Gatchell to shepherd in a new era and welcome Leddy Center to a new home
November 13, 2008
It didn’t matter that her stage looked very much like her family’s porch when it all began for Elaine Gatchell.
She was all of 8 years old in those days back in Winchester, busy writing shows, gathering the neighborhood to be in then and attend them, having her mom and her sister serve popcorn and Kool-Aid to the patrons.
Sensitive to the fact that her mom had suffered a detached retina before she was born, and was blind for a year, she displayed, even at that young age, a giving heart.
Gatchell earmarked all proceeds from her porch productions for the blind.
Flash forward to the 1970s and Gatchell’s founding of what was to become the Leddy Center for the Performing Arts in Epping. In honor of the occasion, her mom gave her the original box of pennies and nickels that was meant for the blind. She had written a check for the amount and mailed it to blind charities but kept the box all those years for her daughter.
Gatchell took it as a positive omen and yet another reminder, she said, that “giving back to the community was the way to go.”
Read the full story, including the news of the Leddy Center’s new home from Ryan Alan
Also see the new Leddy Center website.
Hampton students star in Leddy Center’s Peter Pan
October 17, 2008
Boasting a lively, talented cast of 35 actors, the production of the Broadway musical promises to thrill audiences of all ages, said Elaine Gatchell, director of the Leddy Center.
Many familiar faces are back to continue to take the show to new heights, pun intended, as Peter, Wendy, John and Michael fly through the air, with a barking “Nana” in the distance
Elaine Weatherby, a seventh-grader at Hampton Academy, combines her renowned vocal talent with her superb acting skills to capture the character of Wendy, sharing the spotlight with Peter Pan, portrayed by A.J. Pratt, a seventh-grader at Epping Middle School.
Read the full story from Nancy Rineman
Eppology
July 3, 2008
Epping often gets a bad rap. With its mega Wal-Mart blotting out the skyline and its resident killer Sheila LaBarre stealing the headlines, it’s easy to overlook the town’s more positive qualities. Among the positives Epping has produced are the indie pop rockers of Murkádee. This quirky quintet has serious Epping pride, and they’ve anthologized their hometown with their third full-length release, “Eppology.”
Guitarist and keyboardist Joseph K Murphy and clarinetist DeLaine Bennett combine their distinctive and earnest vocals to mold the Murkádee sound. The pair began recording together in 2003, releasing “Chain Jing Mines” and later following up with “A Spectral View.” The new disc perpetuates the band’s totally unique, candy-coated sound with jubilant songwriting and bouncy, rhyming lyrics.
Joining the core duo is Murkádee’s live entourage, consisting of The Attic Bat on drums, Jon Briggs on bass and Steve Dunleavy on saxophone. The album starts off with an engaging bang on “14 Steps,” which begins with a soft piano melody that quickly explodes into a guitar and keyboard driven burst of euphoria.
Read the full story from Matt Kanner in The Wire.
The sexual education of actress Sarah Kennedy
May 27, 2008
Sarah Kennedy is living two lives. Currently you can see her on stage at the Players’ Ring performing as Maggie Leland in the premier of “Roadside America” a new play by playwright (and Seacoast Media Group reporter) Susan Morse.
Acting is a passion.
By day Kennedy is down in Beverly, Mass., performing as director of education for a family planning organization.
Sexuality education is a passion.
Kennedy, 28, of Epping, initially went to Vassar College as a drama major; graduated with a Bachelor of Arts — same denotation. But she knew, love acting as she may, it wasn’t going to be a full-time career.
“I think I fantasized about going professional till about halfway through. About then, maybe junior year, I thought — this is really a hard life! I need stability and I need health insurance,” she says, no humor to her tone. “What got to me? I think probably some of the level of the competitiveness amongst people and hearing stories about how hard it is out there. I started to realize this wasn’t going to be easy.”
More from Jeanné McCartin on Seacoast Online.
Sense and Sensibility Remains Relevant
April 24, 2008
With all do respect to the Bard, no one captures the essence of springtime in the theater like Jane Austen. Winsome, whimsical and ironically, quite wise, the stage adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is as germane to the politics and humor of love today, as the original story was in 1795.
Currently on stage at the Leddy Center for the Performing Arts (through April 27) the production effuses with all the charm, wit, complications and Romantic era drama you might expect of the English landed gentry.
Bubbling with a rich thematic soup of -isms (materialism, feminism, classism, etc.) the story ponders the potential for emotional satiability. How do lovely, spirited women find true love? Especially those femme fatales who carry the burden of questionable marriageability second to uncertain family finances?
Preserving the Leddy Center
February 26, 2008
When was the last time you went to the theater? I don’t mean to the movies, I mean to a play. When have you seen actors up close and personal? Have you heard the crinkle of a dress, seen the glint from the stage lights in an actor’s eye, heard each breath being drawn during an emotional scene?
At the Leddy Center for the Performing Arts in Epping you have this opportunity, at least for now.
Elaine Gatchell is the director of the Leddy Center. As a child she did what children did in the 1950s without TV, she played outside. But Gatchell’s play was really the beginning of a lifelong path.
Read the full piece from Vandy Duffy at Seacoast Online.
PLEDGE TO HELP
The Gustavsons have offered the Leddy Center theater the opportunity to rent to own the Leddy building first floor so they can access their current second floor theater space. Gatchell hopes 200 people will come forward and pledge at least $10 a month for a year so the first year’s rent can be raised. A pledge form can be obtained at www.leddycenter.org/pledgeletter. Gatchell hopes to continue the season’s production schedule and children’s camps as scheduled. To plan to see a play, musical production or enroll in a camp visit www.leddycenter.org.
Little Women Up Next For Leddy Center
January 15, 2008
The Leddy Center for the Performing Arts will next present the classic Little Women from February 8 to February 17, 2008.
For ticket information see their website.
A Story of Christmas at the Leddy Center
November 23, 2007
From December 7 to December 16, 2007, Leddy Center will be showing A Story of Christmas
For ticket sales and more information go to the Leddy Center website.
Charlotte’s Web At Leddy Center
November 2, 2007
Leddy Center for the Performing Arts is currently running Charlotte’s Web through November 11th.
See the cast and purchase tickets on the Leddy Center Web Site.
Haunted Acres At New England Dragway
October 11, 2007
Haunted Acres is back at New England Dragway this October.
They offer four different attractions:
- The Skeleton Saloon House
- The 3-D Nuclear Accident House
- The 1/4 Mile Nightmare Walk
- Maze from Hell
Sounds very scary!
Their info:
Ticket sales are from 6:00PM - 10:00PM except on Fridays and Saturdays until 11:00PM.
Show begins around 6:30PM (depending on daylight.)
This attraction is not recommended for children under the age of 7 years.
Families with younger children are encouraged to arrive early (during lighter hours and before our actors really take on the personas of their roles.)
Haunted Acres is open RAIN OR SHINE, except for a monsoon!
Please call (679-1666) to confirm in extremely bad weather.
Stay dry while you wait under our canopy tent.
