Finnish-American Plays

Like Cape Ann residents of a century ago, you will have a chance to see your neighbors taking the stage on themes of heart and mind. The five short scripts present domestic dramas, village tangles, and the compass of life that still entertain us today.

 

The Betrothal
Eileen Fitzgerald, Terry Sands, Karl Pulkkinen, Tom Moriarty

"Oh, woman's nature, that is the wonder of all wonders."

 



Threads of matrimony and prosperity needle the tailor:

"Now I'm an old bachelor again whose life resembles a sleepy cockroach that's in the crack of a wall in the fading evening sunshine."

 



The Burglary
Anne Hyde and Chuck Francis

"You took my coffin measurements for nothing!"

 



"I've gathered up some snakes and  wrapped up some black worms....The sufferer is free of her aches and pains."

The House of Roinila
Scott and Kierstin Hazzard

"I am angry, forever and ever--A grown man kissing a grown girl. Is that any way to act!"

Karin
Heidi Pulkkinen

"I remember when we would gather cranberries and roast them by the fire."

Men on a Mission
Randy Dupps, Karl Pulkkinen, Martin Ray

"Then all is well. Why plant in a stranger's garden when there is garden space much closer?"

Director Sarah Clark and Producer Valerie Nelson

 

The program is the result of a timely collaboration between Sarah Clark and Valerie Nelson. Sarah has launched the Rockport Community Theatre, with a core troupe carrying on the work of Nan Webber's Theatre in the Pines, augmented by members of the Annisquam Village Players. Valerie has infused the Lanesville Community Center with a series of May Day cultural programs on village roots. Last year's program centered on the musical vitality of the Finnish immigrants. Support came then and now from the national Finlandia Foundation.
 

Research has shown that the Finn Halls of Lanesville and Rockport sponsored some of the historical dramas, comedies, opera, and folk plays that were popular in the Massachusetts immigrant community from 1900 to 1940. Theater performances, a means of raising revenue for the Halls, were a major source of entertainment, heritage preservation, education of children, and political awareness as well. 

Suggested donation at the door is $20. Funds contributed will be used for the benefit of the Lanesville Community Center and the Scholarship Fund of Vasa Lodge 98 in Rockport.