naysayers who insist that Concord is lacking in a level of culture acceptable to them, the city offers an amazing array of things to do – whatever your taste.

I’ve said it before and it certainly bears repeating. We have the Capitol Center, the “audi” as the City Auditorium is affectionately known.  The Community Music School offers classes and programs for every musical taste. There’s the Concord Chorale, the Coachmen, concerts, lectures and the amazing Gibson’s Bookstore. Gibson’s is as supportive to local authors as they are to those with a National or International reputation and once they move into their new location in a few months, it will only get better.

One of the bastions of our Community, however, is the Community Players which, for 85 years, have been bringing an exceptionally diverse selection of musicals, comedies, revues, mysteries and dramas to the local stage. These performances have delighted hundreds of thousands of attendees since they first put on the greasepaint back in the latter 1920s.

I’ve had a passing acquaintance with them – on-stage – doing my first Player’s production back in 1964 when I was still a pre-teen.  Since then I’ve had the good fortune to do a comedy and a couple of musicals including “No, No Nanette,” where I got to show off my somewhat dubious tap dancing skills. In addition, my parents served on the Players' board and my mother directed nearly a dozen productions throughout the years as well as appearing on stage in plays such as “The Lion in Winter” and “The Glass Menagerie.”

In the 1980s, I appeared in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for a semi-professional theatre company in Massachusetts and later played the title role in the musical “Peter Pan” in both Vermont and Massachusetts. Although in my early 30s and perhaps a bit long in the tooth to be playing the part, I managed to convince the audience that I was eternally youthful!

What these experiences taught me, however, was how polished and professional our own Community Players are and what a finely tuned organization it is.

Whether on stage or behind the scenes, the level of professionalism shown and displayed should be the envy of many a Broadway and touring company. What you see while sitting in as rapt audience  is equivalent to what you’d pay $60 to $100 to see in Boston or New York.

The Players Winter production is on this weekend and it’s a delightful comedy entitled, “Boeing Boeing.” It is guaranteed to chase away any vestiges of “Cabin Fever” you might be suffering from or lingering aches and pains from a recent snow shoveling marathon.

Forget Hollywood’s bastardized 1965 screen version, this stage production is based on the hugely popular stage production set in a time that was perhaps a bit more innocent on the surface but is hilariously naughty with a wink.

Jim Webber, the director, has been affiliated in many capacities with the Players for decades. Having been on stage himself, he understands actors and always brings out the best in his cast.

As a set designer he has few equals. I fondly remember him returning to Concord about 20 years ago, from his job at Hollywood’s famed Hollywood Bowl, to design the set for the Player’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors.” His brilliant set received a resounding ovation from a delighted audience. In the years since he has written, produced and directed numerous award-winning productions and “Boeing Boeing” is only the latest notch in his belt. The future of our local theatre group is in good hands with Jim and the current crop of thespians and gifted individuals involved in all aspects of creating theatrical magic.

I won’t give away any of the plot of this fast-paced laugh-a-thon except to advise you to hurry down to the “audi” or go on-line to get a ticket to “Boeing Boeing.”As you exit the theatre after the show you’ll understand why the Community Players help to define the rich diversity of our local culture.