Firehouse Center for the Arts rebounds after pandemic

Jim Sullivan, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·4 min read

Jun. 15—NEWBURYPORT — The Firehouse Center for the Arts has had to roll with the punches over the past two summers but is rallying back with a full schedule of theater and music this summer, including the premiere of "The Producers" on Friday.

"The Producers" is a musical based on the 1967 Mel Brooks film of the same name and will run at the Firehouse through July 17.

Firehouse Executive Director John Moynihan said the COVID-19 pandemic forced the nonprofit arts center to shut down and lay off all staff members except for himself during the initial stages in 2020.

"It was a bit of a bummer," he said.

But the show, as they say, must go on and the Firehouse would eventually roll out an outdoor theater series beginning with the musical "Godspell," which was performed at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury in summer 2020.

The outdoor theater series continued last summer with "Rent" at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm. "All Shook Up" was performed in the city's new Waterfront East Park followed by "Godspell" at Smolak Farms in North Andover.

The Firehouse presented "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm this spring and will bring "Seussical the Musical" to Amesbury's Lower Millyard from Friday through July 24.

All outdoor shows are free to the public with a $5 suggested donation. "The 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" will be performed at Smolak Farms from Aug. 13 through Aug. 28.

"We want everybody to come and enjoy live theater, regardless of their means," Moynihan said.

Moynihan said the new production of "The Producers" is the "biggest show that the Firehouse has ever even dreamed of producing."

"I'd say we are back to normal," he said.

Another musical based on a motion picture, "Once," which tells the story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant drawn together by their shared love of music, runs from Aug. 5 through Sept. 4.

"We have a very full season," Moynihan said. "We are busier than we were, even before the pandemic, which is exciting and terrifying at the same time. We don't have a single weekend off when there is not a show that we are not producing and that is really exciting."

The Firehouse is also bringing back its concert series with "A Night of Sinatra with Rich DiMare" on July 19.

"I'm really excited to be working with Rich, I grew up listening to him on the 'Matty in the Morning' show on the radio," Moynihan said. "We have been trying to find the time to make this work over the past couple of years. So I am excited to be able to bring him and his band here."

Independent musician Melissa Ferrick will appear in concert July 22.

"They are from the area and bring a great crowd," Moynihan said. "So I am really excited to welcome them back as we return indoors over the summer."

The Firehouse is "the premier performance venue in the North Shore," Moynihan said, adding that the 191-seat venue offers a great experience for every patron.

"There's not a bad seat in the house," he said.

The Firehouse turned 30 years old last year but the pandemic kept the anniversary celebrations to a minimum, according to Moynihan, who extended his thanks to the community for standing by the theater.

"We had a bit of a gray-out, we never really stopped, we took a couple of months to figure out what we were going to do but we kept working and producing theater and the community helped to make sure that happened," he said.

For more information on all Firehouse Center for the Arts shows, go to the website at https://www.firehouse.org/.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.