Summer 2024 may seem a long way off, but the Highlands Summer Festival (HSF) recently announced its July and August offerings.
HSF president Brian Kipping said, “we have an exciting line-up of live theatre and concert offerings for this summer. I know our patrons will find it an enjoyable list with lots of variety.”
Up first will be the musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Spokesman Jack Brezina said the awardwinning musical will test those who suffer from ortographobia (the fear of spelling a word incorrectly).
“The tale follows an eclectic group of six mid-pubescents as they vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of words. The show will have audience participation and upbeat music,” Brezina said. It opens July 2 for nine performances.
Second up, the festival revisits a favourite of theatre patrons worldwide, William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker. “Twelveyear-old Helen Keller lived in a prison of silence and darkness. Deaf, blind, and mute from an illness as a baby, with no way to express herself or comprehend those around her, she flew into primal rages against anyone who tried to help her, fighting with a strength born of furious desperation. Then Annie Sullivan came. Half-blind herself, but possessing an almost fanatical determination, she would begin a frightening and incredibly moving struggle to tame the wild girl no one could reach,” Brezina said. The Tony award-winning play opens July 15 for eighth performances.
The Canadian folk trio, and award-winners, The Good Lovelies bring their country/folk repertoire, with tinges of pop, roots, jazz and sometimes hip-hop, July 24-26, for three performances.
Then, Gail, a beekeeper, and Earl, both recently estranged from their spouses, and living across from each other on a country road, find their lives turned upside down in the Mark Crawford comedy, The Birds & The Bees. “Gail’s daughter, Sarah, running away from an unhappy marriage, returns home unexpectedly. Add the arrival of Ben, an over-eager graduate student there to determine the cause of the collapse of Gail’s bee population, and it presents an engaging mix of people with lots to teach about the birds & the bees.” This show for 13 and ups opens July 28 for six performances.
The season ends with the return of Leisa Way and her Wayward Wind Band’s Opry Gold. Their latest concert features popular country songs from the last few decades. The show opens Aug. 4 for five performances.
“With a line-up like that, patrons will want to see all five shows,” artistic producer Scot Denton said.
For more information, see highlandssummerfestival.on.ca; call 705-4579933 or 855-457-9933 or mail Highlands Summer Festival, Box 938, Haliburton, Ontario, K0M 1S0.
