Tewksbury Library To Host Outdoor Plays On Wednesdays In July

TEWKSBURY, MA – The Tewksbury Public is offering 40 FREE programs for adults this July, including outdoor living history plays every Wednesday night at 6:30pm. In these one-person plays, actors portray some of history’s most famous authors, including:

Ralph Waldo Emerson: On Wednesday, July 3 at 6:30pm, actor Wendell Refior will perform his one-man show, “Emerson Reminisces.” Wendell Refior, in period costume as Ralph Waldo Emerson, will portray Emerson's life as a series of recollections: marriages, births and deaths, travel, relationships and accomplishments. Refior will draw from Emerson's letters to his brothers and friends, and brief excerpts from key essays and lectures. There will be an opportunity for open Q&A as well. Refior is an independent Emerson scholar who has studied and taught the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson for more than two decades.

Julia Ward Howe: On Wednesday, July 10 at 6:30pm, actress Libby Franck will perform her one-woman show, “Be Swift My Soul: A Salon with Julia Ward Howe.” Julia Ward Howe was transformed from a wealthy New York belle to a Boston writer and abolitionist in the decades leading up to the Civil War. As the wife of reformer Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, Director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind, she entertained and visited with poets, politicians, reformers, writers and exceptional women. Libby will present Julia as the host of a salon that might have included H.W. Longfellow, Edgar Alan Poe, Florence Nightingale, Margaret Fuller, Charles Sumner and Charles Dickens among others. These acquaintances along with her travels abroad, her love of language and music all gave birth to the compelling verses of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, perhaps the most stirring and recognizable lines of music in U.S. history.

Robert Frost: On Wednesday, July 17 at 6:30pm, actor J.T. Turner will perform his one-man show, “Robert Frost: Light and Dark.” Robert Frost was described by a friend as "a good poet, but a bad man". America's great poet comes to life in this highly-praised one-man show. Robert Frost relates stories of his life, the tragedy as well as the humor and he reads some of his most popular poems, including Mending Wall, Birches, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Late Walk, Desert Places, Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. For fans of Frost's work this is a remarkable and intimate journey through the life of the Pulitzer Prize winning poet.

Charles Dickens: On Wednesday, July 24 at 6:30pm, actor Gary Poholek will perform his one-man show, “Charles Dickens & A Christmas Carol.” In the show, Mr. Poholek, as Charles Dickens, acts out Dickens’s beloved Christmas story, just as the author himself often did on tour. The result is a one-man show with more than 40 characters and one heartwarming theatrical event. Come celebrate Christmas in July as the Spirits of Christmas past, present, and future come to life in a special performance you'll never forget.

Herman Melville: On Wednesday, July 31 at 6:30pm, actor Stephen Collins will perform his one-man show, “Herman Melville: Sailing Towards My Father.” Explore the life of Herman Melville (1819-1891), the American author best known for his whaling epic Moby-Dick. Learn about Melville’s life from youth to old age, concentrating on his evolution as a writer and his complex relations with God, his parents and siblings, his wife and children, and Nathanial Hawthorne.

Rudyard Kipling: On Wednesday, August 7 at 6:30pm, actor Jackson Gillman will perform his one-man show, “Rudyard Kipling Revisited.” Rudyard Kipling was the most internationally celebrated author of his day, best known for The Jungle Book. The first four years of his marriage and fatherhood were spent in Vermont where he built his dream house, now preserved as a historical landmark. These were very productive, happy, and troubled years for the young literary giant. He was a guarded, private individual but this performance will provide an inside look at his experience in New England and some of the controversy surrounding this complex man. The performance will also include a selection of Kipling’s poems and stories. Gillman regularly portrays Rudyard-in-Residence at Kipling’s Vermont home.

These plays will take place on the library's back lawn. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets or chairs. Overflow parking is available in the field across from the library’s parking lot.

No registration required. In case of inclement weather, concerts will take place in the library’s Meeting Room on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tewksbury Public Library. Have a question? Contact librarian Robert Hayes at rhayes@tewksburypl.org or 978-640-4490 x 205.

The Tewksbury Public Library is located at 300 Chandler Street, at the corner of Chandler and Main Street (Route 38).