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Weathervane Playhouse If someone asks “Were you born in a barn?” it might not be a good sign, but that’s not the case at Weathervane Playhouse in Newark. That’s exactly where they began! As Licking County’s professional summer theater, Weathervane got its name from that original home, with a production of “Good News!” in 1969. The news just kept getting better for the company and their audiences, moving from a barn to a big tent to their location on the northern edge of Newark in 1976. The current mainstage building was built in 1989, and last summer added a special effect earlier theatergoers would have appreciated: air conditioning! When you drive up to Weathervane Playhouse, maybe having already reserved your seats through weathervaneplayhouse.org, you’ll see a complex of buildings set back from Price Road which evoke the barns and simplicity of those early days. Inside, you’ll find a sophisticated and complex operation, which has delightfully handled major Broadway musicals or simple children’s theater with equal ease. Whether it’s been “Fiddler on the Roof” or “Big River,” “Sweet Charity” or “Into the Woods,” you get a marvelous blend of acting by professionals who come from New York, Chicago,
and elsewhere, along with local talent who live in Licking County all year ‘round. They are teachers and bankers and secretaries, but there’s usually no good way to tell the professionals and the locals apart, unless you recognize one of them from waiting in line with you in the store last winter! Heading into the air conditioned season of 2012, Weathervane plans to offer: “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” the musical based on a 1988 Steve Martin/Michael Caine movie; the comedy “Leading Ladies”; everyone’s favorite musical “Singin’ in the Rain”; London’s famously long-running drama/mystery “Mousetrap”; and closing with “Legally Blonde - The Musical” (all shows tentative pending their licensing agreements). With matinees and special productions, almost any time you’re looking for a quality evening’s entertainment, and many weekend afternoons as well, you can find a show worth “taking in” at Weathervane Playhouse. They may have Broadway sophistication in their stagecraft, but the barn-inspired architecture reminds you that they haven’t lost touch with their local roots and over 40 summers of history. www.weathervaneplayhouse.org www.escapetolickingcounty.com ✦ Discover
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