Stage Door News

Port Dover: The Lighthouse Festival Theatre announces two shows for the fall season

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Following the success of the summer productions outdoors under a tent, Lighthouse Festival will be moving indoors, reopening the theatre for the first time in nineteen months for two productions in the late fall. Performances will begin in November and run to the first week in December with 78 patrons for each performance all seated socially distanced. 

We have been waiting to welcome our patrons back into our beautiful theatre for more than a year and finally the time is right” said Artistic Director Derek Ritschel. “When you walk through the front doors you will be greeted by our wonderful volunteers, up the stairs to the Long Bar where you can order a refreshing drink and then into the theatre with its historic tin ceiling and plush red seats, a most welcome homecoming.” 

There will be some differences to the experience theatre goers are used to with the new vaccination checks, contact tracing and the wearing of face masks, but Ritschel promises the stories will draw you in the moment the lights go down.  

Kicking off the re-opening is The Wonder Of It All, a one act play by Mark Weatherley, a playwright, composer, lyricist, director, and actor from Stratford, Ontario. Weatherley has previously premiered two works at Lighthouse, the musical Fitz Happens! in 2016 and Framed as part of the 2019 One Act Festival. Weatherley and Monique Lund star as a married couple whose 25 years of marriage has dissolved into finding immense pleasure in being irritating and bothersome to each other, until one day a surprise from their past meddles with the certainty of their future and they must decide if it’s too late to discover the redemptive power of love. The Wonder Of It All will run from November 2 to 13.  

The second production will be Old Love by celebrated Canadian playwright Norm Foster, returning to Lighthouse Theatre after having its world premiere on the Port Dover stage in 2008. This two-act play follows the chance meetings of Bud and Molly over 30 years. Each encounter left Bud more enamored with Molly but the timing was never right. Now a recently divorced Bud and newly widowed Molly are reconnecting. Old Love is a story of romance, courtship, and relationships between older adults with Foster’s trademark wit and charm and will run from November 17 to December 3. 

Lighthouse Festival would like to thank Execulink Telecom for being the season presenter of both the summer productions and these upcoming fall productions. Funding support is also provided by the Government of Ontario. Tickets go on sale to the public for both performances on October 12. Keeping with health and safety regulations, tickets will be sold in pairs and patrons will need to show proof of vaccination upon arrival and wear a face covering inside the building. Tickets can be purchased online through the Lighthouse Theatre website or by calling the box office, the box office will remain closed to the public until performances begin in November.  

The re-opening of Lighthouse Theatre will be supported in part by the theatre’s digital 50/50 which is running now until October 17. Taking the very popular in person 50/50 draw digital allows anyone to play anytime from anywhere. Proceeds from the 50/50 will help to ensure the historic theatre can rebuild and return to their full year of programming in time for 2022. The Jackpot currently sits at $4,200 and is growing each day.

Visit lighthousetheatre.com.