The inaugural Cape Cod Passport to the Arts—a vehicle to promote the arts and cultural assets of Cape Cod—debuted here this month. The Passport, which provides 2-for-1 admission to ten of the Cape’s arts and cultural venues, is one of several initiatives by which the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and Arts Foundation of Cape Cod are seeking to draw attention to the Cape as a year-round, high value arts and cultural destination.

The ethereal light, which envelops Cape Cod’s 559.6 miles of beach, eternal crescents of powdery sand, fog-swarthed harbors, timeless villages, galleries, theaters and artisans studios make this no ordinary destination. No other peninsula packs this much culture into a mere 399 square miles. Starting at the Canal and extending to Provincetown at the Cape’s tip and in every town and village in between, visitors will find a surfeit of cultural pursuits.

The Passport will be marketed, initially, to key referral sources, such as tour operators, bed & breakfast, hotel concierge and chamber tourist information staff and the media. The Passport will be distributed in Cape Cod Arts, a publication of Cape Cod Life’, free of charge. Stand-alone Passports will be distributed at reduced fees through lodging establishments, financial institutions and chambers of commerce. Additionally, the Chamber’s public relations firm will undertake media outreach initiatives. Revenue generated through Passport sales will support ongoing continuation of the program.

In 2000, AmericanStyle magazine readers chose Cape Cod as #1 Arts Destination in the United States, an appropriate appellation. Today, the Cape is among the top 25 arts destinations in America. Spend a day exploring its wondrous, arty byways, and all soon agree: Cape Cod is a treasure trove of arts and culture. Art lovers visit Cape shores to enjoy its ubiquitous galleries, 14 theaters, museums and historic landmarks. And meeting its hundreds of artisans, visiting their studios and galleries and watching them work is inspirational, imbuing their works of art with even more meaning.

Each of the Cape’s fifteen towns overflows with art and culture. The Provincetown International Film Festival is an outstanding weeklong event in June which showcases budding independent cinematographers’ and well-known filmmakers’ works. Weekly town band concerts highlight local talent and Cape Symphony Orchestra—the state’s third largest symphonic group—features a glorious season of diverse music. The Cape & Islands Chamber Music Festival, Chatham Chorale and Hyannis’ Cape Cod Melody Tent feature budding and established artists. Since 1927, Dennis’ Cape Playhouse has launched many into stardom, including former usherette Bette Davis. Cape Cinema, at the Cape Playhouse, opened July 1, 1930, world premiering The Wizard of Oz. Cape Museum of Fine Arts, adjacent to Cape Playhouse, was built in 1985 and houses more than 850 permanent works in its collection, spanning the period from 1898 to the present. The Museum organizes classes, tours and regional art discovery tours. Reel Art Cinema at the CMFA shows avant garde, classic, art and independent films on weekends from October to April.

Art shows, craft fairs, exhibits, quilt, basket and antique glass shows and countless events feature stimulating activities for art lovers and casual visitors. There is an art form for everyone—music, dance, opera, theater, the fine arts—regardless of special interests. Visitors immersing themselves in the Cape cultural scene will soon sense the special connection this peninsula shares with the arts and the art world. Cape Cod—it embraces artists and, then, will not let them go.

Artists have been coming to the Cape since 1899, when artist Charles W. Hawthorne founded the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, introducing the near-derelict fishing town to Greenwich Village intelligentsia. Other artists drawn to the Cape include such luminaries as Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell and Mark Rothko. Eugene O’Neill’s first plays were written and produced here (his work, Bound for East Cardiff, was staged in the tumble-down Wharf Theater in 1916, and actually launched his career) and the Fine Arts Work Center continues to have among its ranks some of the most important contemporary literati. Even screen stars are no strangers here, and Marlon Brando, Richard Gere, Julie Harris (a Cape resident) and Al Pacino, among others, have all graced Cape stages.

Participants in the inaugural Passport to the Arts are: Boch Center for the Performing Arts, Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Cape Museum of Fine Arts, Cape Symphony Orchestra, Falmouth Historical Society, Great Music on Sundays at 5, Heritage Museums and Gardens, Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum and Provincetown Art Association & Museum. The Passport to the Arts can be purchased for $5, a true bargain, at the Cape Cod Chamber office located at Routes 6 & 132 in Hyannis, at many Cape Cod banks and town chambers of commerce or at the Cape Cod Chamber’s website. Contact the Chamber office at 508-362-3225 or 888-33-CAPECOD, visit online at www.capecodchamber.org or contact the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod at 508-362-0066 or online at www.artsfoundation.org.

