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EDITION #12
Spend the Holidays in Neverland!
You’ll be Hooked on The Sharon Playhouse’s Totally New Bespoke Production of J.M. Barrie’s Timeless Classic Peter Pan
“YES, PETER PAN WILL FLY!”
So proclaims Michael Kevin Baldwin, Education and Community Director of the Sharon Playhouse.
The 5th Annual 2025 Holiday YouthStage Production of PETER PAN, adapted and directed by Andrus Nichols and Drew Ledbetter especially for our Sharon Playhouse community, will be presented December 17-21, 2025 in a brand-new format in The Bok.
Michael promises an exhilarating production, featuring a new take on the boy who wouldn’t grow up, with plenty of creative opportunities for our YouthStage kids who will grow up, eventually. As Michael puts it, “What I love about the holiday YouthStage production is that it is a place where young theater artists are generating meaningful, exciting new work. Unlike our usual Summer YouthStage production schedule of 1-2 weeks of rehearsal, our Holiday YouthStage schedule spans two full months to give the creative team and cast the time and space for truly generative theater-making. And while we have had highly successful productions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and A Christmas Carol, this production of Peter Pan is our first world premiere production. Magic will happen in The Bok. Our loyal Playhouse audience should order their tickets early, as this production is sure to sell out.”
Join fifteen talented young actors as they bring pirates, fairies, mermaids, and Lost Boys to life in an imaginative, ensemble-driven adventure full of pirate shanties, vintage lullabies, and a dash of holiday magic. Audiences will be immersed in the story like never before with a fresh, interactive seating arrangement in The Bok. Bursting with wonder, mischief, and the joy of childhood, this holiday experience is pure magic—and one you won’t want to miss!
The expert, veteran production team includes Sarah Cuoco (Movement & Dance Director), Savannah Stevenson (Music Director), Michelle Lemon (Associate Music Director), Kathleen DeAngelis (Costume Designer), Tim Nivison (Lighting Designer), Graham Stone (Sound Designer), Nicki D'Amico (Props Director), David Palmieri (Scenic Designer and Technical Director), and Michael Kevin Baldwin (Producer.) Peter Pan is generously sponsored by Phillips “Pete” Hathaway.
Co-author and co-director (with Andrus Nichols) Drew Ledbetter offers his own perspective on what is entailed in creating this ambitious endeavor.
Why adapt and produce Peter Pan?
“At the end of A Christmas Carol last year, we were pitching around ideas of stories that could have a large ensemble cast, and that we could adapt into a holiday setting for our community. Peter Pan was mentioned, and we started thinking about how we could transform The Bok to fit the play, and lots of ideas started brimming collectively. Also – considering we had done C.S. Lewis the previous year (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) – J.M. Barrie felt like a natural next step. Lewis, Dickens, and Barrie – these kids are going to be amazing with period British dialects!”
HOMECOMING: SARAH CUOCO'S JOURNEY FROM LAKEVILLE BALLET STUDENT TO SHARON PLAYHOUSE EDUCATION LEADER
For Sarah Cuoco, the Sharon Playhouse, where she is Education & Outreach Manager, has always been the theater in her backyard. Growing up in Lakeville, she remembers seeing productions of Peter Pan, Grease, and Guys and Dolls as a young audience member. What she couldn’t have predicted is that someday she would be shaping the theater’s educational programming and helping to create opportunities that will inspire future generations of young artists.
Sarah's artistic journey began at age three, when she announced to her mother (Sandy) that she wanted to take ballet. "She was surprised and excited," Sarah recalls. "She was a dancer, but she never said anything to me about her being a dancer. She wasn't really dancing at that time." Her mother found a studio in Canaan run by Gail Gerber, and what started as classes for Sarah soon became a family business. Sarah's mother joined as a partner, and they eventually moved the studio to Lakeville's old factory building. When Gail returned to Canada, she left the studio to Sarah's mother entirely.
"I grew up like the ballet teacher's daughter," Sarah says, "and when a lot of kids were at the beach,
I was in the studio making up dances."
Dance led naturally to theater. Through her love of old movie musicals, drawn first to the choreography, Sarah discovered a passion for storytelling. At fifteen, she watched her mother choreograph Singin' in the Rain at Indian Mountain School, and something clicked. "That was the first time I had seen putting a musical together from behind the scenes," she explains. "I really fell in love with the behind the scenes and the creating of a production and helping people to learn and grow and put on this show.”
