Presented by the College Light Opera Company
Babes in Arms
“Babes in Arms” is a delightful musical with music by Richard Rogers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and it was adapted by John Guare.
The show started on Tuesday July 30th. and will run through to Saturday August 3rd. Performances begin at 8:00 PM. There is a Thursday matinee, August 1st. at 2:00 PM.
The play takes place in 1937 in a fictional town called Seaport, Long Island. The first act opens with the teen-aged children of vaudeville performers saying good-by to their parents. They tell the children that they are going on tour and will be back in six months and that they will send money. The older son Val Lamar, our hero, along with his palls Marshall, Gus, Peter, Dolores and a female traveling vagabond named Billy, decide to organize the gang into producing a show in the old red barn on the property. Then they add Baby Rose, a former child star from Hollywood, as the lead. Baby Rose is now sixteen and is too old for movies and is out of work. The show’s financial backer, Lee Calhoun threatens to withdraw funding if Ivor de Quincy performs in the show. Ivor is African-American and Lee and his brother Beauregard do not want him to be in the show even though Ivor is a talented singer and dancer. In retaliation,the impulsive Val, punches Lee and the gang is sent to the work farm. All ends well, however, when a French aviator named Rene Flambeau who is just completing a trans-Atlantic crossing, crash-lands on the Lamar property. This event results in lots of positive publicity and The Lamar field then sells for a record amount. The plan is to make it into an airport. The kids now have enough money to produce the show and save Seaport from ruin.
Surely, the College Light Opera Company is one of the best things to happen in Falmouth each summer and a lovely summer activity on Cape Cod. Students from around the country descend upon our town, to produce nine operettas and musicals with full orchestral accompaniment. This all takes place at Historic Highfield Theatre. The theatre is located in Beebe Woods, in the former horse stable of the adjacent Highfield Hall. The building was built in 1876 and the company was started in 1969. This year is its 45th. season. CLOC staffs up each season with 86 members, including singers,and technicians alike. It is headed by producers Robert and Ursula Haslum. Frequently the families of the cast and crew will stay at the Palmer House. It is always enjoyable to chat with them and hear about the activities that go on behind the scenes. The company is housed in the former West Falmouth Inn on Chapoquoit Road. The inn provided four cottages, a large commercial kitchen, a separate costume shop and rehearsal space. CLOC is now an integral part of the Falmouth summer season’s activities and there are also several shows for us to enjoy during the off-season.
The Emily Dickinson Room, Rm 5
While all of our rooms have their own historic charm, we recommend the Theodore Roosevelt Room for its Victorian flourishes, the Emily Dickinson Room for its New England charm, and the Richard Henry Dana Room for its nautical theme. All of three of these rooms feature king beds and jetted tubs for complete relaxation after a wonderful day of Cape Cod activities and theatre.