Pick your own pumpkins and apples, find adventure in a corn maze and raise a glass to Oktoberfest

Bushel and a peck

Where to pick your own apples

“We raise over 100 varieties of apple this year,” said Tim Bassett of Gould Hill Farm in Contoocook, “though not all of them are for pick-your-own, of course. We started picking in late July for fruit for the store, and we’ll go right through the first or second week of November with fruit. … We open [to the public] the weekend before Labor Day with some earlier varieties like Colorado and Zestar.”

He said picking usually runs until around mid October. “[I]t also depends on if we get picked out or not, we can keep going later. So there’s been some years we’ve been allowing people to pick right up till Halloween time.”

Bassett said that this year there are 21 varities for picking. He said apple picking at his farm makes for a particularly good day out for a family. “It has to do with our location,” he said. “We’re [unusual] that we’re set up on a ridge, so we have an 80-mile view, right to the White Mountains. So on nice clear days you’re looking up toward Mt. Lafayette, over to Mt. Washington and Mt. Chocorua. It’s a really pretty spot that we have; we’re very lucky in that. We also — besides apple picking and cider doughnuts, and cider, and all our baked goods — we also have a hard cider tasting room and restaurant. We make all the hard ciders right here with our own apples. So people can go pick apples and eat their doughnuts and then head right down to our tasting room.”

“Our tasting room and restaurant are open year-round,” Bassett said, “but only on weekends. And we will close our farm at Christmas, and close the farm store, and we won’t open again until we get pick-your-own blueberries in July.”

PYO apples

Here are some farms offering pick your own apples, according to their websites and social media (many of which also idenitify the kinds of apples offered). Call ahead or go online before heading out to make sure that your favorite apple is being picked that day. Know of an orchard we left out? Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com.

• Apple Hill Farm (580 Mountain Road, Concord, 224-8862, applehillfarmnh.com) Hours: Open seven days 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The picking season ends the day before Thanksgiving. “We have Pick-Your-Own apples! We are currently picking Macs, Cortland, Gala, Jonagold, Fuji and Snow Sweet apples, with many other varieties at the farmstand,” the website said.

• Appleview Orchard (1266 Upper City Road, Pittsfield, 435-3553, applevieworchard.com) Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; PYO apples last picking is 5 p.m. Apple varieties typically available in October include Brock, Cortland, Crimson Crisp, Crimson Topaz, Empire, Fuji, Ginger Gold, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Macoun, McIntosh, Mollie’s Delicious, and Red Delicious.

• Brookdale Fruit Farm (41 Broad St., Hollis, 465-2240, brookdalefruitfarm.com) Hours: Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last entrance to the orchard is 30 minutes before closing. The website claims “30+ apple varieties throughout the fall!”Apple varieties typically available in October include McIntosh, Cortland, Ruby Mac, Jonamac, Gala, Mutsu, Rising Sun Fuji, Amarillo Soul and many others. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Picking.)

• Carter Hill Orchard (73 Carter Hill Road, Concord, 225-2625, carterhillapples.com) Hours: Open seven days, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The farmstand sells farm-raise fruit and vegetables, baked goods, and hot cider doughnuts. Apple varieties usually available in October include Braeburn, Crispin, Gibson Golden, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp and Mutsu.

• Currier Orchards (9 Peaslee Road, Merrimack, 881-8864, currierorchards.com) Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is a farm stand with seasonal baked goods, cider doughnuts and other farm products. Apple varieties at Currier include McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Macoun, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Empire, Cortland, Gala, Jonastar, and Liberty.

• DeMeritt Hill Farm (20 Orchard Way, Lee, 868-2111, demeritthillfarm.com) Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is a farm bakery, a farm store, hay rides and recreational trails. Apple varieties grown at DeMerrit that are usually ready in October include Spencer, Jonathan, Honeycrisp, Red Cameo, Autumn Gala, Jonagold, Mutsu, Red Delicious, Shizuka, Ida Red and Pink Lady. (See this farm’s listing in Pumpkin Picking.)

• Gould Hill Farm (656 Gould Hill Road, Contoocook, 746-3811, gouldhillfarm.com) Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gould Hill Farm grows more than 100 varieties of apples, though only a few are available to pick yourself. According to the Farm’s website, apples currently available to pick yourself are Cortland, Gala, Honeycrisp, Kearsarge and McIntosh.

• Hackleboro Orchard (61 Orchard Road, Canterbury, 783-4248) Hours: Open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find them on Facebook.

• Hazelton Orchards (280 Derry Road, Chester, 490-9921, hazeltonorchards.com) Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bagged apples are available during the week at the farm store. From the Orchards’ website: “Our family has been growing apples here in Chester since 1898. Some of our trees are over a century old and still producing! We have twelve varieties of apples available in our U-pick orchard or at our farm stand.”

• Lull Farm (615 Route 13, Milford, 673-3119, livefreeandfarm.com) Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Apple varieties include McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Spencer, Mutzu, Yellow Delicious, and Red Delicious. (See this farm’s listing in Pumpkin Picking.)

• Mack’s Apples (230 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, 434-7619, macksapples.com) Hours: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Call the Apple Hotline for picking conditions and varieties at 432-3456. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Picking.)

• Maple Gate Farm and Vineyard (183 Amherst Road, Merrimack, 759-9174, maplegatefarmandvineyard.com) Hours: Open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. According to the Farm’s website, you should expect “crisp apples [of] many varieties].”

• McLeod Orchards (735 N. River Road, Milford, mcleodorchards.com) Hours: Open weekdays, 1 to 5:30 p.m., weekends and holidays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Apple varieties usually available in October include Mutsu, Jonagold and Roxbury Russets. Check the Orchards’ Facebook page for updates throughout the season at facebook.com/McLeodOrchards.

• McQuesten Farm (330 Charles Bancroft Hwy, Litchfield, 424-9268, facebook.com/McQuesten.Farm) Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (See this farm’s listing in Pumpkin Picking.)

• Meadow Ledge Farm (612 Route 219, Loudon, 789-5860, meadowledgefarm.com) Hours: Open every day, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pick-Your-Own varieties of apples typically available in October include Jonathan, Ozark Gold, Empire, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Hampshire, Ida Red, Jonagold, Mutsu, Smokehouse, Wolf River, and Baldwin. Other varieties are available bagged in the farm store.

• Stone Mountain Farm (522 Laconia Road, Belmont, 731-2493, stonemtnfarm.com) Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The farm stand sells apples, pumpkins, winter squash, gourds, corn stalks and maple syrup. The website says, “Our PYO orchard has more than 45 varieties of apples” and varieties that are typically ready at this time of year include Macoun, Empire, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Golden Russet and others.