After high school, Sarah performed in several productions at the Playhouse, making lasting friendships and connections. She then moved to New York City, where she lived for nearly a decade and toured Europe with Hair. But it was Michael Baldwin's arrival as a member of the Playhouse Leadership Team that drew her back home in a more permanent way. When the Playhouse needed someone for a holiday concert, Michael had them call Sarah. She performed in Beauty and the Beast, began teaching artist classes, and eventually joined the staff full-time, rising from teaching artist to Education Manager to her current role as Education & Outreach Manager.
"Michael and I have known each other forever," Sarah notes. They'd both grown up in the area and performed at the Playhouse, but their first professional collaboration came when Michael was directing musicals at The Brearley School in Manhattan and called Sarah to choreograph. "When I moved back here and he was on staff as Education and Associate Artistic Director, he pulled me in to teach classes," she says. "One of my goals has been to help create opportunities and experiences that inspire the next generation, building on the foundation of everything that has been achieved so far."
That mission has driven much of Sarah's work at the Playhouse, particularly the creation of The Launchpad Company, a pre-professional program for 15- to 20-year-olds that launched last year with a production of Once Upon a Mattress. "I would've been so excited if I was 15 and been auditioning for this professional program," Sarah reflects. "It makes a difference and it means a lot."
The inaugural Launchpad season exceeded expectations. "It was magical," Sarah says. "It was so cool and special to see a mix of some kids that I'd never met before, but came in and heard about the program and auditioned, mixed in with kids that I have been watching grow and get better and better for the past five years. That was the true magic of it." Working backstage during the production, Sarah was struck by the young performers' professionalism. "There was nothing amateur about what they were doing, which was really special."
For next season, Sarah hopes to address one logistical challenge: bringing Launchpad home to the Playhouse's main campus. Last year's production took place off-site due to scheduling constraints. "I think there's a magic to, especially for kids that grew up with us, to be able to say, 'I started here at the Playhouse doing the Sharon Playhouse Stars class when I was five to seven years old, and now I'm doing a pre-professional production with my peers right here on the main stage,'" she explains. "I think that's probably my biggest hope."
Sarah also appreciates the positive changes she’s seen at the Playhouse in recent years. "The quality and the caliber of our shows have improved a lot," she says. "We’ve always valued our roots and our connection to the community, and now we’re able to offer even more professional, high-quality productions. It’s really gratifying to see how the entire community can come together and enjoy these performances."
Her current role includes managing educational programming and outreach, and she's supported by Company Manager, Max Hagen, whom she first met when he was a high school student at Brearley. "Having Max here over the summers has been really special," she says. "I've seen him since he was in high school." Max's addition to the team has allowed Sarah to focus more directly on education while still helping coordinate housing and logistics during the off-season.
When asked how community members can support the Playhouse's work, Sarah is clear: "Donations are the biggest help that people can offer. It's what we talk about on a daily basis to just keep it running." She also notes that housing donations and affordable rentals are particularly valuable during the busy summer season.
For Sarah, returning to the Playhouse feels like coming full circle—from the girl watching shows from the audience to the educator shaping new opportunities for the next generation. She is proud of the work she and Michael have done in expanding programming and creating exciting opportunities that resonate with what her younger self would have loved. The young artists of Litchfield County can look forward to this legacy continuing to grow and flourish for many years to come.
Melinda Sweet: A Remembrance
by Emiy Soell
Melinda Sweet, Playhouse Board Member, Former Chair of the Governance Committee, left this world with breathtaking swiftness on July 19, 2025.
Melinda and I had been friends for almost 50 years. In fact, sometimes we were more like sisters. We loved each other but irritated each other. We could fight like tigers and then turn to fight any outsider who took the other to task.
Melinda was an expert at obstacle courses. Having left college in her 20s to become a housewife, in her 30s she went back and earned a Sarah Lawrence degree. Despite guidance counselors who warned her about entering a man’s world, she was admitted to Hofstra Law School and forged a career cap-stoned by being appointed the first female General Counsel at Unilever. Here in Sharon she was President of The Sharon Affordable Housing Trust, served on The Sharon Land Trust and Visiting Nurse Service boards as well as the Sharon Playhouse.
