Ogunquit Playhouse
Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine
207-646-2402 
E-mail: boxoffice@ogunquitplayhouse.org
www.ogunquitplayhouse.org

 

History of Ogunquit Playhouse
Broadway showman Walter Hartwig launched a summer playhouse in Ogunquit in 1933 in a renovated garage in the town square. The town’s popularity as a summer resort and art colony convinced him to bring his Manhattan Theater Colony to Ogunquit, and he, in turn, convinced such theater legends as Maude Adams, Ethel Barrymore and Laurette Taylor to star with a resident company.

 

The theater’s success soon created a need for larger quarters. So Hartwig bought the old Ware Farm on Route 1, just south of town, and built the new Ogunquit Playhouse, which offered comfortable seating, a convenient location, superb acoustics and up-to-date equipment.

 

The playhouse opened on July 17, 1937, and with headline stars and carefully selected outstanding plays, it thrived. After Hartwig’s death in 1941, his wife Maude took over as producer; she was joined in 1950 by John Lane, a young actor and general manager.

 

Lane acquired the theater and land from Maude upon her retirement in 1951. Joined by a new business partner, Henry Weller, they embarked on a long-range plan of modernizing and improving the building and grounds. Thanks to his direction, generations of theatergoers enjoyed the finest professional actors performing in Broadway’s best shows.

 

After four and a half decades as owner and producer, John Lane decided to retire. To perpetuate the playhouse, in 1994 he spearheaded the formation of the Ogunquit Playhouse Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to “preserve and maintain the Ogunquit Playhouse as a community-based performing-arts center.” Lane transferred ownership to the foundation in September 1997. John Lane passed away in 2000, but his legacy will endure for generations to come.

 

Hackmatack Playhouse
538 Route 9, Berwick, Maine
207-698-1807  

E-mail: hackplayhouse@aol.com
www.hackmatack.org

 

History of Hackmatack Playhouse

Hackmatack Playhouse was founded in 1972 by the late S. Carleton Guptill. After years of organizing local theater groups that performed at the Beaver Dam Grange hall, he envisioned a summer stock theater that would showcase the talents of professional and developing thespians from the region.

 

Hackmatack is located at the Guptill family farmstead on property that has been in the family since the mid-1600s. Prior to establishment of the theater, the property was a functioning farm. The oldest building, the “woodshed,” was once used as a slaughter house and for drying meat; it now serves a rehearsal space and a prop storage. The former lumber mill across the orchard from the woodshed houses the theater’s shop operations and its costume collection. Performances are held in the barn, which was expanded in the early 1980s to accommodate the 218 seats the theatre houses today.

 

A colorful rumor once circulated that, in its first season, patrons sat on hay bales to watch the show but, in fact, the original playhouse had seats salvaged from a Durham, New Hampshire, movie theater.

 

After the founder’s death in 1995, the S. Carleton Guptill Memorial Fund was established to preserve and improve the historic buildings. The fund also is dedicated to promoting dramatic arts for the participants and the community and to providing “quality family entertainment and drama at a reasonable price.” Contributions are always welcome.

 

Arundel Barn Playhouse
53 Old Post Road, Arundel, Maine 
207-985-5552
www.arundelbarnplayhouse.com

 

History of Arundel Barn Playhouse
The farmhouse that is now home to the Arundel Barn Playhouse was built by the William E. Smith family more than 100 years ago and remained in the family until 1996. The last two members of the Smith Family to reside in the

home were known around the Kennebunks as “the Smith Sisters,” Marcia and Angelia. The playhouse site is affectionately known by locals as the Smith Sisters’ farm.

 

The Arundel Barn Playhouse offers five professional, musical theatre productions, each running three weeks from mid-June to Labor Day. Adrienne Grant, producing artistic director, describes the experience of the Arundel Barn Playhouse as “an evening in the Mickey Rooney /Judy Garland tradition.” 

 

The designers and  technicians of the Arundel Barn Playhouse productions come from all over the United States. They hold degrees in theater and are usually in the first five years of their professional careers. Most of the  actors and directors are transplants to  New York City. American musical theatre is alive and well at The Arundel Barn Playhouse!

 
 

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