• Sunnycrest Farm (59 High Range Road, Londonderry, 432-7753, sunnycrestfarmnh.com) Hours: Open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Apple varieties include Cortland, MacIntosh, Honeycrisp and Mutsu. “Be sure to call the hotline to see what we are picking fresh today!,” the website says. That hotline is 432-9652. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Picking.)

• Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard (66 Mason Road, Greenville, 878-2101, washburnswindyhillorchard.com) Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Apple varieties include Cortland, Macoun, Red Delicious and others. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Picking.)

Be kind to the apples
Some orchards have a no-pets policy, and some allow pets but only in certain areas or not in the orchard itself. “Please clean up after your dog” is a common sentiment. Check an orchard’s website or socials for their policies.
Pretty much all the orchards have a “Please do not climb the trees” policy and would appreciate it if visitors make sure not to litter. PYO visitors should only pick in designated areas, no matter how enticing the apples on the other side of the fence appear. Generally, children should be accompanied by adults, no one should throw fruit, and no drones are allowed.
As the Mack’s Apples website puts it, “Thank you for being respectful of our hard work!”

Puzzle in corn

Corn mazes offer added fun during a visit to the farm

According to Alicia Trombly, for most New England farms it’s not enough to just grow stuff. Look at almost any area farm during the fall, she said.

“We have a corn maze. We have a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. On the weekends in October we have hay rides and a cow train going — it’s barrels we turn into cows, and they’re pulled by a lawn mower. Some of the kids have to go on it; it’s wicked cute.”

Trombly and her family own Trombly Gardens in Milford, a small family farm that, like most family farms in the Northeast, wouldn’t be sustainable without bringing in visitors. Entertaining visitors is a way to make a go of it, she said. “It’s something that [my husband] Sean and I do together that we love. and we love the new ideas, and we love the feedback from our customers and the new people that find us and you know every kind of little new idea. We go to an agritainment convention every year, and we usually come back with some idea to add.”

One of the most popular of these new farm activities is the corn maze. Farmers will grow densely planted plots of feed corn, then mow paths and mazes through the giant corn plants. Visitors pay enthusiastically for the opportunity to compete against each other, finding their way through the mazes.

“We have one corn maze,” Trombly said, “which is open from when [the farm] opens in the morning until dusk. Starting at the end of September, every weekend, we have what’s called the Dark Woods, which is a haunted trail on the other side of the farm, and when that’s going we offer our corn maze to go through at night.” It is very popular with teenagers, Trombly said. “The cost is $9 a person, but we encourage people to bring one unexpired canned good, and we will take $1 off. At the end of October we donate all that to our local food bank.”

Where to corn maze

Here are some of the area corn mazes. Call before you go to make sure the maze is open that day as availability can change based on weather and other factors. Know of a maze not mentioned here? Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com.

• Applecrest Farm Orchards (133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, 926-3721, applecrest.com) Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost: $10 per person and free for ages 5 and under. This 8-acre corn field features a maze of twists and turns that typically remains open through Halloween or early November depending on weather conditions. Applecrest, which features pick your own apples, also hosts a fall festival every weekend through October with live music, tractor rides and food for sale, according to the website.

• Beans & Greens Farm (245 Intervale Road, Gilford, 293-2853, beansandgreensfarm.com) Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $9. On its website, Beans & Greens announced that it has partnered this year with Mayhem Productions (facebook.com/mayhemNH) “for a haunting experience that will bring thrills and chills every Friday and Saturday night throughout October, plus a special night on Halloween.” Guests can still enjoy the corn maze during daylight hours.

• Beech Hill Farm & Ice Cream Barn (107 Beech Hill Road, Hopkinton, 223-0828, beechhillfarm.com) Hours: Daily, noon to half an hour before dusk. Cost: $7 per person and free for kids ages 3 and under. Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn has two 4-acre corn mazes, and $7 gives you access to both. This year’s themes are “Yellowstone – A National Park Scavenger Hunt” and “Where in the World? – a unique corn maze trivia challenge.” Maze-goers search for signs with clues in a scavenger hunt style. Complete the puzzles to navigate through. The mazes are open daily through Oct. 31. In addition to the ice cream and homemade waffle cones, Beech Hill offers pumpkins, mums and more in its Gardener’s Barn.

• Brookdale Fruit Farm (41 Broad St., Hollis, 465-2240, brookdalefruitfarm.com) Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $5 per person, which includes a hayride. The corn maze is among several family-friendly activities that will be available at Brookdale Fruit Farm this fall, along with hayrides and apple picking. The farm also features an ice cream stand and a wide variety of local products in its farm stand, including the farm’s own honey, canned vegetables and jellies and more, according to the website.

• Brookford Farm (250 West Road, Canterbury, brookfordfarm.com, 742- 4084) Corn maze hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission costs $5 for everyone 3 and over through September, $8 beginning Oct. 3, according to the website. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or on the farm’s website. The weekend of Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, and Oct. 10 through Oct. 12, is Pumpkins and Piggies, where visitors are encouraged to pick pumpkins, meet piggies, and try Pumpkin Chuck-a-Chunk — feed the pigs while they help mow down the sunflower fields. Build your own scarecrow, watch the daily cow parade, and ride around the farm on a tractor shuttle.

• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia, visitthefarm.com) has a children’s corn maze “[p]erfectly sized for little explorers,” according to the website. The farm will hold its annual Pumpkin Festival Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 10, through Monday, Oct. 12, followed by Children’s Trick or Treat Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 17-18 and Oct. 24-25 as well as Halloween, Oct. 31, according to the website where you can pick an entry time and purchase tickets.

• Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road, Lee, 659-3572, nhcornmaze.com) Hours: Monday, Thursday and Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entrance is at 4:30 p.m.). Columbus Day hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $10 for adults, $8 for kids ages 5 to 12 and for students, seniors and active military service members, and free for kids ages 4 and under. This year’s theme is chipmunks. The corn maze is open until 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday, as well as two evenings, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Visit nhcornmaze.com.

• J&F Farms (124 Chester Road, Derry, 437-0535, jandffarmsnh.com) The theme of the 4-acre corn maze in October will be Halloween. The cost is $10 per person. “Our corn maze is grown using field corn. Field corn is not edible to humans. However, it makes excellent cow feed. When the maze closes on Halloween, the entire cornstalk is harvested for feed!” the website said. Visit jandffarmsnh.com/corn-maze.

• Mack’s Apples (230 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, 432- 3456, macksapples.com) Corn maze is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays Mack’s also has weekend Bee Train rides from noon to 5 p.m. and hayrides around the orchard from 1 to 5 p.m.

