There is something very special happening at the Town Hall Theater. From two performances I attended online this fall, the THT is truly alive and performing incredibly unique drama and music productions, all online amidst these very difficult times.
Did you see the production of “The Beams Are Creaking?” Imagine a handful of characters playing out the life story of the martyred German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer in three Zoom windows, that generated a level of angst and overwhelming conviction for human values that materialized in real time on your own computer screen. It was beautifully produced by Doug Anderson as a very convincing live stage production.
Doug and THT Executive Director Lisa Mitchell are magically making unusually innovative things happening without the normal resources. How about the 10-minute opera “Completing the Picture” that Doug Anderson adapted and presented as a probing and provocative piece that pushed the normal musical envelope. Hey Middlebury, Vt., I’m writing from Williamsburg, Va., about a regional, maybe a national phenomenon happening in your very own town. It deserves rousing support behind the current Annual Appeal!
And please look forward to attending online the coming seasonal celebration of The Christmas Concert. It’s going to be a fantastically, all local star-studded event that will benefit others through the Addison County Food Shelf. Is there any better way to end this myopic 2020 year and bring in a fresh, promising, new THT year that all can be glad is here in Middlebury, hopefully for a long stay!
David S. Benedict
Williamsburg, Va.
Editor’s note: David S. Benedict describes himself as a Virginian whose family summers in Salisbury, and has great love for the Green Mountain State as his real home.