In the Mad River Valley, nothing says summer like theater in a barn. Now in its 39th year, Phantom Theater returns to the Edgcomb barn in Warren for its new season with theater, dance, circus arts, music, and storytelling. As artistic director Tracy Martin noted, “Phantom 2024 hits the sweet spot with something for everyone.”
Everything kicks off on Tuesday, July 9, with Kevin O’Keefe and Circus Minimus. O’Keefe, New York City, is a familiar face in The Valley, where he has appeared on stage and run numerous residencies at local elementary schools. While “minimus” may signify the scale of the circus which fits in a suitcase, the entertainment is absolutely “maximus” according to Phantom.
A second circus offering, Our Lady of the Home, aims for a more mature audience on Friday through Sunday, August 9-11, when Canadian contemporary circus performer Liza combines aerial acrobatics, contortion, comedy, and illusion in a one-woman show set in the 1960s.
An exploration of the troubling history of women and madness, this is a poignant tale of self-reclamation, explained Phantom spokesperson Kate Youngdahl-Stauss.
This season’s theatrical offerings feature three very different styles of comedy. All hands will be on deck when Phantom all stars from New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco present Blow Me Down! “A Pirate Play in Three Acts” on Friday and Saturday, August 2 and 3. An original work by Brooklyn playwright St. John Frizell, it promises laughter and salty humor.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Samuel Beckett’s “Happy Days.” Pamela Rickard, Warren, plays a woman who is literally buried up to her waist yet continues to talk -- endlessly -- about life’s trivialities. A darkly hilarious homage to humanity’s ability to ignore ever present death, this will be staged Friday and Saturday, August 17 and 18.
Somewhere in the middle of the comic spectrum lies “Cry It Out” by Molly Smith Metzler. Director Joanne Greenberg and actress Maren Langdon Spillane team up in a contemporary story about three neighbors who start out as strangers and discover the sometimes bumpy intersection of motherhood, female friendship and class. Playing Thursday through Saturday, August 22 through 24.
This summer’s musical offerings launch with a dance party by Valley native Ella Holter and her L.A.-based rock band, Ella Grace. Holter played Phantom last year and brought the house down.
“She’ll surely do so again on Saturday, July 13,” Youngdahl-Stauss said.
Jazz aficionados and lovers of the American songbook will enjoy Peter and Will Anderson -- New York’s twin virtuoso saxophonists -- on Friday, August 16. In this outing, they’ll focus on swinging arrangements and animated storytelling on Cole Porter. This performance also features guitarist Adam Moezinia.
Classical cellist Amanda Henne appears on Friday and Saturday, August 30 and 31. Collaborating with friends from diverse musical backgrounds -- including, last year, a bluegrass banjo player -- Henne and company promise to delight both traditionalists and classical newbies, Youngdahl-Stauss noted.
Phantom is offering three dance shows this summer. For the past three years, Chimera Art Co-Lab has gathered dancers from diverse backgrounds, including Waitsfield’s Larissa Ursprung, for an experimental residency. On Saturday, July 20, they will present new work as well as the now completed piece, “The Space[s] We Hold” which debuted at Phantom in 2022.
Choreographer, musician, and filmmaker Millie Heckler, brings her troupe, Female Funeral Soul, on Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27, to perform the newly commissioned “Subtle Rage.” Youngdahl-Stauss said the piece explores rage and forgiveness.
On Wednesday, August 28, artist, and choreographer Hanna Satterlee takes the floor with dancers Jessie Owens and Danielle Tekut along with live music by Matt LaRocca, Jeremy Frederick, and Kyle Saulnier in an immersive place-based performance.
A Moth storytelling event takes place on Sunday, September 1. For more information about the artists, times, and ticket information for all of Phantom’s programming, visit https://www.phantomtheater.org/.