• Moulton Farm (18 Quarry Road, Meredith, 279-3915, moultonfarm.com) According to the Farm’s website, “In addition to our 4-acre corn maze, enjoy our sunflower field, PYO pumpkin patch, and, on select weekends, free wagon rides and live music. Our maze opens at 8 a.m. The last admission is one hour before our farm closes. Admission costs are $12 per person, with a special rate of $6 for each child age 3 to 6. Children under 3 are free.”

• Riverview Farm (141 River Road, Plainfield, 298-8519, riverviewnh.com) Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. through 5:30 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday. Riverview Farm has a new maze designer this year, according to its website, “and he is hard at work getting new characters designed and painted as well as a new story all focused around cryptids of New England. The maze is $8/person, ages 4 and under are free. For a spooky experience, visit our maze the weekend of Halloween from 7 to 9 p.m., when it becomes haunted! The haunted maze is a fundraiser for the Lebanon High School and Middle School Nordic Ski Teams and all proceeds go to them. Come with a flashlight but please leave your costumes at home.” The Farm Store is open through October, offering doughnuts, cider, jams, honey and more; visitors can bring a packed lunch to eat at the picnic tables on the lawn.

• Sunfox Farm (Gully Hill Road, Concord, 244-9888, sunfoxfarm.org) Hours: Open Thursday through Sunday throughout October, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. General admission to the farm is free. Corn maze wristbands, pumpkins, food and drinks are purchased separately. There will be two fall festival weekends, featuring live local music, artisan vendors, food trucks, games, and even more seasonal fun: Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Spooky Season Weekend, Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be two special 21+ evening events: Cocktails and Cornstalks, Friday, Oct. 9, 6:30 to 9 p.m., and Boos and Brews, Saturday, Oct. 24, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Cocktails & Cornstalks and Boos & Brews are separately ticketed 21+ events.

• Sunnycrest Farm (59 High Range Road, Londonderry, 432-7753, sunnycrestfarmnh.com) Hours: The 5-acre corn maze is open through Oct. 31, Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A farm store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, with fresh apples, peaches, nectarines and plums, as well as local produce, milk, honey, jams, syrup, pies and ice cream. Colbie’s Cones is open daily from noon to 8 p.m. selling homemade ice cream and soft serve.

• Trombly Gardens (150 N. River Road, Milford, 673-0647, tromblygardens.com) Hours: Daily, from 9 a.m. to dusk. Cost: $9 per person and free for kids ages 3 and under. Bringing in a canned good will result in $1 off entry (one can per person) and the item will be donated to a local food bank. Visitors can also “grab an ice cream and visit the animals while you are here,” according to a recent Facebook post from the Gardens. Starting in October on Friday and Saturday there will be a night maze whose times vary based on the schedule of The Dark Woods (thedarkwoodsnh.com), which is a haunted trail on the other side of the farm, through Halloween.

• Washburn’s Windy Hill (orchard 66 Mason Road, Greenville, 878-2101, washburnswindyhillorchard.com) Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost: $5 per person and free for kids ages 3 and under. The 5-acre corn maze at Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard is open daily, rain or shine, through October. Visitors can visit farm animals and browse the gift shop; there are picnic tables and a play area for children. Much of the maze is accessible to wheelchairs and strollers.

A maze! A maze! A maze!
Corn mazes have rules. For instance, at Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard, “Rule #1 is Have Fun!,” says the website, but also no running, no smoking or open flames, no breaking the cornstalks, and children age 12 and under must be attended by a guardian.
Check the rules at the corn maze you’re going to before you head out.
Corn mazes may be wheelchair-accessible or not, to varying degrees, depending on the landscape.

Oktoberfest!

Celebrating fall brews

Oktoberfest is a state of mind, says Anthony Caruso, general manager at Henniker Brewing Co.

“The idea of Oktoberfest is about getting together, having a bunch of fun, drinking some great beers and being with people and partying,” he said. He said Henniker Brewing’s Oktoberfest, Oct. 2 through Oct. 4, is about finding that state of mind. “We could get an oompah band and try to be German, but we’re not [German]. The music is heavily influenced by everyone getting together in a beer garden outside, listening to music. It just happens to be music from around here — our favorite local bands. It’s not like we’re pretending like we’re in Germany. It’s kind of like our New Hampshire version of Oktoberfest.”

That isn’t to say that there won’t be anything German at this Oktoberfest.

“We have different food trucks every day,” Caruso said. “So Friday’s Stacy’s Grill. Saturday’s Blue Nose Pitmasters, which is a barbecue truck, and then Teenie Wienies is here on Sunday. They usually do an Oktoberfest menu as well. And on top of that, on Saturday we typically do some stein-hoisting and we also have a traditional clothing contest because there are people who like to dress up.”

And of course there will be German-style beers, he said. “Obviously, we’re serving our Oktoberfest, which is a Marzen. And we have a couple other German beers too, like the Kolsch, that’s Northern German.”

There is another beer tradition from Munich’s Oktoberfest that Henniker Brewing has adopted, Caruso said. In some of the locations, “they drink out of a barrel of beer in a beer garden, which is pretty cool. When I went to Munich I did that at Hofbrauhaus. So our version of that is where we have a cask and we tap that as a kind of ceremonial tapping on Saturday. This is the third year we’ve held our Oktoberfest, and the first year, we had our owner Dave do it. Last year, our newest member did it. I think this year, the head brewer wants to do it. We open the tap, and everyone has cups, and they’re in a line. We never let [the beer] stop flowing, and everybody holds up their cups.”

“It’s like the sort of stuff that they do in Germany,” Caruso said, “but kind of our own version of it.”

Oktoberfests & fall brew fests

Here are some area brew and Oktoberfests. Did we miss your favorite marzen and festbier? Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com.

• The Henniker Brewing Co. (129 Centervale Road, Henniker, 428-3579, hennikerbrewing.com) will celebrate Oktoberfest Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct 4, with food from Stacy’s Grill, Bluenose Pitmasters, and Teenie Wienies, and live music from Rubik’s Muse, Hammy Sagar, Speedtrap, The Bullzeye Band, Northern Lites, and Beechwood. An online poster for the event implies that “Bier!” will have a strong presence. Visit hennikerbrewing.com/elementor-2375/taproom-events.

• Barley House Restaurant and Tavern (132 N. Main St., Concord, 228-6363, thebarleyhouse.com) will celebrate Oktoberfest Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 11. From the Barley House website: “… enjoy the festive atmosphere of our indoor Barley Haus Biergarten, Bavarian beer, and a special menu of homemade German-inspired favorites, including Schnitzel, NH-made Bratwurst Sausage Farmer’s Plate, the Über Burger, and Kaiser Dog.” Visit thebarleyhouse.com/events/go-to-munich-without-the-flight.

