Their midsummer idyll is interrupted by a return of Lil’s cancer, and the possibility of death brings a wonderful urgency to the relationship. As Eva begins to fit into the community, Lil, a self-described “alley cat,” finds herself really in love for the first time, and Eva blossoms under the wiser woman’s wings. It turns out that Eva has just left her husband, partly inspired by Kitty’s best selling feminist manifesto, The Female Sexual Imperative. But things are complicated by a growing friendship between Eva and Lil, who feels a protective instinct toward the newcomer. Each character fears being “outed,” but Kitty has the most to lose because her credibility as feminist scholar would be completely undermined.
LAST SUMMER AT BLUEFISH COVE SERIES
The first act is an often hilarious series of scenes in which the lesbian characters try to hide their orientation from the outsider. Into their company arrives Eva Margolis, a straight woman who mistakenly rents a cottage in their community. There’s Earth mother Rae and her partner, Annie, an acclaimed sculptor who is Lil’s best friend Kitty Cochrane, a doctor turned best-selling author of feminist books, and her partner-secretary, Rita and rich dowager Sue with her girl-toy, Donna. Also at the cove are her dearest friends, three couples, including a couple of former lovers.
The central character is a vibrant, self-confident woman named Lil Zalinski, who is spending the summer alone at a beach cottage in a small enclave that has been a lesbian haven for 30 years. This event, sponsored by the White Fund, is one of many activities throughout the city recognizing the 100th anniversary of the strike.Last Summer at Bluefish Cove is important in theater history as the first mainstream, high quality script featuring well crafted gay characters in a compelling love story revealing universal truths within the lesbian experience. The talk, based on Cameron's book "Radicals of the Worst Sort,'' explores the strike by women workers in the Everett Mills in Lawrence. Call 97 or visit AUTHOR'S CORNER: Educator and author Ardis Cameron examines the Bread and Roses Strike in her lecture, "The Lawrence Strike of 1912: Women, Protest, and Déjà Vu All Over Again,'' at Northern Essex Community College's Louise Haffner Fournier Education Center in Lawrence from 2 to 4 p.m.
LAST SUMMER AT BLUEFISH COVE FREE
Tickets are $30 $25 for senior citizens and free for ages 18 and younger. She said performances are "always a little eccentric, stubbornly personal, impassioned, and committed to invigorating old traditions with an ever-youthful perspective.'' Since 1997, Andover Chamber Music has been presenting what Skolnick describes as "unstuffy, unpredictable'' concerts with internationally renowned musicians. 2, songs by George Gershwin and a piece composed for this concert by Andover Chamber Music cellist Thomas Kraines. The works include Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time,'' Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. She said Sunday's "War and Peace'' program will be memorable "because of the profound feelings that this music will evoke.'' "I have always felt a bit like Robert Frost when he said that writing poetry without rhyme is like playing tennis without a net.'' "For me, planning a concert without some sort of thematic unity would be too easy,'' said Julie Scolnik, artistic director. The concert continues the ensemble's practice this season of taking inspiration from literature, and offers music of conflict, resolution, and love.
Call 97 or visit UNPREDICTABLE, UNMATCHED: Andover Chamber Music presents its 15th annual Valentine Concert next Sunday afternoon at West Parish Church, 129 Reservation Road in Andover. Tickets are $15 in advance $18 at the door. The show includes language for mature audiences. Other cast members are Pamela Battin-Sacks, Maria "Sammy'' Boyd, Kimberly Holliday, Julie McConchie, Ashley Risteen, and Kathy Weinstock, with Marc Clopton directing. "Audiences will see that the journey of these women is universal: a search for love, the value of friendship, and the quest for personal fulfillment,'' she said.
We hope to prove that audiences in northeastern Massachusetts are not only willing to embrace, but also to celebrate diversity in a quality theater piece. "We decided to bring this play to Newburyport not only because it's historic and groundbreaking, but because it's really good theater.''Īstrid Lorentzson, actor and coproducer of the production, added, "Of course we want the gay community to know about this production, but the play is for everyone. "In fact, these plays were rarely performed in public theaters, but rather on makeshift stages at local gay community centers,'' she said.