Ivoryton, Connecticut Day 12 (GA524)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV resort in Palm Desert, California. I’ll depart from here December 19th.

 

(Note: Today is the 77th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Please take a moment to reflect and remember our Veterans. To see the blog posting I wrote on the 75th anniversary…please click this link…)

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/2403-americans-killed-1173-wounded-75-years-ago-today/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted June 19, 2013…

 

 

 

 

The motorhome is parked at my son’s home where I’m expected to remain until July 17th visiting with my family.

 

 

Mary has finally returned to her home in California. She has a tentative return-to-me-date of July 16th.

 

 

Two days ago, I showed photos of the downtown Village of Ivoryton, Connecticut…the only place so named in the entire world according to this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivoryton

 

 

Right in the center of the village is the historic Ivoryton Playhouse. The first photo below shows the Playhouse as at was years ago on a historical sign nearby…

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Ivoryton Playhouse as it appears today…

 

 

You can read about the history of the playhouse by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comstock-Cheney_Hall

 

 

To see a list of stars that have performed at the Playhouse over the years, click this link…
http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/about-us/stars-who-have-appeared-on-our-stage

 

 

Here’s the official website foe the Playhouse…
http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/

 

 

When Mary and I were here in 2010, we saw the Buddy Holly Story. You can read a review of that performance by clicking this link…
http://ctarts.blogspot.com/2010/07/theater-review-buddy-holly-story.html

 

 

 

 

 

On the front lawn, someone has done a fine job of carving on an old tree…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of trees, here’s a nearby one…

 

 

Enjoying visiting family is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Connecticut. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

 

 

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/murphys-music-in-the-park/

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 66 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE DOES DREAMGIRLS

In Ivoryton, Connecticut, the Ivoryton Playhouse was the first summer theatre in Connecticut and is a distinguished and significant contribution to the arts in the area, attracting theatre buffs from New York and Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

They’ve also attracted top name talent, like Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Mercedes McCambridge, Marlon Brando, Betty Grable, Art Carney, Groucho Marx,  to mention a few of the notables.

The playhouse itself is charming and intimate with only about 120 seats and then there are elephants. This is a sculpture in the front yard of the playhouse. An elephant with toes resembling piano keys. You have to know a bit about Ivoryton to understand the significance.

Ivoryton was the home of two piano companies. Those were the days when the keys were made of ivory. Thus, you see elephant motifs at the playhouse and all about town. Once radio, television and mass entertainment took over the standard parlor piano for entertainment, the piano business began to wane and the old buildings that once housed piano making are now closed. It is said 90% of the ivory imported to the United States passed through Ivoryton. Smaller companies also made ivory combs, dice, jewelry, sculptures and other sundries.

No theatre allows pictures of a play in progress, but we were free to photograph the inside of the building. On the side walls are many pictures of the stars that played here, and they were many.

The pictures behind glass are hard to photograph with any success. The glare is impossible.

I enjoyed viewing them, even if they don’t photograph well. So many old familiar faces.

The Dream Girls, the play we saw was a preview where the playhouse invites criticism. Technically, we could detect no glitch. It was done perfectly. The voices of the men and women who eventually made it big at Motown were big, wonderful voices. The whole play was done musically and music was the theme. But, for us, the playwright chose to tell the entire story in song instead of having the plot spoken in interludes, the struggles, the girls and guys taken advantage of by unscrupulous agents, etc. they sang their lines and it was difficult to follow the plot.  Sometimes the music was so loud you couldn’t hear the lines well enough. But, the theme is certainly worthy and Motown music would have made it sooo much better.

Others loved it, so who are we to criticize?

After the theatre, we poked around a little antique store across from the theatre and I always find stuff I like, but luckily I can’t buy much when we live in a motor home.

 

 

 

Dream Girls

The motorhome is parked at my son’s home in Ivoryton, Connecticut. We are planning to depart for the west coast next Monday.

The famous Ivoryton Playhouse is only about one mile from my son’s home. During my previous visit here in June I wrote a rather complete Blog entry about the history of the Playhouse which you can read by clicking this link… http://wp.me/pDCku-8uG

Yesterday Mary and I went to the Ivoryton Playhouse for the premier performance of Dream Girls. If you are unfamiliar with the story plot, you can read it here by clicking this Wikipedia link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamgirls

No photography is allowed of the set or during the program. They allowed me to take a few interior photos before the show began…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Speaking of Dream Girls…here’s mine…

Mary and I were both disappointed with the performance. While the story line is a good one, the performers semi-sing (screech) their lines rather than speaking them. In addition because we were so late in buying our tickets, we ended up in the last row of the balcony…which was okay…but even back there the orchestra volume was too loud making is difficult to hear the performers. Oh well, you buy your tickets and take your chances!