• 603 Brewery and Beer Hall (42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com) will host Fall Fest 2026 Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 8 p.m. According to the 603 website, this is “Southern New Hampshire’s biggest Fall Fest.” There will be live music, DJs, food and vendors in attendance. Visit 603brewery.com/event-details/fall-fest-2026.

• The 14th annual Powder Keg Beer & Chili Festival arrives in downtown Exeter on Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 4 p.m. at Swasey Parkway. VIP admission is at noon; general admission starts at 1 p.m. All tickets include beer and chili samples and live entertainment. Visit powderkegbeerfest.com.

• Post & Beam Brewing (40 Grove St., Peterborough, 784-5361, postandbeambrewery.com) will hold an Oktoberfest celebration Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 9 p.m. From the Post & Beam website: “We’ll be pouring our festbier, Cardigan on one Lukr faucet, and a new release lager on the other. And just like last year, we’ll be pulling our other eight beers and giving those lines to lagers brewed across the state by some of our favorite breweries. When they kick, they kick, so come early! And of course, Blackfire will be making special Oktoberfest-themed food for the occasion.” Visit postandbeambrewery.com/events-1/2026/10/3/oktoberfest-2026.

• According to posts on social media, KC’s Rib Shack (837 Second St., Manchester, 627-7427, ribshack.net) will hold its annual Oktoberfest Sunday, Oct. 4, from noon to 6 p.m. Activities and raffles of gift baskets from local businesses will raise money for the Manchester Animal Shelter. There will be traditional beer-hoisting, a Bavarian-themed costume contest, festive german foods, brats, and cold beers on tap served on the patio

• Feathered Friend Brewing (231 S. Main St., Concord, 715-2347, featheredfriendbrewing.com) will put on its annual Rocktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 10, from noon to 10 p.m. According to Feathered Friend’s website, the festivities will include beer steins, stein-holding competition, hammerschlagen, sausage swinging games, awards for best dressed, food specials, and live rock music from four bands. Visit featheredfriendbrewing.com/monthly-events.

• Sunstone Brewing, 298 Rockingham Road in Londonderry, will hold its Oktoberfest Renaissance Faire Weekend Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11, according to a post on its Facebook page. “Our Oktoberfest Renaissance Faire Weekend is bringing local artisans & vendors, full-armor medieval knight duels, Oktoberfest food specials, live music, ridiculously fun competitions, games, and plenty more shenanigans all weekend long to Londonderry,” according to the post, which also mentioned Oktoberfest and Pumpking of the North beer. See sunstonebrewing.com.

• Loon Mountain Resort (60 Loon Mountain Road, Lincoln, 745-8111, loonmtn.com) will play host to the White Mountain Oktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 10, through Monday, Oct. 12. Sponsored by Sam Adams Brewing, this three-day event will feature beer, beer workshops, axe-throwing, face painting, live music, live chainsaw wood carving, and animal exhibits. Visit loonmtn.com/events/oktoberfest.

• Mactoberfest will take place Saturday, Oct. 17, from noon to 8:30 p.m. at McIntyre Ski Area, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester, 622-6159, according to mcintyreskiarea.com. The event is hosted by Miller Lite and Sam Adams Oktoberfest, according to McIntyre’s Facebook page. “Hosted in partnership with the Manchester Fire Department, Mactoberfest is a fundraising event benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA),” the website said. The event includes food trucks, games, live music, keg toss and more, the Facebook page said.

• Mountain Base Brewery (553 Mast Road, No. 111, Goffstown, 935-7132, mountainbasebrewery.com) and The Worker Bee Fund (workerbeefund.org) will host the 5th Annual Mount Uncanoonuc Brewfest on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Shaw’s Plaza at 533 Mast Road, Goffstown. All ticketed attendees receive a 5-ounce branded taster for unlimited tastings (designated drivers excluded), and there will be food vendors and live music as well as a stein-hoisting competition, cornhole and axe throwing. This event is 21+. Visit events.beerfests.com/e/mount-uncanoonuc-brewfest.

• The Oktoberfest + Ski & Snowboard Sale will take place Sunday, Nov. 1, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pats Peak in Henniker, according to patspeak.com. The Oktoberfest will feature German food offerings available for purchase, a Sam Adams German beer garden, live music by the Bavarian Brothers Band, kids activities, axe throwing and more, the website said.

O’zapft is!
According to Wikipedia, the official start to Munich’s Oktoberfest happens when the Mayor of Munich taps the first wooden beer barrel at noon on the opening day. As soon the tap is pounded in with a wooden mallet, the mayor traditionally shouts, “O’zapft is!” [“It is tapped!”], then 12 gunshots are fired outside, and the crowd traditionally cries out, “Oans, zwoa, drei, g’suffa!” [“One, two, three, drink!”], at which point Oktoberfest officially starts.

Pick your own pumpkins

Where to find a patch

Visiting a farm, especially with young children, and searching through a field for just the right pumpkin is a way for families to feel connected with the land, with the soil, said Greg Pollock.

Pollock and his wife, Amber, own Sunfox Farm in Concord.

“We’ve gone to numerous pick-your-own pumpkin patches,” he said, “and what we’re trying to do is to keep a sense of adventure as part of it. We’ve gone to some [other farms] in the past where you show up and it’s just an open mowed field with a bunch of pumpkins spread out. You can tell they weren’t really grown right there. So we’re trying to keep that actual pick-your-own-right-out-of-the-pumpkin-patch aspect and adventure alive.”

The Pollocks like to offer visitors a choice of pumpkins. “[Visitors] can grab a wagon and head out into the pumpkin patch and choose the ones they like, and bring them back, and we’ll weigh them up for them. We have multiple varieties [of pumpkins], some small, some white, some medium-sized and large carving pumpkins as well. Some of them are even warty — unusual varieties that you can get really creative with.”

Pollock’s advice for picking the best pumpkins is to make use of the natural shape of a pumpkin. “What I always do,” he said, “is sort of have a design in mind and then I kind of find the pumpkin that will fit that design so that I can use the characteristics of the pumpkin for that design.” He said he’s seen people get really creative with non-standard pumpkins. “The warts on the warty varieties are good for that, too.”

Pollock said they’ll be open Thursday through Sunday for all of October. “And then we do have two bigger weekends on Columbus Day weekend and then the weekend before Halloween, where we have live music all day and vendors and food trucks and all that sort of thing. So that’ll be on those weekends. This is our first year doing [pumpkins and a corn maze]. We’re excited and hope for the best. We’re planning a number of interactive puzzles to go into the corn maze to point you in the right direction. We have kind of a scavenger hunt where you need to find all the hidden scarecrows that we’re going to have in there. If you do and take a selfie with those, you’ll be able to get entered into a drawing that we’ll be having every Monday.”