Cape Cod. Those two words evoke myriad images. To the architect, it is a style of house. To the child, it means seemingly endless strands of beach and equally endless curls of ocean surf. But, to the artist, it conjures the ethereal light which envelops its 559.6 miles of beach, endless crescents of powdery sand and fog-swarthed harbors. This is no ordinary destination. American art icon Edward Hopper found the Cape’s light ideal for his brand of austere realism. He summered, hermit-like, in South Truro for nigh on 40 years (1930 to 1967) in near total contentment.

In 2000, AmericanStyle magazine readers chose Cape Cod as #1 Arts Destination in the United States, an appropriate appellation. Editor Hope Daniels wrote: “Who doesn’t occasionally need a place to go where the pace is slow, the surroundings beautiful and the artworks abundant?” One competition respondent claimed “Art is a way of life on the Cape.” Spend a day exploring the Cape’s wondrous and arty byways, and you’ll soon agree.

Art lovers visit Cape shores to enjoy its ubiquitous galleries, museums and historic landmarks. And meeting its hundreds of artisans, visiting their studios and galleries and watching them work is inspirational, imbuing their works of art with even more meaning.

Artists have been coming to the Cape since 1899, when artist Charles W. Hawthorne founded the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, introducing the near-derelict fishing town to Greenwich Village intelligentsia. He was so besotted by its “jumble of color in the intense sunlight accentuated by the brilliant blue of the harbor” that he ended up teaching here for 30 years. Other artists drawn to the Cape include such luminaries as Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell and Mark Rothko. Eugene O’Neill’s first plays were written and produced here (his work, Bound for East Cardiff, was staged in the tumble-down Wharf Theater in 1916, and actually launched his career) and the Fine Arts Work Center continues to have among its ranks some of the most important contemporary literati. Even screen stars are no strangers here, and Marlon Brando, Richard Gere and Al Pacino, among others, have all performed here. A former U.S. Poet Laureate, Stanley Kunitz calls Provincetown home. He is the winner of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. In 1992, President Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts during a White House ceremony. Kunitz was a founder of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, where he has lived for decades.

Another bright star on our cultural scene is actress Julie Harris of Chatham. Harris has received numerous national theater honors, including several Tony Awards. In 2002, she received a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in theater. She has also received an Emmy Award and an Oscar nomination. Harris, 77, is well known locally for her support of the arts community of Cape Cod, where she has made her home for more than 20 years.

Each of the Cape’s fifteen towns overflows with art and culture. The Provincetown International Film Festival is an outstanding week-long event which showcases budding cinematographers’—and showcases works of well-known film makers. Weekly town band concerts showcase local talent and Cape Symphony Orchestra—the state’s third largest symphonic group—features a wonderful season of varied works. The Cape & Islands Chamber Music Festival, Chatham Chorale and Hyannis’ Cape Cod Melody Tent feature budding and established artists. Since 1927 Dennis’ Cape Playhouse has launched many into stardom, including former usherette Bette Davis. Cape Cinema, at the Cape Playhouse, opened July 1, 1930, world-premiering The Wizard of Oz. Cape Museum of Fine Arts, adjacent to Cape Playhouse, was built in 1985 and houses more than 850 permanent works in its collection, spanning the period from 1898 to the present. The Museum organizes classes, tours and regional art discovery tours. Reel Art Cinema at the CMFA shows avant garde, classic, art and independent films on weekends from October to April.

Art shows, craft fairs, special exhibits, quilt, basket and antique glass shows and countless other events feature stimulating activities for art lovers and the casual visitor. There is an art form for everyone—music, dance, opera, theater, the fine arts—regardless of their special interests. We encourage visitors to sample the true flavor of the Cape Cod art world by visiting local galleries and museums. They will soon sense the special connection this peninsula shares with the arts and the art world. Cape artists and artisans pay homage to the land they love, the air they breathe, the water they sail. Art can be found on the beach, in sunrises and sunsets, on the dunes, at low tide, in sculpture gardens and art galleries and open studios, in theatres and auction houses. Cape Cod—it embraces artists and, then, will simply not let them go. Cape Cod—#1 Arts Destination in the United States—one visit will explain why.

Barnstable Comedy Club, 3171 Route 6A, Barnstable Village 508-362-6333. Since its founding in 1922, its motto has been to “produce good plays and remain amateurs.” Stages four major productions per year beginning in September and running through Memorial Day. Although performers are all volunteers and non-professional, remember their names and faces. Past ‘nobodies’ have included Geena Davis and Kurt Vonnegut. www.barnstablecomedyclub.com

Cape Cod Melody Tent, West Main Street and West End Rotary, Hyannis 508-775-9100. Yes it’s really a tent. This is real ‘theater-in-the-round’ (actually oval-shaped) where, since 1950, summer visitors could practically reach out and touch (only 20 rows deep) a diverse roster of big name stars, comedians and performing bands. Seasonal. www.melodytent.com