There are so many things I admired about Melinda and wished to emulate. Her courage, her passion, her intelligence, her humor, her curiosity, her empathy. The amazing way she could relate and care about others.
And best of all, she could laugh at herself. When I made mistakes, they would send me blushing, embarrassed hoping no one noticed. When she did, she would laugh. The merriest, most infectious laugh!!
I miss that laugh. I miss our friendship and sisterhood. I still find myself going to the phone to call her with some gossip, some problem, some funny story.
That is why I was drawn – in remembrance -- to this poem by a 13th Century Persian poet by the name of Rumi
“Your body is away from me
But there is a window open
From my heart to yours.
From this window, like the moon,
I keep sending news – secretly.”
THIS JUST IN! CUE THE APPLAUSE!!!
We’re celebrating our incredible artists recognized by the Berkshire Theatre Awards this year — and everyone who helped make our 2025 season one to remember.
Nominations include:
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play or Musical — Kathleen DeAngelis, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical — Lucy Rhoades, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical — Wheeler Moon, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical — Alex Burnette, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play — Jen Cody, Sylvia **WINNER!!
Outstanding Production of a Musical — Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Production of a Play — The Mousetrap
Congratulations to all our nominees — and to every theatre in our region keeping the arts alive and thriving!
P.S. Those of you who attended our record-breaking absolutely amazing production of Annie may be wondering why this show is not on the list. For some inexplicable reason, the nominating committee failed to attend this production. Certainly, that’s their loss. However, WE applaud all cast and crew involved with staging our Annie and bringing forth the total joy of this timeless classic. As far as the Sharon Playhouse is concerned, they are ALL winners!
MEET THE TEAM BEHIND CURTAIN UP!
Publisher: Sharon Playhouse Editor-in-Chief: Emily Soell, President of the Board of Directors*
Editor/Reporter: Jacqueline Markham-Priaulx*
Design Director: Confluence Arts
Video & Photography: Aly Morrissey
Reporters: Lee Davies* & John Christian Lange*
Advisors: Meghan Flanagan, Managing Director; Carl Andress, Artistic Director; Michael Kevin Baldwin, Education & Community Director; Sarah Cuoco, Education & Outreach Manager & Wendy Prause, Business Manager
*Members of the Board of Directors
All of us at Curtain Up! thank you for reading our newsletter.Spend the Holidays in Neverland!
You’ll be Hooked on The Sharon Playhouse’s Totally New Bespoke Production of J.M. Barrie’s Timeless Classic Peter Pan
“YES, PETER PAN WILL FLY!”
So proclaims Michael Kevin Baldwin, Education and Community Director at The Sharon Playhouse.
The 5th Annual 2025 Holiday YouthStage Production of PETER PAN, adapted and directed by Andrus Nichols and Drew Ledbetter especially for our Sharon Playhouse community, will be presented December 17-21, 2025 in a brand-new format in The Bok.
Michael promises an exhilarating production, featuring a new take on the boy who wouldn’t grow up, with plenty of creative opportunities for our YouthStage kids who will grow up, eventually. As Michael puts it, “What I love about the holiday YouthStage production is that it is a place where young theater artists are generating exciting meaningful, new work. Unlike our usual production schedule of 2-3 weeks of rehearsal, our schedule spans two full months to give the creative team and cast kids the time and space for creative thought. And while we have had highly successful productions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and A Christmas Carol, this production of Peter Pan is our first truly original piece of theater. Magic will happen in The Bok. Our loyal Playhouse audience should order their tickets early, as this production is sure to sell out.”
Join fifteen talented young actors as they bring pirates, fairies, mermaids, and Lost Boys to life in an imaginative, ensemble-driven adventure full of pirate shanties, vintage lullabies, and a dash of holiday magic. Audiences will be immersed in the story like never before with a fresh, interactive seating arrangement in The Bok. Bursting with wonder, mischief, and the joy of childhood, this holiday experience is pure magic—and one you won’t want to miss!
The expert, veteran production team includes Sarah Cuoco (Choreography), Savannah Stevenson (Music Direction) Kathleen DeAngelis (Costume Design) and David Palmieri (Scenic Design and Technical Direction).
Co-author and co-director (with Andrus Nichols) Drew Ledbetter offers his own perspective on what is entailed in creating this ambitious endeavor.