PYO pumpkins

Here are some area farms that let you pick your own pumpkin from the patch, according to their websites and social media. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know at adiaz

• Applecrest Farm Orchards (133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, 926-3721, applecrest.com) Hours: Open daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. According to the Farm’s website, you can expect “acres and acres of big orange fun. Minis (kids love ’em), Sugar Pumpkins (great for pies) and traditional old jack-o’-lanterns. Sold by-the-pound.” There are fruits and vegetables available in season, as well as cider, “made-from-scratch confectioneries (including our famous hot cider donuts) and an array of other locally produced farm goods.”

• Brookford Farm (250 West Road, Canterbury, 742-4084, brookfordfarm.com) Hours: daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Join a mailing list on the Farm’s website to be notified of what is in season. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes.)

• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia, visitthefarm.com) will hold its annual Pumpkin Festival Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 10, through Monday, Oct. 12, where “[y]our kids will love searching for the perfect pumpkin in our expansive pumpkin patch,” according to the website where you can pick an entry time and purchase tickets.

• DeMeritt Hill Farm (20 Orchard Way, Lee, 868-2111, demeritthillfarm.com) Hours: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Farm’s website advises pumpkin pickers to expect “Orange, White, Big, Little and every size in between, we grow them here. Each fall, our 3 pumpkin patches start to overflow with a sea of orange. We offer pumpkins for PYO or they can be picked out at the farm store. Have you seen the ‘Pumpkin Alley’ within Haunted Overload yet? Each October, we host a pumpkin carving contest and the winners get to display their jack-o’-lanterns in ‘Pumpkin Alley’ during Haunted Overload. Dates will be posted for the carving contest when they become available.”

• Devriendt Farm Products (47 Story Road, Goffstown, 497-2793, devriendtfarm.com) Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends only. Tractor rides are available to the pumpkin field. Last entry is at 4:30 p.m. The last day for picking pumpkins will be Sunday, Oct. 25.

• Lavoies Farm (172 Nartoff Road, Hollis, 882-0072, lavoiesfarm.wordpress.com) Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pumpkin varieties include sugar pumpkins, jack-o’-lantern pumpkins, white pumpkins, princess pumpkins and small decorative pumpkins.

• Lull Farm (615 Route 13, Milford, 673-3119, livefreeandfarm.com) Hours: Open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit livefreeandfarm.com/pick-your-own.html for information about what is available to pick on a given day. Fresh-baked bread, pastries, farm-raised beef, pork and chicken are also available at the Farm’s seasonal farm store.

• Mack’s Apples (230 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, 434-7619, macksapples.com) Hours: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to the orchard’s website, “Mack’s Apples is the largest Pick-Your-Own destination in New Hampshire, with many different U-Pick stations. You’ll want to drive between each one and the main farm stand. Watch for the signs and maps at each one to know which are open for picking and how to get there.” PYO pumpkins will continue until November.

• McQuesten Farm (330 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, 424-9268, facebook.com/McQuesten.Farm) Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tractor rides are available to the pumpkin patch at this ninth-generation farm.

• Sunfox Farm (Gully Hill Road, Concord, 244-9888, sunfoxfarm.org) Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes.)

• Sunnycrest Farm (59 High Range Road, Londonderry, 432-7753, sunnycrestfarmnh.com) Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes.)

• Trombly Gardens (150 N. River Road, Milford, 673-0647, tromblygardens.com) Hours: Open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes.)

• Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard (66 Mason Road, Greenville, 878-2101, washburnswindyhillorchard.com) Hours: Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. From the Orchard’s website: “Thousands of pumpkins to choose over several acres in our mud-free hayfield! We provide wagons for transporting your perfect pumpkins. Carving pumpkins must be weighed in at our farm stand and are sold by weight. A large variety of carving pumpkins, sugar pumpkins, and ornamentals.” (See this farm’s listing in Corn Mazes.)

Pretty, pretty pumpkins
These pumpkin patches are on private property, not public parks. Picking pumpkins is one thing, but procuring pictures is another, and some proprietors explicitly prohibit portrait photography without permission and possibly payment. Mack’s Apples, on its Visitor Guidelines page, says, “Do not move crates, bins, pumpkins, equipment, and other farm stuff around to stage a photo.” Your chosen patch’s policies are probably posted online; call or check the website if you’re curious.

Find Shakespeare at a brewery, spooky tales, murder mysteries, updated classics and more theater this season

By Michael Witthaus
mwitthaus@hippopress.com

From Fiddler on the Roof to Blithe Spirit, Sister Act and Seussical, the fall theater season has lots of familiar notes. Look closer, though, and there’s a twist. Horror movie musicals, gourmet dining with Poe as a palate cleanser, murder mystery meals, an international tragedy recast for its basic humanity — all are there.

Moreover, these shows are happening in unexpected places, like Tupelo Music Hall, best known for classic rockers and standup comics, but also a hub for the nomadic Lend Me A Theatre company. A musical version of Stephen King’s high school bloodbath Carrie will be performed in an actual gymnasium, a nice touch.

That’s not to say opera houses, glittering theaters, arts centers and playhouses aren’t in on the action. They are, but they’re balanced by offbeat, inventive venues like a historic house in Portsmouth and a former pop-up lemonade stand that’s now a brick and mortar dry bar, not to mention a winery. Here’s a rundown of upcoming performances, grouped thematically.

‘Immersive experiences’

Theatre Kapow is well known for blurring the line between cast and audience in its provocative productions, and an upcoming evening of dinner theater is no different. Attendees should dress up and perhaps wear a mask, but most of all come hungry.

On Oct. 23 the Concord company takes over Gnomies, the dry bar that now occupies the former home of Area 23, for an evening built around four Edgar Allan Poe poems and three of his stories, woven through a menu designed by master chef Susan Reidel.

It’s the first time Theatre Kapow has collaborated on an experience like this, which began with a conversation between Reidel and the company’s artistic director, Carrie Cahoon, a few months ago. “My dream is to have these immersive experiences with food and performance,” Reidel told her.

Recalled Cahoon, “One of us said, ‘Oh, what about Edgar Allan Poe?’ I realized that’s perfect.”

The roughly two-and-a-half-hour evening will have actors performing from all four corners of the room as the meal unfolds in courses. Cahoon, who is directing but not performing, has spent weeks living inside Poe’s language before rehearsals even start.

“It’s just such a wonderful physical experience to say it,” she said. “It’s so expressive and so powerful, and really does set this macabre, creepy, dark tone.” The stories, she’s quick to note, aren’t relentlessly grim — Poe’s social satire gets room to breathe, even as, true to form, almost nobody survives to the final course.

The masquerade element was Reidel’s idea, and Cahoon quickly embraced it.

