NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Tony Adams, Executive Director 

Opera House Arts

1 School Street, Stonington, ME 04681

207-367-2788 | director@operahousearts.org

DATE: March 3, 2022
TITLE: OPERA HOUSE ARTS ANNOUNCES 2022 SEASON 

Much Ado About Nothing 

by William Shakespeare

directed by Emma Rosa Went

music by Ray Duncan

Deer Isle Jazz Festival

piano – Craig Taborn

guitar – Mary Halvorson

drums – Ches Smith

World Builders 

New England premiere

by Johnna Adams

directed by Artistic Director Cait Robinson

Summer Concert Series

Broadway Comes to Stonington: Pride!, Paul Sullivan, Mali Obomsawin, and more

Stonington, Maine – Opera House Arts (OHA) is pleased to announce its 2022 performance schedule. Performances are held in the historic Stonington Opera House in Stonington, Maine and at outdoor venues on Deer Isle. 

Tickets for some shows are on sale now, others go on sale in May and can be purchased online at operahousearts.org. Live performances are always free to Hancock County students, grades K-12. For the latest health and safety protocols regarding Covid-19 and vaccination/testing requirements, please visit the website at operahousearts.org. 

“This year we are excited to bring a mix of returning favorites, Maine artists we’re welcoming for the first time, and nationally acclaimed performers to the stage at the historic Stonington Opera House.” said Tony Adams, Executive Director at Opera House Arts. “The highlights this summer include an outdoor production of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, nationally acclaimed jazz pianist Craig Taborn headlining the 22nd Annual Deer Isle Jazz Festival, concerts by Paul Sullivan and Mali Obomsawin, and the New England premiere of the play World Builders by Johnna Adams and directed by Cait Robinson, Artistic Director at Opera House Arts.” 

Opera House Arts offers year-round programming including “Live! for $5” intergenerational family entertainment, movies on most weekends, and the annual Bud Carter Memorial Scholarship Concert, which supports music education for students in the Deer Isle community. In collaboration with local schools and community organizations, Opera House Arts also develops accessible programs for creativity and learning through the arts. 

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

June 29 – July 17

Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare, directed by Emma Rosa Went

This performance will be held outdoors, continuing the Opera House’s tradition of inventive, site-specific theater. The production includes live music by folk composer Ray Duncan. With its themes of redemption and collective growth, the production celebrates our abiding love for one another and shared connection even through trying times.

SYNOPSIS: The boys are back from fighting, and now the ‘merry war’ begins – when Don Pedro and his soldiers return to Leonato’s house, old sparring-partners Beatrice and Benedick are reunited and the party can finally start. But while friends and family scheme to bring them closer to the altar, another plot is being laid that will test the community, reforge alliances, and rewrite what men and women think they know about each other. Much Ado About Nothing is Shakespeare’s boisterous, big-hearted comedy about the battle lines of romance, the transforming power of forgiveness, and the (ultimate) surrender to love. 

July 29-30

The Deer Isle Jazz Festival, featuring Craig Taborn

For its 22nd year, the jazz festival returns to the historic Stonington Opera House with its charmed acoustics. Headliner Craig Taborn, “has become one of the best jazz pianists alive,” says New York Times Magazine. “The experience of sharing live music is more potent than ever right now,” comments Jazz Festival co-founder Larry Blumenfeld, who writes about music for the Wall Street Journal and who fell in love with Deer Isle decades ago. “And the magic of Craig Taborn’s piano playing makes a great match for our intimate, acoustically charmed opera house. Meditative musical moods will envelop us, sonic surprises will ring out, and overtones will dance around the rafters,” said Blumenfeld.

Opening night features Craig Taborn in a solo piano performance. The second night, Craig Taborn (piano) will headline a trio of Mary Halvorson (guitar) and Ches Smith (drums). This trio is a collective of established composer-musician-bandleaders; NPR called guitarist Mary Halvorson “the most future-seeking guitarist working right now”; Ches Smith is among the most sought-after drummers in New York City. 

The Tasty Bites, an eight-piece jazz ensemble from George Stevens Academy directed by Phelan Gallagher, is the opening act on Friday, July 29. On Saturday, July 30 the opening band is led by saxophonist Danny Fisher-Lochhead who lives in Bar Harbor, Maine and has performed at the previous two Deer Isle Jazz Festivals. This year he assembles a new group to perform original compositions. 

The Deer Isle Jazz Festival is underwritten in part with a special gift from Rich & Mary Howe.

August 10-28

World Builders, by Johnna Adams, directed by Opera House Arts’ Artistic Director Cait Robinson

The New England premiere of this play will be held on stage at the historic Stonington Opera House. World Builders is a dark comedy about two people who fall in love during a psychiatric drug trial. Whitney and Max both have personality disorders that cause them to retreat into imaginary worlds–until a new treatment offers them a chance to dramatically change their lives. As the pills take effect and the fantasies subside, Max and Whitney must weigh the costs of entering the “real” world versus leaving their own behind.

Upcoming concerts and “Live! for $5” performances include:

March 19, Karen Montanaro Tanzspiel 2022 – Dance – Live! for $5

April 23, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers – Live! for $5

May 7, Stann Champion Concert – Live! for $5

June 4, Broadway Comes to Stonington: Pride!

June 17, Paul Sullivan in Concert

June 22, Caroline Cotter – Live! for $5

June 25, Bud Carter Memorial Scholarship Concert (tentative)

June 29 – July 17, Much Ado About Nothing 

July 5, Opera House Arts Annual Gala 

July 6, Opera House Arts Gala Concert (artists TBA)

July 23, Mali Obomsawin in Concert

July 27, Thom Wall Master of Modern Vaudeville – Live! for $5

July 29-30, 22nd Annual Deer Isle Jazz Festival – featuring Craig Taborn

August 3, Don Roy Fiddlers – Live! for $5 (outdoor at the ball field stage)

August 10-28, World Builders – Play

August 17, Summer Sing with George Emlen and Friends – Live! for $5 (outdoor at the Stonington Ball Field stage)

September 17, Halcyon String Quartet – Live! for $5 (performing a piece based on the “Burt Dow” book)

Tickets for some shows are on sale now, others go on sale in May and can be purchased online at operahousearts.org. Hancock County students in grades K-12 attend all live performances for free. If you have a student who qualifies, please call the box office before purchasing your tickets to have the discount applied and receive assistance in completing your purchase. For the latest health and safety protocols regarding Covid-19 and vaccination/testing requirements, please visit the website at operahousearts.org.

Opera House Arts is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies. Opera House Arts is also supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan from the National Endowment for the Arts. Live! for $5 performances are sponsored in part by the W.F. Whitman Family Foundation in honor of Maia Aprahamian, with additional support from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust. Additional support comes from the Onion Foundation.

Opera House Arts (OHA) was founded in 1999 to restore the 1912 Stonington Opera House, on the National Register of Historic Places. The non-profit organization just completed its 22nd consecutive season of programming theater, concerts, dance, movies, educational experiences, and community events at the Stonington Opera House. OHA’s community-based mission is to use the performing arts to foster and promote excellence in all the ways we perform our lives. For more information visit operahousearts.org or call 207-367-2788.

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