Why adapt and produce Peter Pan?
“At the end of A Christmas Carol last year, we were pitching around ideas of stories that could have a large ensemble cast, and that we could adapt into a holiday setting for our community. Peter Pan was mentioned, and we started thinking about how we could transform The Bok to fit the play, and lots of ideas started brimming collectively. Also – considering we had done C.S. Lewis the previous year (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) – J.M. Barrie felt like a natural next step. Lewis, Dickens, and Barrie – these kids are going to be amazing with period British dialects!”
HOMECOMING: SARAH CUOCO'S JOURNEY FROM LAKEVILLE BALLET STUDENT TO SHARON PLAYHOUSE EDUCATION LEADER
For Sarah Cuoco, the Sharon Playhouse, where she is Education & Outreach Manager, has always been the theater in her backyard. Growing up in Lakeville, she remembers seeing productions of Peter Pan, Grease, and Guys and Dolls as a young audience member. What she couldn't have known then was that one day she'd be shaping the theater's educational programming and creating the very opportunities she wishes had existed when she was young.
Sarah's artistic journey began at age three, when she announced to her mother (Sandy) that she wanted to take ballet. "She was surprised and excited," Sarah recalls. "She was a dancer, but she never said anything to me about her being a dancer. She wasn't really dancing at that time." Her mother found a studio in Canaan run by Gail Gerber, and what started as classes for Sarah soon became a family business. Sarah's mother joined as a partner, and they eventually moved the studio to Lakeville's old factory building. When Gail returned to Canada, she left the studio to Sarah's mother entirely.
"I grew up like the ballet teacher's daughter," Sarah says, "and when a lot of kids were at the beach,
I was in the studio making up dances."
Dance led naturally to theater. Through her love of old movie musicals, drawn first to the choreography, Sarah discovered a passion for storytelling. At fifteen, she watched her mother choreograph Singin' in the Rain at Indian Mountain School, and something clicked. "That was the first time I had seen putting a musical together from behind the scenes," she explains. "I really fell in love with the behind the scenes and the creating of a production and helping people to learn and grow and put on this show.”
After high school, Sarah performed in several productions at the Playhouse, making lasting friendships and connections. She then moved to New York City, where she lived for nearly a decade and toured Europe with Hair. But it was Michael Baldwin's arrival as Director of Education that drew her back home in a more permanent way. When the Playhouse needed someone for a holiday concert, Michael had them call Sarah. She performed in Beauty and the Beast, began teaching artist classes, and eventually joined the staff full-time, rising from teaching artist to Education Manager to her current role as Education & Outreach Manager.
"Michael and I have known each other forever," Sarah notes. They'd both grown up in the area and performed at the Playhouse, but their first professional collaboration came when Michael was directing musicals at The Brearley School in Manhattan and called Sarah to choreograph. "When I moved back here and he was on staff as Director of Education, he pulled me in to teach classes," she says. "And a big thing for me was helping him to create what we wished we had when we were growing up."
That mission has driven much of Sarah's work at the Playhouse, particularly the creation of The Launchpad Company, a pre-professional program for 15- to 20-year-olds that launched last year with a production of Once Upon a Mattress. "I would've been so excited if I was 15 and been auditioning for this professional program," Sarah reflects. "It makes a difference and it means a lot."
The inaugural Launchpad season exceeded expectations. "It was magical," Sarah says. "It was so cool and special to see a mix of some kids that I'd never met before, but came in and heard about the program and auditioned, mixed in with kids that I have been watching grow and get better and better for the past five years. That was the true magic of it." Working backstage during the production, Sarah was struck by the young performers' professionalism. "There was nothing amateur about what they were doing, which was really special."
For next season, Sarah hopes to address one logistical challenge: bringing Launchpad home to the Playhouse's main campus. Last year's production took place off-site due to scheduling constraints. "I think there's a magic to, especially for kids that grew up with us, to be able to say, 'I started here at the Playhouse doing the Sharon Playhouse Stars class when I was five to seven years old, and now I'm doing a pre-professional production with my peers right here on the main stage,'" she explains. "I think that's probably my biggest hope."