“That brings you into it in a whole other way and really helps create the mood,” she said. It’s not a haunted-house jump-scare kind of dark, she’s careful to add, but something more elegant — a “dark night” with “a storm coming.”

The language is more American than most people assume; Poe, despite his gothic reputation, was born in Boston. It’s a great way to pull audiences out of their seats and into the room and, timed to Halloween, it’s a one-night experiment that could easily become a tradition.

Here are more shows in this vein:

• As Time Goes By

The Players’ Ring ( Players’ Ring Theatre, 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth) Tickets: $33 at playersring.org. When: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Sunday, Oct. 11. A blend of retro nostalgia, mad-science time travel, and comic chaos that mashes up Leave It to Beaver, Back to the Future and Groundhog Day through looping timelines, baffled lovers, cosmic frustration and surrendering to the inevitable. Written by G. Matthew Gaskell, directed by Jamie Bradley.

• Majestic in Wonderland

Majestic Theatre (Majestic Studio Theatre, 880 Page St., Manchester) Tickets: $25 per person, $45 per couple, at majestictheatre.net. When: Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. 21st Annual Auction & Performance Fundraiser, with the company’s Adult, Teen, & Youth actors performing along with the Ted Herbert Music School Faculty & Students and special guests. Silent auction prizes include tickets and passes to art and cultural venues, electronics, gift baskets, dining gift certificates, art and more. Special themed raffles, and refreshments each evening.

• Soap Opera (Episode 5)

New Hampshire Theatre Project (West End Studio Theatre, 959 Islington St., Portsmouth)When: Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. Tickets: $20 at portsmouthnhtickets.com. A monthly episodic improv series centers on the Beaver family dynasty and their maple syrup matriarchy. Identical twin sisters are inheriting the business from their grandmother and aunt, who are also identical twins. Questions entertained in the free-wheeling show include whether to modernize or stick with tradition, i.e., should they “boldly go beyond just breakfast,” plus the mystery of the Great Pancake Social of 1987.

• A Victorian Frightful

New Hampshire Theatre Project (Langdon House, 959 Islington St., No. 3, Portsmouth) When: Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m. Tickets: $35 and up at nhtheatreproject.com. Eerie songs and stories inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu are performed in a historic mansion by storyteller Diane Edgecomb, Genevieve Aichele, Kathleen Somssich and musical storyteller Tom Megan. An interactive presentation explores the Victorians’ deep interest in death along with their fascination with tarot, fortune-telling and spiritualism, with seasonal historical refreshments served, such as soul cakes and mulled cider. Guests are encouraged to dress in Gothic Victorian attire.

• Masque & Macabre: Edgar Allan Poe

Theatre Kapow (Gnomies, 254 N State St., Unit H, Concord) When: Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. Tickets: $135 (includes dinner) at tkapow.com. An intimate evening of candlelight, live theater, beautiful food and a touch of the macabre. Over the course of approximately three hours, Poe’s stories and poetry will unfold around diners experiencing an elegant five-course dinner inspired by his dark and unforgettable works.

• The Edgar Allan Poe Afterlife Radio Show

Winni Players Community Theatre (Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith) When: Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m.Tickets: $18 at winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org. A live, old-time-radio-style show conjuring the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe for a Halloween-week broadcast built from his stories and poems. Writers: Patrick Greene & Jason Pizzarello.

Murder most delicious

Sometime during a sumptuous meal, someone is going to die, and it’s up to a well-fed audience to find the killer. That’s the pitch behind an interactive murder mystery dinner theater staged by Lend Me A Theater, a fun-loving troupe marking its 11th production season this fall with Occupation: Murder!

The game-show-themed whodunit by Billy St. Jean, in which a TV quiz show sponsor turns up dead and nine lucky audience members get pulled onstage as contestants, happens at Tupelo Music Hall in Derry on Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, with a dessert-only version the following two weekends at YWCA New Hampshire in Manchester.

Kat Abdelwahid plays Broadway diva Julia Warren in the production and more than inhabits her role.

“You are in character that whole time and you do not break it; that’s who you are,” the company’s co-founder said in a recent Zoom interview. Actors mingle table to table during dinner and again at intermission, scouting for volunteers who are up for a turn in the spotlight.

The company grew out of a shared production of Lend Me a Tenor, when a few theater friends realized their traditional fixed-seating home venue couldn’t support the kind of roaming, audience-in-the-room show they wanted to build. Three months later they were a registered nonprofit.

Eleven years on, Lend Me A Theater has never operated in the red, has hauled its own set trailer as far as Maine’s Cliff House and Cape Cod, and recently found a semi-permanent home base at the Manchester YWCA after a decade as a fully nomadic troupe.

Dinner, death and deduction is a formula other companies are running with their own twists this fall, like the seasonal offerings at LaBelle Winery and Majestic Theatre. But for a group that started with a folding table and a borrowed hall, Occupation: Murder! is proof the schtick still has lots of life, and suspects, left in it.

More murderous merriment:

• Occupation: Murder!

Lend Me A Theater (Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry) When: Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, Tickets: $25 show only, $60 with dinner, at tupelohall.com.

Occupation: Murder! – Dessert only: Lend Me A Theater (YWCA New Hampshire, 72 Concord St., Manchester)When: Saturdays, Oct. 10 and Oct. 17, and Sundays, Oct. 11 and Oct. 18. Tickets: $25 at lendmeatheater.org.

Interactive murder mystery dinner theater set in a television studio; audience members help solve the crime. Presented by Lend Me a Theater. Director: Ben Mahon. Two ticket options, with or without an autumn-themed buffet meal.

• Monster Mash Murder Mystery Dinner Party LaBelle Winery (LaBelle Winery, 345 Route 101, Amherst). When: Sunday, Oct. 18, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $84 per person including dinner at labellewinery.com. The evening’s premise has famed director Alfred Z Hitchdick filming scenes for a horror blockbuster where Wednesday Addams meets the Universal classic monsters Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein and Invisible Man, with the real monster potentially a hidden murderer amongst them. Professional actors help diners enjoying a three-course menu unravel clues and challenge their detective skills.

• Much Ado About Murder

Majestic Theatre (Majestic Studio Theatre, 880 Page St., Manchester) When: Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2 and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $15-$20 at majestictheatre.net. Interactive murder mystery comedy with the audience voting on a killer’s identity at intermission via secret ballot. The victim is Carlton Larraby, whose life was filled with macabre little surprises for his family. His final joke is a Shakespeare-themed Halloween costume party that he sadly won’t live to enjoy, with the audience learning about the murder before the play’s characters. Writer: Pat Cook. Director: Becky Rush.

Halloween spirit

Manchester Community Theatre Players is already leaning into the season with a run of The Addams Family. But its second Halloween-timed offering this fall is a different animal entirely, and it comes with a promise, courtesy of co-director Amanda Morgan: “There will be blood.”