Cape Playhouse, 36 Hope Lane (just off Route 6A), Dennis 508-385-3911. This is the Cape’s ‘big daddy’ of theater. A landmark, this oldest continuously operating professional summer theater was founded in 1927. The former Nobscusset (Unitarian) Meetinghouse was moved then transformed—after several incarnations as livery stable, smithy, barn, slaughterhouse, and garage—on a 3½ acre lot into a theater which opened on July 4, 1927 with Basil Rathbone performing in The Guardsman. Open early June-late September. Now in its 75th Season, the Cape Playhouse is America's oldest professional summer theatre. Californian Raymond Moore spent several summers in Provincetown where he was involved in painting scenery, writing plays and acting in theatre there. His vision, however, was to have a theatre of his own - a smart, sophisticated summer theatre, which would bring Broadway to Cape Cod. So in 1927, he bought a 19th century former Unitarian Meeting House for $200 and had it moved to 3½ acres of pasture land fronting the Old Kings Highway in Dennis and converted it into a theatre. The original pews, now with cushions, still serve as seats.

The opening performance on July 4, 1927 was The Guardsman, starring Basil Rathbone. Over the years, Moore attracted many big name stars from Broadway and the silver screen. Many made their professional stage debuts at the Cape Playhouse. With such stars as Bette Davis (who first worked as an usher), Gregory Peck, Gertrude Lawrence, Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart, Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Julie Harris, and Paulette Goddard, it's no wonder the Playhouse is known as “The Birthplace of the Stars.”

During the mid-50s, the Cape Playhouse became home to three educational programs which provided summer classes in all areas of the theatre. Although the programs did not continue after the early 1970s, many young aspiring performers spent their summers here. In 1956, a young student was given a small part in "The Male Animal" starring Henry Fonda. That young student was his daughter, Jane!

Over the years, the Playhouse has undergone many changes and improvements - including the addition of air conditioning! The Raymond Moore Foundation now oversees the 26 acre grounds of the Playhouse, which is also home to the Cape Cinema and the Cape Museum of Fine Arts. These days, many of the stars still come from Broadway, but many others are more familiar to the public as movie and television stars! Almost every well-known star of stage, screen and TV has walked the stage of the Cape Playhouse.

For each season of its over 75 years, the Playhouse has aimed to bring the best performers, favorite and familiar dramatic plays, comedies, mysteries and musicals to the audiences of Cape Cod. The ultimate goal is to guarantee quality, professional entertainment in the form of great theatre. www.capeplayhouse.com

Cape Playhouse Children’s Musical Theater provides entertainment for the young set Friday mornings at the famed Playhouse.

Chatham Drama Guild, 134 Crowell Road, 508-945-0510. Since 1931, the Guild has been mounting four major musicals per year and offering a special summer presentation in a cabaret-like setting. www.chathamdramaguild.com

Cape Rep Theatre Company, 3379 Route 6A, Brewster 508-896-1888. A repertory troupe which stages outdoor productions in a tree-locked natural amphitheater on the former Crosby Estate summers. The season kicks off in March when they present a dinner theater revue at the Old Sea Pines Inn (2553 Route 6A, Brewster 508-896-6114). The company’s regular outdoor season starts in July and runs through August with three shows running for three weeks each Tuesday and Saturday at 8:30PM. Cape Rep also presents children’s theater every Tuesday and Friday morning at 10AM during July and August. www.caperep.org

The Falmouth Theatre Guild is located at the Highfield Theater, Depot Avenue, Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Nestled in the area known as BeeBe Woods, the theater is surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, and is next door to the renowned Highfield Mansion ... currently in a state of renovation. The Cape Cod Conservatory of Music and Dance is located directly across the parking area from our theater. In the summer months, the College Light Opera Company (CLOC) fills the theater with their musical productions through the month of August. The Falmouth Theatre Guild then returns every September and stays until the month of May. Both the Falmouth Theatre Guild and the College Light Opera Company share in the upkeep and maintenance of the Highfield Theater.

The Falmouth Theatre Guild usually puts on three or four productions per season; one in September, perhaps one or two during the holiday season, and another in the Spring. It is not unusual for us to hold a cabaret, or dinner theatre, or special event, off our Highfield property. Ticket information and any noteworthy upcoming events can be heard by calling our box office number, 508-548-0400, as well as checking with us here at our web address, www.falmouththeatreguild.org

Woods Hole Theater Company, 68 Water Street, (Mailing address: Post Office Box 735, Woods Hole) MA USA 02543-0735
Woods Hole 508-540-6524 Reservation machine: 508-540-6525 Fax: 413-826-9262
Established in 1974, the company presents four shows per season at the Woods Hole Community Hall and sponsors occasional productions by other theater troupes. Offers a variety of plays on a year-round basis and produces new plays by Cape Cod Theater Project. www.woodsholetheatercompany.org Email: WHTC@RealBodies.com

