We were so pleased Brenda Darroch from Yankee Magazine stopped in on her vacation to catch opening night of Tartuffe! Check out this great article about her experience at Cumston Hall.

Theater at Monmouth in Cumston Hall

“At first glance, the lakeside community of Monmouth, Maine, looks like many of New England’s other small towns, complete with a village green, café, and corner market. But there’s something special here that sets it apart—Cumston Hall, which is home to the town’s library and Theater at Monmouth. With its Romanesque Revival styled architecture that includes more than 100 brightly-colored stained glass windows, elaborately molded trim, a cluster of columns, and a soaring tower, it resembles a castle conjured from a child’s book of fairy-tales. And that’s just the structure’s exterior.

Venture inside the theater, and you’ll take in frothy plaster ornamentation that adorns the stage and swirls around the hand-stenciled fresco mural ceiling. Truly magical.

Whenever my husband and I are in the area, we try to get tickets to a show at Theater of Monmouth. As luck would have it, the box office was open when we drove by in early July, and we were able to scoop up seats in the balcony for that night’s performance of Tartuffe. And when I asked if anyone could give us a quick tour of the theater, we were graciously invited to the pre-show reception.

When we arrived, producing director Dawn McAndrews was on hand to usher us around and give us some background information on the theater. The summer season, which is performed in repertory, launches a new play each week until all five are in rotation. That sounds like a lot to handle, but Dawn exudes an air of unflappability that tells you within minutes of meeting her that she has everything under control.”

CLICK HERE TO LINK TO THE FULL ARTICLE