Carrie: The Musical is based on the Stephen King novel and Brian De Palma movie. Its first iteration is famous as one of Broadway’s most legendary flops, but it found new life in a darker, more psychologically grounded 2012 revision, though it’s still a deep cut for most theater fans.

MCTP’s production of it runs Oct. 23 through Nov. 1 at North End Montessori School, the same weekend a second area production of the show opens in Newmarket — but that one doesn’t have a real school gym. Morgan, who is both directing and music-directing, has wanted to tackle the show since she discovered it in college.

“I was always just a super fan of Halloween and all the fall-type activities, and I thought it was really cool that someone had made a horror movie into a musical,” she said in a Zoom interview, while describing having the chance to direct it as a dream project.

The musical stars a tight 18-and-up cast of 16, chosen over two days of auditions and including an intimacy coordinator, Jen Stearns, to safely stage the show’s more sensitive scenes. MCTP Artistic Director Margaret Tello co-directs the show with Morgan.

Morgan is aiming for a blend of tragedy, horror and dark comedy that honors both the campy 1988 flop and the leaner, bullying-focused 2012 rewrite, with enough fidelity to satisfy die-hard fans of the movie, along with enough new material to surprise them. “We’re trying our best to marry the two together,” she said.

The technical flourishes will be impressive, as lighting designer Josh Benham and a live pit will work in tight sync with sound design to simulate the show’s violence safely, an approach Morgan credits partly to the recent immersive stage production of Paranormal Activity as inspiration.

“It’s going to be a really acutely technically orchestrated experience,” Morgan said. With a run that stretches through Halloween weekend, Carrie: The Musical arrives at a moment when the work is enjoying a broader pop-culture resurgence, with an eight-episode streaming adaptation premiering Oct. 7 on Amazon Prime.

Rest assured as well that the infamous bucket of pig’s blood is very much part of the plan. So come for the nostalgia, stay for the gore. And enjoy a few more seasonally appropriate shows:

• Ride the Cyclone

Cue Zero Theatre Company (Arts Academy of New Hampshire, 19 Keewaydin Drive #4, Salem)When: Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $20 at cztheatre.com. In this cult-favorite, dark-comedy musical, a group of teenagers killed in a roller-coaster accident compete in the afterlife for a chance at reincarnation, with music, book and lyrics written by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. Directed by Darren Bernard, with Music Director Nate Faro.

• Evil Dead The Musical

Seacoast Repertory Theatre (Seacoast Repertory Theatre, 125 Bow St., Portsmouth) When: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Nov. 8. Tickets: $47 and up at seacoastrep.org. Campy, gory musical comedy adaptation of the Evil Dead film franchise, following five college students whose cabin weekend unleashes demonic forces. Book & Lyrics: George Reinblatt. Music: Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris & George Reinblatt. Director: Kate Sheridan.

• Carrie: The Musical

Manchester Community Theatre Players (North End Montessori School, 698 Beech St., Manchester) When: Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 1. Tickets: $15-$20 at manchestercommunitytheatre.com. Musical adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a bullied telekinetic teenager whose prom-night humiliation triggers a bloody reckoning. Music: Michael Gore. Lyrics: Dean Pitchford. Book: Lawrence D. Cohen. Director & Music Director: Amanda Morgan. Co-directed by Margaret W. Tello.

• Carrie: The Musical

Millspace Mainstage & Jonesing for Theatre (Newmarket Millspace, 55 Main St., Newmarket) When: Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 1 (including Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m.). Tickets: $25 at portsmouthnhtickets.com. Another adaptation of the King novel, directed by Kat Mail.

Many musicals

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it’s worth remembering that the day produced more than tragedy.

It also put a Newfoundland town of 9,000 in the spotlight, as it opened its homes to thousands of stranded strangers when 38 planes were diverted there. That’s the story of Come From Away, the Tony-nominated musical directed by Betsey Cox-Buteau that Community Players of Concord is bringing to the stage.

It’s an unusual show to direct, Cox-Buteau noted in a recent phone interview.

“It’s an ensemble piece, where everyone’s part is essentially equal,” she said. “There’s no particular star, but everybody is on stage for pretty much the entire show.”

An hour and 45 minutes long, it opens with the attacks and never lets the audience look away, but also never lets them forget what came next.

“It brings you into a space during that time, or in the days afterwards … where things were remarkably humane and good,” she continued. “It’s a marvelous story of community, and kindness.”

Before the first table read, Cox-Buteau gathered the cast, a dozen actors each tasked with multiple roles, around a table. She availed everyone, herself included, to describe where they were that fateful morning. The answers ranged widely.

“Some were just gleams in their mother’s eyes, and some of us were older,” she said. A Navy member who was serving in Southern California at the time “got to work and there was war, [while] I was a principal of an elementary school, K-8, and my reaction was to shut the school down.”

The exercise provided a shared foundation to tackle a script based on real people from the town of Gander. Some characters are straight portrayals, from the town’s mayor to the first female American Airlines pilot, grounded mid-flight. Others, like a couple who met on a diverted plane and later married, are composites.

With a Celtic score anchored by a pulsing bodhran drum, Come From Away has its cast singing and moving in near-constant rhythm. What it leaves audiences with, Cox-Buteau said, isn’t despair. “People will come away from this crying, for the most part, but full of happiness and their gratefulness for the kindness of strangers.”

Come From Away is one of many musicals on tap this season.

• The Addams Family

Manchester Community Theatre Players (North End Montessori School, Manchester) When: Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $15-$20 at manchestercommunitytheatre.com. Clash of offbeat family and conventional in-laws to be, as daughter Wednesday brings home the “normal” boy she wants to marry to her parents Gomez and Morticia, based on Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons. Director: Margaret Tello. Music Director: Christie Conticchio. Choreographer: Kayla Williams.

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Dine In Productions (Newmarket Millspace, 55 Main St., Newmarket) When: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Friday, Sept. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 4. Tickets: $25 at portsmouthnhtickets.com. Genre-stretching musical tells a story of love, identity and survival through storytelling and powerful music, “a celebration of self-expression and resilience; loud, vulnerable and deeply human.” An intimate production brings the show up close, as Hedwig navigates fame, heartbreak and her search for wholeness.

• Sister Act

Palace Theatre (Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester) When: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Oct. 4. Tickets: $45-$54 at palacetheatre.org. Based on the movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. A disco diva (Cathy McKay) witnesses a mob murder. Hiding in a convent, she transforms the ragged choir of nuns into a sensation. Music: Alan Menken. Lyrics: Glenn Slater. Book: Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner (additional book material: Douglas Carter Beane).

