Seacoast Rep opens Second Stage summer series in Kittery this weekend

By Jeanné McCartin

Theater is risky business at its best. This summer, Seacoast Repertory Theatre has decided to take to the high wire, adding a touch more vulnerability, and launching Second Stage over the bridge in Maine.

The Rep will offer three, full main-stage productions during the summer months at Star Theatre in Kittery, while maintaining its usual summer lineup at its Bow Street venue in Portsmouth. It’s a circumstance with a bit of padding, but still lots of peril.

The line-up features shows Rep personnel were greatly interested in, but the Bow Street venue’s space and time wouldn’t allow for, Interim Artistic Director Jamie Bradley said. Earlier thie week, Seacoast Rep announced the appointment of Brandon James and Ben Hart as the theater’s new co-artistic directors with Bradley staying on to run the theater’s Homegrown Series.

The solution for being able to produce the shows the Rep didn’t have stage space for in Portsmouth lied in the fix for another problem.

The Rep moved its summer day camp to the Star Theater this year due to “space congestion,” which left the door open for use of the space during after-camp hours, Bradley says. “And so we thought why not do the shows at night because we already have the space?”

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