Robert Frost: This Verse Business

Middlebury Acting Company is proud to present Robert Frost: This Verse Business, by A.M. Dolan, starring Gordon Clapp, an Emmy Award winning and Tony nominated actor best known for his 12 seasons as NYPD Blue’s Detective Greg Medavoy.

Clapp, a resident of Norwich, VT, and the play’s author, Andy Dolan, have long wanted to bring their show to Middlebury, where Frost has a rich history. No one is more closely identified with Bread Loaf than Robert Frost, who first came to the School of English in 1921, encouraged the founding of the Writers' Conference in 1926, and returned to the Bread Loaf campus nearly every year for forty-two years. Legend has it that Frost used to attend movies at the Town Hall Theater, so it is especially poignant for Clapp to perform the show in that space. After two postponements due to Gordon’s busy schedule as a working actor, the date is set for September 8 – 10.

Dolan created the script from actual transcripts of Robert Frost’s famous talks, gleaned from the nearly fifty years Frost “barded” around the country charming audiences with his celebrated verse and rascally sense of humor. Frost’s great wit and poetry are heard afresh in his award-winning one-man play. In the show, the poet shares his pointed and funny opinions on politics, science, religion, and particularly, art, interspersed with performances of his poems from memory. 

Friday, September 8 at 7:30pm

Saturday & Sunday September 9 & 10 at 2pm. After the Saturday matinee, local Frost biographer Jay Parini will join Dolan and Clapp for a post-show discussion on Frost.

There will be a special reception after the show on Opening Night. Tickets for the show and reception, $75. For standard tickets and more information please call: 802-382-9222 or go to www.townhalltheater.org

“Dolan's script weaves Frost's poetry and personal views into a seamless piece of theater, which Clapp delivers with authentic New England wit and charm. Clapp himself hails from New Hampshire and seems to have been made for this role.”

“Sprinkled with New England references, THIS VERSE BUSINESS has special appeal to Vermonters. The piece succeeds in keeping its audience captivated for an entire 75 minutes without an intermission - no small feat for a one-person play. Clapp's charisma never falters, and 75 minutes feels like 25.”  ~ Broadway World

THIS SHOW IS SPONSORED IN PART BY VERMONT HUMANITIES AND MICHELE & BRUCE BAYLISS