Sweet, funny The Littlefield Gazette Does Not End Today opens in Nashua
One by one, local newspapers are disappearing. Wedding announcements and grainy photos of youth sports once stuffed in envelopes and sent with pride to relatives now live online. Or worse, they’re forever gone. The lingua franca of small-town life, dropped on porches by middle schoolers on their bikes, is a fading memory.
That’s the world of The Littlefield Gazette Does Not End Today, the latest production from Nashua Theatre Guild, running April 24 through April 26 at the Janice B. Streeter Theater. Set at the company picnic of a 126-year-old paper in the Midwest, it’s a heartwarming look at coworkers doing their best to keep a looming demise from spoiling the fun.
Directed by Alex Slocum, the 2022 Don Zolidis play is less a commentary on independent journalism than a celebration of the spirit of one small group of people swimming against the tide to carry it on. In small vignettes, the ensemble cast share their fears and dreams, using the moment to both unburden and connect.
Sports reporter Tony (Mike Amichetti) and Kate (Danielle Chisholm), a human interest story writer, compare jobs and imagine life without them. At first dismissive, Tony praises Kate’s work. “Your human interest stories make me really interested,” he says. “You take the most boring people this town has ever produced and make them seem fascinating.”
Kate is less charitable to Tony’s beat, but he defends it with an observation that sums up what it means to lose community papers like the Gazette. Readers are “not going to go to Facebook to find out what happened,” he says. “Nobody’s sending a link to grandma to let them know how their kid did in the meet … that’s the thing that’s going to be missed the most.”
Linda (Sierra Jones), a farm reporter who bartends and remodels kitchens on the side, counsels Imani (Belle McLeod), a new ad sales rep who’s overseen a vanishing client list in her tenure. When she laments her failure to turn things around, Linda reassures her, saying, “I can’t even clean my bathroom in two months.”
For some, the event is a catalyst to confession. Throwing caution to the wind, feelings long buried surface for both young and old to inspire romantic overtures. One couple tentatively discusses a move from dating to the next level. There’s a pie contest with a twist ending — after all, it’s the Midwest.
The overall effect is wholesome, heartfelt and timely. For Alyson Galipeau, who plays publisher Gayle, the latter is what attracted her to the play. An at-large member of the Guild’s board, Galipeau also helped select The Littlefield Gazette Does Not End Today for production.
“I grew up getting the Nashua Telegraph in my house,” she said in a recent phone interview. “When it went to an online format and … employees got fired, my mom was really bummed out. I was bummed out, too. The parallels between worlds is what drew me in.”
Despite its solemn undertone, the play’s humor breaks through.
“Rehearsals have been going great, a lot of fun,” Galipeau said. “We crack up nonstop. Some of these characters are ridiculous, and we’re also screwing up our lines … between those two aspects, we laugh nonstop.”
Plays like this one and The Tin Woman, a tear-jerker done earlier in the season, are a big reason why the interest in Guild productions is growing.
“A lot of people are auditioning, and we are having to turn auditioners away for the first time in many years,” Galipeau said. “That tells me that there’s increased interest in theater and our plays, which I love.”
She believes the current effort, which runs for three performances, has wide appeal. “There is a little subplot for everyone in this play. You’ll be able to relate to at least one person; I think that’s important. If you can connect with your audience, then you have done your job as a writer and a director.”
The Littlefield Gazette Does Not End Today
When: Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m.
Where: Janice B Streeter Theater, 14 Court St., Nashua
Tickets: $18 and up, nashuatheatreguild.org
Featured photo: The Littlefield Gazette Does Not End Today. Courtesy photo.