Preview: Plan your summer theater tour on Cape Cod: 'Hello Dolly, 'Oklahoma,' and more
Editor's note: A correction to the contributing writer's name was made on June 16, 2023.
As the theater season heats up here on the Cape, the key word is variety. Over the next couple of weeks you can choose from classics including “Oklahoma” and “Hello Dolly,” a comedic adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” an original work with the intriguing title “Bread and Butter” and a foray into the world of the great duo Gilbert and Sullivan.
Here’s a look at the grab-bag of shows opening over the next couple of weeks.
Running from June 15 through July 8 is “Bread and Butter,” at the Harbor Stage in Wellfleet. The play is loosely adapted from George S. Kaufman’s “The Butter and Egg Man,” said theater co-founder Brenda Withers. It is a riotous look at show business, focusing on a ruthless producer and the sucker he finds to bankroll his show.
And on the same night, running through July 9, the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans will offer “Oklahoma!,”This is your chance to sing along with all-time favorites like “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top” and “Oklahoma!”
On June 20, College Light Opera Company (CLOC) at Highfield Theater in Falmouth opens its 2023 season with “Hello Dolly,” which will run through June 24. When you think of this show, it’s impossible not to see Carol Channing, who immortalized the title song.
Beginning June 21 and running through July 1, the Cape Playhouse in Dennis will offer “Sense and Sensibility.” This is a laugh-filled adaptation of the Jane Austen classic by playwright Kate Hamill. It’s set in 18th century England and follows the lives of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood ― two sisters who lose their fortune, their home, and all their prospects for love after their father’s untimely death. One follows her head (sense) and the other her heart (sensibility).
The Cape Rep in Brewster will stage, on its Outdoor Theater, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” from June 25 through Aug. 12. You may think this story about a pompous porcelain rabbit and the little girl who loves him is just for the kids. But this adaptation of the award-winning tale by author Kate DiMillo deals with issues like love and loss on a couple of levels, making it a good choice for the whole family.
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre will offer “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare(Abridged),” running June 28 through July 29. According to the theater, the work by playwrights Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield is “a fast-paced, madcap, crash course in all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays. Buckle up for a wild ride from ‘Romeo and Juliet’, to ‘Hamlet,’ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ and the ‘Scottish Play’ — all in just under 100 minutes.”
CLOC will offer the empowering to workers, “Nine to Five,” running from July 4 through July 8. This is a song-filled tale of three secretaries who take revenge on their bully of a boss. The title song will always be associated with Dolly Parton.
“A Man of No Importance,” offered by the Cape Rep in its Indoor Theater from July 6 through Aug. 5, is a Terrence McNally piece about a bus driver in Dublin in 1964 who shares his innermost feelings with Oscar Wilde.
Cape Cod Theatre Company will offer “The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical”from July 5 through July 23. This is a musical with music and lyrics by Rick Rokicki and book by Joe Tracz, based on the 2005 novel by Rokicki.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Looking for summer theater on Cape Cod? Classics, comedies and more
