“Field of Dreams” Caps a Day of Baseball
Finding the courage to make his dreams come true is the story of The Park Theatre’s 7th summer
movie, “Field of Dreams”, shown Saturday, August 1st. Kevin Costner stars in this film as an
Iowa farmer who has lost his idealism and squandered his relationship with his father now
deceased. One morning Costner hears a disembodied voice in his cornfield urging, “If you build
it, he will come.” The Park Theatre selected this baseball classic for the occasion of the second
Annual Jaffrey-Rindge Baseball Festival at the Jaffrey Community Ball Field. Jaffrey’s Ball
Field has been 25 years in the building by the citizens of the town and, since its opening in the
spring 2008, softball teams and Little League have come and used it nearly every day.
The Annual Jaffrey-Rindge Rotary Baseball Festival runs all day culminating in the competition
between the two towns at 3 pm. Jaffrey won the first match-up in 2008 with Al Clapp named
MVP. The Park Theatre showing of “Field of Dreams” follows the day’s events at 7 o’clock at
the Jaffrey Woman’s Club at 33 Main Street. Admission to the movie is free, as usual, and
popcorn, candy and drinks are available for patrons.
Kevin Costner and his family meet the ball players who have come to his field.
Critics and filmgoers alike have hailed “Field of Dreams” as this generation’s It’s a Wonderful
Life. Once Costner hears the voice urging him to build the field, he is propelled on a quest,
which initially involves putting a baseball pitch in the middle of his crop. This, in turn, heralds
the arrival of ghostly baseball players – including the infamous Shoeless Joe Jackson, implicated
in the fixing scandal of the 1919 World Series. This warm and humorous fantasy is a magical
fable about faith, redemption and our national pastime. Made in 1989, the film also stars James
Earl Jones, Amy Madigan, Burt Lancaster and Ray Liotta.
The Park Theatre final movies of the 2009 Season include an evening of cartoons, “Bugs Bunny
and Friends”, hosted by local musician and cartoon maven Steve Thurber on Thursday, August
6, and “Grease” on August 14 chosen to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Annual Fireworks
Festival. The Park Theatre’s fall series, Saturdays at the Cinema, starts on September 12, with
Errol Flynn in “Captain Blood” and ends with “Casablanca” on November 7th at the Theater’s
annual Salute to Veterans.
Also being shown throughout the Theatre’s season is the 1939 serial classic “Daredevils of the
Red Circle”. Chapter 7 will be shown with “Field of Dreams”, and all 12 chapters will be
presented by the end of this year’s movie presentations in November. The plot of “Daredevils”
revolves around diabolical mastermind Harry Crowel, a.k.a. Prisoner 39013 (pronounced thirtynine-
oh-thirteen), who escapes from jail and, with a seemingly endless supply of henchmen, sets
out to destroy all holdings of industrialist Horace Granville, who put him in prison. One target is
an amusement park, home of the three Daredevils of the Red Circle (David Sharpe, Charles
Quigley and Herman Brix), who perform death-defying stunts and work their way out of difficult
situations by using their own individual skills.
Aghast at innocent lives lost, the three heroes swear to capture No. 39013. This turns out to be
more challenging than they suspect because the villainous Crowell is holding the real Granville
captive, and, with a very good mask, has taken his place! Charles Middleton's supercilious
histrionics breathe bone-chilling life into the character of 39013, whose performance is matched
only by Miles Mander, who essays the dual role of the benevolent industrialist, Granville, and
the malevolent 39013 masquerading as Granville. Carole Landis, soon to become a "name" in
motion pictures, plays Mander's beauteous granddaughter and the cast is predictably rounded out
with the faithful male collie shepherd dog, Tuffie.
The Park Theatre trustees are also creating a fifth mural for the Theater on the same grand scale
as the four other murals currently hanging in the Theater. This mural, a landscape of Mount
Monadnock, is being created by hundreds of artists and students throughout the region. To learn
more about the mural, to paint a panel, or to become a sponsor visit www.theparktheater.org.
Although the theater itself has been closed for thirty-three years and cannot yet be used, trustees are
committed to continuing the Theater’s seasons of movies and of plays and concerts in partnership
with other performing artistic organizations. These artists and arts organizations intend to mount
their productions in the re-opened Park Theater. Among those Performing Partners of The Park
Theater are Branch River Theater, Monadnock Chorus, Actors Circle Theater, Peterborough
Children’s Choir, Peterborough Chamber Choir, Small Pond Productions, Raylynmor Opera,
Monadnock Performing Arts Academy, Project Shakespeare, New England Mandolin Ensemble,
Peterborough Folk Music Society, The Peterborough Players and The Sinfonietta in Wilton.
Upcoming Performing Partner productions include Actor’s Circle Theatre production of William
Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” in Depot Square in Peterborough on August 8th – 9th and
15th – 16th. All performances begin at 6 pm. Monadnock Music continues it summer season with
“Unequaled Music” at the Jaffrey Center Meetinghouse on August 9th at 4 pm. Ticket and
performance information can be obtained through the organizations’ websites:
and
.
