Don Wilmeth to lead Gallery Walk of Actors on the Early American Stage Exhibit

Dr. Don Wilmeth, guest curator, will guide visitors through the feature exhibit on display at the Historical Society of Cheshire County. The exhibit, entitled Actors on the Early American Stage: 1790 to World War I, explores the history of the early American theatre. The first gallery walk will take place on Saturday, January 17 at 10:00 a.m. Additional gallery walks are scheduled for Saturday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, March 7 at 10:00 a.m. The exhibit and the gallery tours are free and open to the public.

Actors on the Early American Stage tells the stories of the lives and careers of dozens of actors through playbills, posters, letters, photographs, and a variety of other artifacts. The exhibit includes such actors as Fanny Kemble, the Booth family, Lotta Crabtree, Swanzey's Denman Thompson, and James O'Neill and Maude Adams, both of whom performed in Keene. The show also features a section on "Stage Novelties," such as P.T. Barnum's Tom Thumb, whose entourage performed in Keene in 1868. Exhibit sponsors include Ariel Printing, Creative Encounters, Carin Torp Healing Arts PLLC, and the Keene Sentinel.

Keene resident Don B. Wilmeth is an established authority on the history of American theatre and drama. He is Professor Emeritus at Brown University, where he taught theatre and English for 36 years, 16 as chair of the theatre department.

The Historical Society of Cheshire County, located at 246 Main Street in Keene, is open to the public on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. For further information, contact the Historical Society at 352-1895 or view its website at www.hsccnh.org.