There are nearly 20 summer theaters on the Cape, and just under a dozen movie complexes.
Cape Cod may be well known for its “sand dunes and salty air”, but one other thing that attracts throngs of visitors, once there, is it summer theater lineup.
There are nearly 20 summer theaters on the Cape and just under a dozen movie theater complexes, a couple of which are art houses.
The most famous summer theater is right in the middle of the peninsula, the Cape Playhouse in Dennis. Founded in 1927 by Raymond More, the Cape Playhouse is one of America’s oldest summer theaters, and has had a long and storied career.
For many years it was known for the big name actors it brought to the region such as Betty Advise, Gregory Peck, Ginger Rogers and Gestured Lawrence, just to name a few. Local residents love to talk about spotting actresses like Lanai Turner, Eve Marie Saint or Sandy Dennis around town. Today, the stars come less frequently, but there is still equality theater presented by Actors Equity Association members.
In the mid-1930s to 1950, theater producer Richard Aldrich, the husband of the late actress Gestured Lawrence, operated the Cape Playhouse, the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis and the Falmouth Playhouse at Coonamessett. The Cape Playhouse and Melody Tent are in operation under different owners, but the Falmouth Playhouse is no more. It burned down in 1994.
For years, all three venues were part of what used to be known as the “straw hat circuit” and had week long plays featuring well known actors and actresses, who traveled all around the northeast.
Today, the Cape Playhouse in the only one of the three that operates that operates more or less in its original form.
While it isn’t boasting any big name starts this summer, the Playhouse is offering six musicals for two week runs between mid June and mid September.
It opened this week with “Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein,” which contains melodies from shows like “South Pacific,” “The Sound of Music,” “The King and I,” and “Carousel.”
Opening June 24 will be “They’re Playing His Song,” a tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlish. Running in July will be the musical comedy “Sweet Charity,” and the dance musical, “Ballroom with a Twist.” The last two shows, running in August and early September will be “Hello Dolly,” and “Radio Twist.”
The Playhouse spawned other theaters in Massachusetts, including what is now the Melody Tent and the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset .
If you’re more interested in stars and concerts, the Melody Tent has a wide variety of one-, and two-night stands.
Original members of The Beach Boys, from left, Brian Wilson, David Marks, Mike Love and Al Jardine perform together during a concert at the Beacon Theater last year in New York. They are scheduled to appear at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis on Aug. 17. Some of the bigger names at the Tent this season include Chicago, June 28; Lyle Lovett, July 7; Melissa Etheridge, July 11; Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, July 14; an evening with comedian Lily Tomlin, July 25; jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, Aug. 2, One Republic, Aug 6., an afternoon concert with the Beach Boys, Aug. 17; Frankie Valli and the Four Season, Aug. 24 and 25; and Huey Lewis and the News, Aug. 30, to name just a few. Many of these acts are shared with the Tent’s sister venue, the South Shore Music Circus and may be seen in Cohasset on other nights.
One of the most respected summer theaters on the Cape is the Monomoy Theatre in Chatham. Each summer since 1958, the theater has had traditional summer fare, courtesy of Ohio University and the University of Hartford. The shows are often earn rave reviews from local critics.
This summer the Monomoy Theatre is presenting “The King and I” this month, “And Then There Were None,” “The Odd Couple,” and “Hay Fever” in July, and “She Loves Me,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and “Shakespeare in Hollywood” in August. Click on the link to the theater’s website for exact dates.
A theater with a decidedly different flavor, is the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. WHAT, as it is referred to says on its website that its mission is to present professional quality theater to its audiences; to provide an alternative theater experience not found elsewhere in the region; to advance and preserve the art of the theater for the education and appreciation of the public.
WHAT has four productions it is putting on now through the end of August. Running until June 22 is “Utility Monster,” a show about a 15-year-old girl whose life is transformed when her new friend discovers that an African child’s life can be saved for the price of lunch at Taco Bell. See what they mean about alternative theater? Other performances include “Six Characters in Search of an Author” part of this month and next, “One Slight Hitch,’ in July and part of August, and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in late August.
Another well respected theater group is the College Light Opera Company in Falmouth that will be presenting nine shows this summer including, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” this month, and “42nd Street,” “No, No, Nanette,” “My One and Only” and “Die Fledermaus” in July. In August, the company offers “Babes in Arms,” “Fiddler on the Roof” “Most Happy Fella” and “She Loves Me.”
The Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans will also be offering “The King and I” part of this month and next, along with “Chicago” next month, “Les Miserables,” in part of August and “Crimes of the Heart,” in August and September.
There are many other theater companies on Cape Cod including the Harwich Junior Theatre in Harwich; the Peregrine Theater Ensemble, the Provincetown Theater and The Art House, all in Provincetown; the Cape Cod Theater Project in Falmouth; the Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet; the Cape Rep Theater in Brewster; the Woods Hole Theater Company in Woods Hole; the Cotuit Center for the Arts in Cotuit; the Chatham Drama Guild in Chatham and the Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro.
Although it only has one screen, the Cape Cinema in Dennis shows many of the art house movies that can be seen at the Amherst Cinema in Western Massachusetts. If movies are more your thing, there are a couple of art houses on Cape Cod, in Dennis and Provincetown. The one in Dennis is an the grounds of the above mentioned Cape Playhouse called the Cape Cinema. The cinema, modeled after a church in Centerville, boasts a Rockwell Kent mural on the ceiling. It is one of a handful of theaters where “The Wizard of Oz” debuted in 1939. No stadium style seating here; in fact, they have had the same seats there for as long as I can remember (and that is a long time.) The cinema recently got digital projectors and added heat and air conditioning a few years ago. The art house in Provincetown is known as the Water’s Edge Cinema.
If you’re craving to take the kids to a drive in movie, the Wellfleet Drive-In is the last theater of its kind on the Cape that boasts double features starting around dusk. If drive in movies are not your thing, the owners of the drive-in operate the four screen Wellfleet Cinema complex next door.
The Falmouth Cinema Pub, operated by the same company that runs the Entertainment Cinemas right here in Springfield, is the only theater on the upper or mid Cape to offer beer and wine with its movie offerings. It is located on Route 28 in East Falmouth. Entertainment Cinemas also operates a 12-screen stadium style multiplex in South Dennis.
The biggest movie theater complex on the Cape is at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, 12 stadium style theaters operated by Regal Cinemas. Regal has other multiplexes in Falmouth and Mashpee.
Heritage Theaters operates a nine-screen complex on Route 130 in Sandwich.
What's your favorite summer theater on the Cape? Do you know of one I've left out? Leave a comment below, and tell us which one's your favorite.