Harwich Junior Theater, Corner Division and Willow Streets, Harwichport 508-432-2002 One of the country’s top playhouses for young audiences. Besides producing four shows per season, this company, founded in 1952, also offers year round classes and workshops for children. It is great fun for the children and the productions are marvelous fun. No website

Monomoy Theatre, 776 Main Street, Chatham 508-945-1589. The Cape’s second oldest surviving stage, this former toy factory became an Equity theater in the 1930s. In 1957, it was taken over by the Ohio University Players and is now a mix of students from around the country and returning alumni. The theater seats only 276 patrons and all have a great view. The Ohio University Players present a different play every week during its summer tenure here. www.ohiou.edu/theater/news/monomoy.htm

Academy Playhouse, 120 Main Street (on the road to Nauset Beach) Orleans 508-255-1963. When the town outgrew its circa 1873 town hall in 1949, the space was converted to use as an arena stage. The Academy of Performing Arts stages performances here all year—primarily musicals in summer and dramatic performances during the non-summer months in addition to poetry readings, concerts and dance. Offers up to 12major productions and a music series.

The Academy of Performing Arts is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enrichment of the culture of the lower Cape. It advances its mission by offering arts classes and entertainment through a unique combination of School and Playhouse. It maintains a professional staff that is highly qualified in all facets of the performing arts. Income from tuition and ticket sales typically pays up to 80% of operating costs. For the balance, and for development and expansion of facilities, the corporation depends upon its membership, individual and business grants from public and private sources, and from various fundraising activities.

The Playhouse, founded in 1975, attracts over 21,000 people each year. The Playhouse produces 12 shows or more per year, including musicals, dramas, comedies and original works. A music series is also presented at the Playhouse throughout the year. Benefit performances and faculty and staff performances are throughout the year. Well-known theatrical directors, music directors, design artists, and customers are hired by the academy under the direction of Peter Earle, Artistic Director. The Academy has a membership of over 400 people, donating between $30 and $500 each on a yearly basis.

120 Main Street, Orleans
Box Office 24hrs: (508) 255-1963
Playhouse e-mail apa@cape.com www.apa1.org

Wellfleet Harbor Actors’ Theater (WHAT), 1 Kendrick Avenue at Commercial Street (next to Town Pier) 508-349-6835. Presents some of the most provocative contemporary work on the Cape—perfect fare for the very cerebral types who are drawn here. Founded in 1985 by Jeff Zinn and Gip Hoppe features a repertoire of six plays per summer and usually includes some original works, but always includes avant garde selections. Considered one of the top ten regional theaters.

Founded in 1985, WHAT is nationally known as Cape Cod's most adventurous professional theater company. Located on Mayo Beach, next to the Town Pier, its intimate (90-seat) space provides the perfect setting for high quality, dynamic productions of new plays. Cited by the Boston Globe for the past three years as some of the best theater in the region, we consistently seek out the most interesting and provocative new works and then recruit artists with the skill, imagination and vision to realize those works in production. www.what.org

Provincetown Repertory Theater, 336 Commercial Street, Provincetown 508-487-0600. Founded by actor/director Ken Hoyt, PRT debut production, For Heaven’s Sake, an evening of short plays, was staged in the cavernous town hall and was critically acclaimed Offers performances by a rather adventurous ensemble www.campusprovincetown.org/htdocs/pages/provRep.html

Provincetown Theater Company

The Provincetown Theatre Company continues the nearly hundred year long tradition of live theatre year round. Call the PTC at their office number for details about the annual competition for emerging playwrights. More than seventy-five years ago in a fish house on a Provincetown wharf, theater folks up for the summer from New York created the Provincetown Players and staged the first production of "Bound East for Cardiff" by Eugene O'Neill. The modern American theater was born. Provincetown has seen a lot of theater since that time, much of it nationally recognized. Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee wrote here along with O'Neill. When the Provincetown Players were in town, three other theater groups were also performing in buildings on the wharves. Since the mid-60s, the Provincetown Theatre Company (PTC) – a company of professional, semi-professional, and talented non-professional actors, writers, directors, and technicians – has carried on the Provincetown Players' mission to develop new American works as well as perform classics. It mounts a year-round schedules of plays and readings, and educational programs in collaboration with local schools. The PTC has a long history of working with new playwrights, many of whom have gone on to create off-Broadway and regional productions. It performs at locations all around town, from halls and meeting rooms to upstairs at Napi's, a popular local restaurant.
Tel and Fax 1 (508) 487-8673
74 Shankpainter Road, PO Box PO Box 192
Provincetown, MA 02657 ptctheatre@prodigy.net http://www.campusprovincetown.org/htdocs/pages/provTheatre.html

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Hyannis, MA  02601
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