Wake Up, Gloucester

The Valley Players will present a world premiere staged reading of Wake Up, Gloucester by Jeanne Beckwith (Roxbury) February 7-16 at the Valley Players Theater, 4254 Main Street (Rt. 100), Waitsfield. This fully staged reading (actors will appear with scripts on stage) will be directed by Doug Bergstein (Waitsfield).

The story takes place in late August 1939, and deals with the lives, hopes, loves, and fears of a group of people who come together at The Dancing Duck, a tavern in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The depression is ending, but dreams that have been on hold still seem beyond reach. Rumors of a war abroad are coming closer to home every day. The owner of the tavern is starting up a new radio station attached to the tavern. His friends, who are also his employees and customers, are supportive, but life is complicated; the future seems cloudy, and there just might be a sea serpent off the coast.

Performances will be on Fridays & Saturdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, February 7-16. Tickets will be on sale in January, 2025.