Arts & Entertainment

Museum Opens New Collaborative Exhibition

"Showtime: 100 Years of Theater on Martha's Vineyard"

The anticipation is over. The will open its latest exhibition, Showtime: 100 Years of Theater on Martha’s Vineyard, to its members on Friday, May 25th. The exhibit opens to the general public the following day.

Theater has been a vibrant part of Martha's Vineyard's cultural landscape for years. Playhouses, open fields, schools, and churches across the Island provided the stage for seasoned and novice actors, directors, and playwrights. Summer theater, in particular, has entertained generations of Island visitors. The Island has also been a place of refuge and recharging for stars of stage and screen. Showtime will explore the deep connections between the Island and the performing arts and artists it has hosted over the years.

This new exhibit would not have happened without the help of many theater arts groups on the Island. Says Chief Curator Bonnie Stacy, “It has been a wonderful opportunity working with the different theater organizations, finding out their history, and hearing their stories. , , and Duncan Ross loaned many fabulous objects to the exhibition, which all help illuminate the diverse theater story on the Island.” Many others loaned wonderful photographs. Oral History Curator Linsey Lee also collected many new oral histories specifically for this exhibit. Smaller satellite exhibitions will open at some of these organizations and others throughout the summer and into the fall.

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Theater programming will also complement the Museum’s summer events line-up. The Vineyard Playhouse will present historical Vineyard plays for families in July and August on the Museum lawn. Shakespeare for the Masses will also offer a brief performance at the Museum’s Summer Opening Reception on Friday, June 15th. The Museum is also excited to share an adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play Othello on August 2nd. Filmed on the Island in the 1960’s by Liz White’s Shearer Summer Theater but rarely seen, the film features an all African American cast and stars Yaphet Kotto.

Museum members are invited to a complimentary Members’ Preview and Reception Friday evening, May 25th from 5-7pm. Visit www.mvmuseum.org/membership.php to become a member today. The exhibit will be unveiled to the general public beginning at 10am on Saturday, May 26th. The show will be up until April 20th, 2013.

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Visit www.mvmuseum.org for more information about upcoming programming and exhibits. The Martha's Vineyard Museum is dedicated to furthering an interest in, experience of, and appreciation for the history and culture of the Island and its environs. The Museum is open year round, 10am to 4pm Monday through Saturday.  Admission is free to Members; admission for non-Members is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for children 6 to 15 and free for children under the age of 6.

Editor’s Note: This information comes from a Press Release


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