This was very different from the great performance of The Buddy Holly Story which we saw here in 2010 and you can read about by clicking this link… http://wp.me/pDCku-sJ

Enjoying a good play is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Connecticut. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Ivoryton, Connecticut – Day 12

The motorhome is parked at my son’s home where I’m expected to remain until July 17th visiting with my family.

Mary has finally returned to her home in California. She has a tentative return-to-me-date of July 16th.

Two days ago, I showed photos of the downtown Village of Ivoryton, Connecticut…the only place so named in the entire world according to this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivoryton

Right in the center of the village is the historic Ivoryton Playhouse. The first photo below shows the Playhouse as at was years ago on a historical sign nearby…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

This is the Ivoryton Playhouse as it appears today…

You can read about the history of the playhouse by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comstock-Cheney_Hall

To see a list of stars that have performed at the Playhouse over the years, click this link…
http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/about-us/stars-who-have-appeared-on-our-stage

Here’s the official website foe the Playhouse…
http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/

When Mary and I were here in 2010, we saw the Buddy Holly Story. You can read a review of that performance by clicking this link…
http://ctarts.blogspot.com/2010/07/theater-review-buddy-holly-story.html

On the front lawn, someone has done a fine job of carving on an old tree…

Speaking of trees, here’s a nearby one…

Enjoying visiting family is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Connecticut. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY-IVORYTON STYLE

I grew up with Buddy Holly’s music, as well as Richie Valens, (La Bamba) and J.P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, (Chantilly Lace.)  A privilege is the only way I can describe getting to sit in a “live concert” with Buddy Holly and the others from the long gone past at the Ivoryton Playhouse in Ivoryton, Connecticut. “Whatta show!”  Gregg Hammer does a believable Holly and his backup musicians were amazing, especially the drummer. (It was unclear from the program who the drummer was. My only criticism.)
The Buddy Holly Story has been playing all around the country in various little theaters and my advice is get thee to one and see it. Well written and designed to showcase Holly’s short-lived musical career and personality. Pick a theater that can support good actors and musicians. That was the joy for  us last night in the historical, storied Ivoryton Playhouse.

The Playhouse will be celebrating its 100th year in 2011, an achievement of community support and pride for this summer theater.
We learned that Katharine Hepburn played here and many other notables were listed in Wikipedia, but not nearly the list we examined in the playhouse itself. Pictures and autographs of familiar and diverse talents such as Buddy Ebsen, June Allyson, Farley Granger, Shelly Winters, James Whitmore, Betty Davis, Phyllis Diller, Allan Alda and early greats before my time.
The theater holds 284 patrons, who file in from nearby towns and New York City. Its interior has been refurbished more than once, and boasts a great collection of elephants. (The ivory connection.) The spacious grounds with gazebo and plenty of ancient shade trees provides an outdoor arena for events. What a treasure this community has.

The lobby:

Stage and pictures around the walls.

The music from this show hit the walls and a standing dancing ovation capped the final scene. Much I didn’t know about Buddy Holly was revealed here and his potential was so great and unrealized that a mix of sadness follows you out the door despite an exciting evening.

The Ivoryton Playhouse and The Buddy Holly Story

Jim says:

Ivoryton is a small village in the town of Essex in Southeastern, Connecticut. Its current estimated population is 2805. My son has live in this town for 15 years and it’s where our motorhome is currently parked.

The major intersection of Ivoryton, Connecticut..

The Ivoryton Playhouse is a small professional theater located in the village of Ivoryton Connecticut. It produces shows year round, March through December.

The Ivoryton Playhouse today.

Since 1930 famous stars such as Katharine Hepburn, Cliff Robertson, Marlon Brando, Ethel Waters, Art Carney, Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Betty Grable, Groucho Marx, Myrna Loy, Gloria Swanson, Dorothy Lamour, Maureen O’Sullivan and many others have performed there.

Last night Mary and I went to see the Buddy Holly Story. It was very professionally done and a most enjoyable experience.

This photo is from the Ivoryton Playhouse Website.

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about Ivoryton…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivoryton

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about the Ivoryton Playhouse…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivoryton_Playhouse

Here’s the official Ivoryton Playhouse website link…
http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/

In other news…
Yesterday we also completed the transfer of data from Mary’s laptop to her notebook computer. The rest of the day was spent reading in the air-conditioned motorhome hiding from the hot temperatures and high humidity.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com