Sarah also celebrates the transformation she's witnessed at the Playhouse over recent years. "I think the quality and the caliber of our shows has grown exponentially," she says. "When I was younger, we were really rooted in being a community theater, and we like to say we're a theater for the community. Now you can see that we are putting on these real professional top-notch productions and the whole community can come here and enjoy it."
Her current role includes managing educational programming and outreach, and she's supported by Company Manager, Max Hagen, whom she first met when he was a high school student at Brearley. "Having Max here over the summers has been really special," she says. "I've seen him since he was in high school." Max's addition to the team has allowed Sarah to focus more directly on education while still helping coordinate housing and logistics during the off-season.
When asked how community members can support the Playhouse's work, Sarah is clear: "Donations are the biggest help that we can offer. It's what we talk about on a daily basis to just keep it running." She also notes that housing donations and affordable rentals are particularly valuable during the busy summer season.
For Sarah, being back at the Playhouse feels like coming full circle from the girl watching shows from the audience to the educator creating pathways for the next generation. She is, rightly proud of what she and Michael have achieved in building the programming and opportunities that their younger selves would have “jumped at,” and the young artists of Litchfield County can count on that work continuing and growing for many years.
Melinda Sweet: A Remembrance
by Emily Soell
Melinda Sweet, Playhouse Board Member, Former Chair of the Governance Committee, left this world with breathtaking swiftness on July 19, 2025.
Melinda and I had been friends for almost 50 years. In fact, sometimes we were more like sisters. We loved each other but irritated each other. We could fight like tigers and then turn to fight any outsider who took the other to task.
Melinda was an expert at obstacle courses. Having left college in her 20s to become a housewife, in her 30s she went back and earned a Sarah Lawrence degree. Despite guidance counselors who warned her about entering a man’s world, she was admitted to Hofstra Law School and forged a career cap-stoned by being appointed the first female General Counsel at Unilever. Here in Sharon she was President of The Sharon Affordable Housing Trust, served on The Sharon Land Trust and Visiting Nurse Service boards as well as the Sharon Playhouse.
There are so many things I admired about Melinda and wished to emulate. Her courage, her passion, her intelligence, her humor, her curiosity, her empathy. The amazing way she could relate and care about others.
And best of all, she could laugh at herself. When I made mistakes, they would send me blushing, embarrassed hoping no one noticed. When she did, she would laugh. The merriest, most infectious laugh!!
I miss that laugh. I miss our friendship and sisterhood. I still find myself going to the phone to call her with some gossip, some problem, some funny story.
That is why I was drawn – in remembrance -- to this poem by a 13th Century Persian poet by the name of Rumi
“Your body is away from me
But there is a window open
From my heart to yours.
From this window, like the moon,
I keep sending news – secretly.”
THIS JUST IN! CUE THE APPLAUSE!!!
We’re celebrating our incredible artists recognized by the Berkshire Theatre Awards this year — and everyone who helped make our 2025 season one to remember.
Nominations include:
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play or Musical — Kathleen DeAngelis, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical — Lucy Rhoades, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical — Wheeler Moon, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical — Alex Burnette, Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play — Jen Cody, Sylvia **WINNER!!
Outstanding Production of a Musical — Million Dollar Quartet
Outstanding Production of a Play — The Mousetrap
Congratulations to all our nominees — and to every theatre in our region keeping the arts alive and thriving!
P.S. Those of you who attended our record-breaking absolutely amazing production of Annie may be wondering why this show is not on the list. For some inexplicable reason, the nominating committee failed to attend this production. Certainly, that’s their loss. However, WE applaud all cast and crew involved with staging our Annie and bringing forth the total joy of this timeless classic. As far as the Sharon Playhouse is concerned, they are ALL winners!
MEET THE TEAM BEHIND CURTAIN UP!
Publisher: Sharon Playhouse Editor-in-Chief: Emily Soell, President of the Board of Directors*
Editor/Reporter: Jacqueline Markham-Priaulx*
Design Director: Confluence Arts
Video & Photography: Aly Morrissey
Reporters: Lee Davies* & John Christian Lange*
Advisors: Meghan Flanagan, Managing Director; Carl Andress, Artistic Director; Michael Kevin Baldwin, Education & Community Director; Sarah Cuoco, Education & Outreach Manager & Wendy Prause, Business Manager
*Members of the Board of Directors
All of us at Curtain Up! thank you for reading our newsletter.
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