Players present locally-written ‘Not a Word’

The Community Players of Concord wrap their 95th season with a world-premiere comedy written and directed by Wallace J. Pineault, “Not a Word.”

Pineault, who joined ‘The Players’ in 1975, has directed numerous plays and musicals for the group and over 50 plays at New England College, where he taught directing, acting and dramatic theory. His sabbaticals in Hollywood working for a golden age casting director inspired this delightful and hilarious look back at the last years of silent movies over 100 years ago.

“Not a Word” takes place in a boarding house on a dusty side street off Hollywood Boulevard in the year 1920, when innocent Miriam Van Hiberhauser arrives and unpacks her dreams of becoming the next Mary Pickford on the silver screen. Overwhelmed by a new world of dreamers and eccentrics, including a fortune-telling makeup artist, an ambitious young writer, a lecherous retired colonel and more – Miriam becomes swept up in a fly-by-night movie production fueled by ego as much as talent.

Director Otto Detuchmann’s tantrums do nothing to calm his vision-impaired cameraman and clueless script girl, while Italian actor Lorenzo Primadoni fumes impatiently for his close-up. Their silent epic reaches comic pandemonium when Mrs. Callahan’s boarding house becomes the location for their climactic scene. Following a disastrous premiere and a mysterious telegram from a film studio that puts everyone on edge, their all-or-nothing gamble on-screen success writes a surprising twist (and a surprise ending!) in the final reel.

The Community Players production of “Not a Word” features nine actors, some veteran Players and some who’ve joined just this season: Seth Bunke, Cindy Dickinson, Kaj Hache, Erik Hodges, Valerie Kehr, Hannah McCauley, Anne Orio, Nathan Osburn and Dana Sackos. Producers Allwyne Fine, Elizabeth Lent, Colleen Schwarz, Douglas Schwarz and Mary Walker have secured a design team of Steven Meier, Suzanne Potoma and Wallace J. Pineault for lighting, costumes and set. The stage manager is Donna Julian assisted by Corinne Stanley.

“Not a Word” will be performed at Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord on May 5 and  May 6 at 7:30 p.m. and May 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are now available online at communityplayersofconcord.org. Adult tickets $20, students and seniors $18.

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