• Green Day’s American Idiot

Seacoast Repertory Theatre (Seacoast Repertory Theatre, 125 Bow St., Portsmouth) When: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Sept. 27. Tickets: $47 and up at seacoastrep.org. With the Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album as a starting point, this musical is both political rage and straight-up punk rock. This high-octane show includes every song from Green Day’s American Idiot as well as several songs from its follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown.

• Seussical the Musical

ROH Presents (Rochester Opera House, 31 Wakefield St., Rochester) When: Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Nov. 8, Wednesday through Sunday, various times. Tickets: $32-$36 at rochesteroperahouse.org. A mashup of Dr. Seuss stories centered on Horton the Elephant, working to protect the minions of Whoville despite a skeptical jungle. Music: Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, co-conceived with Barry Moss.

• The Commedia Pinocchio

Winnipesaukee Playhouse (Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith) When: Saturdays, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. Tickets: $16-$22 at winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org. Professional Theatre for Young Audiences presents a commedia dell’arte-style, entirely a cappella musical retelling of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, published by Pioneer Drama Service. By Lane Riosley with music by Aven Stephenson.

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Windham Actors Guild (Windham High School Theater, 64 London Bridge Road, Windham) When: Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $22 at windhamactorsguild.com. Musical based on Roald Dahl’s story of Charlie Bucket, who wins a golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. Book: David Greig. Music & Lyrics: Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman. Director: Paul Conway (Music Director: Michael Shaw; Choreographer: Caleb Anderson.

• Fiddler on the Roof

Palace Theatre (Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester) When: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m., through Oct. 4. Tickets: $45-$54 at palacetheatre.org. Tony winner about a poor milkman and his five daughters. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, he tries to protect his daughters and instill in them traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia. Written by Jerome Robbins and Harold Prince.

• The Wedding Singer

Actorsingers (Keefe Center for the Arts, 117 Elm St., Nashua). When: Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $25 at actorsingers.org. Musical based on the Adam Sandler film about an ’80s wedding-band singer who falls for a waitress engaged to the wrong guy. Book: Chad Beguelin & Tim Herlihy. Music: Matthew Sklar. Lyrics: Chad Beguelin. Director: MaryEllen Stevenson. Music Director: Jessica Love. Choreographer: Valerie Psoinos Nelson.

• Irving Berlin’s White Christmas

Winni Players Community Theatre (Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith) When: Thursday, Nov. 19, through Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov 21, and Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $17-$25 at winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org. Stage musical based on the 1954 film built around Irving Berlin standards: Two WWII Army buddies turned song-and-dance men help save a struggling Vermont inn. Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin. Book: David Ives & Paul Blake.

• Come From Away

Community Players of Concord (Concord Civic Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord) When: Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $22 adults, $20 students and seniors at communityplayersofconcord.org. True story of Gander, Newfoundland, whose residents welcomed thousands of air travelers diverted there on Sept. 11, 2001. Book, Music & Lyrics: Irene Sankoff & David Hein. Director: Betsey Cox-Buteau.

Character driven

Finally, there are shows that are all about the actors, like Kate Hammill’s Emma, which Nashua Theatre Guild will stage Oct. 2 through Oct. 4 at the Janice B. Streeter Theatre. NTG’s Alyson Galipeau described the play, directed by Vicky Sandlin, as a period comedy that will strike a chord with fans of Bridgerton.

It’s centered around the antics of lead character Emma Woodhouse, who decides to make matchmaking her pet project and arranges a series of events to that end.

“However, her plot backfires, resulting in outcomes that will make the audience laugh,” Galipeau wrote in an email. “While she is busy trying to set other people up, she fails to notice that her own match has been in front of her the entire time.”

Here are more stage productions to enjoy:

• Night Watch

Garrison Players Arts Center (Garrison Players Arts Center, 449 Roberts Road, Rollinsford) When: Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., Oct. 2 through Oct. 17. Tickets: $18 and up at garrisonplayers.org. A woman (Sarah Kuhn) in her Manhattan apartment is haunted by the horrific memory of her first husband’s affair and death, both of which she discovered at the same time in this psychological thriller. She glimpses what appears to be a murdered body in the building across the way, but no one believes her. Writer: Lucille Fletcher. Director: Judi Currie

• Emma

Nashua Theatre Guild (Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St., Nashua) When: Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 4, at 4:30 p.m. Tickets: $20 at nashuatheatreguild.org. Stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s comedy of manners about a well-meaning matchmaker whose meddling in her friends’ love lives keeps backfiring. A fresh feminist take on a treasured classic, this Emma breaks down convention, expectation, and even the fourth wall with vibrant comic flair. Director: Vicky Sandin.

• Looking Glass Land – Misadventures of a Girl Named Alice

Community Players of Concord (Concord Civic Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord) When: Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $15 at communityplayersofconcord.org. James DeVita’s take on Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, this adaptation highlights and improvises on the pure, unadulterated fun of the story while retaining some of Carroll’s deeper meaning, but mostly it’s pure silliness. All the familiar characters are there, and some new ones, like a baseball team, a rap group, a train conductor and star-struck tourists. Director: Karen Braz.

• Queens

Pinkerton Players (Stockbridge Theatre, 44 N. Main St. (Pinkerton Academy), Derry) When: Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $5-$15 at pinkertonacademy.org. King Henry VIII is trapped in purgatory, bound to his throne by a Fool and the ghostly Women in White, forced to relive his transgressions against his six queens, his mistresses and the people of the court for eternity as punishment. Writer: Kristen Doherty.

• The Sound Inside

New Hampshire Theatre Project (West End Studio Theatre, 959 Islington St., Portsmouth) When: Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Nov. 1, Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $30-$33 at portsmouthnhtickets.com. A solitary creative-writing professor’s carefully guarded routine is upended when a student reveals a devastating secret, in this Tony-nominated two-hander. Writer: Adam Rapp. Director: Constance Witman.

• And Then There Were None

The Players’ Ring ( Players’ Ring Theatre, 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth) When: Oct. 23 through Nov. 15, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (Oct. 31, 2 p.m. only; Nov. 1, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.)Tickets: $33 at playersring.org. “A masterfully constructed thriller packed with shocking twists, mounting suspense, and one of the most famous endings in theater history,” as 10 strangers lured to an isolated island are murdered one by one in Agatha Christie’s best-selling mystery. Director: Jamie Bradley.

• An Empty Sky

The Players’ Ring (Players’ Ring Theatre, 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth, playersring.org/) When: Tuesday, Oct 27, at 6:30 p.m. Staged reading of a play depicting a love relationship “struggling to blossom in a time of political strangeness nearly devoid of hope” centered in a small New England church, as a disgraced clergywoman and a Jewish piano tuner build a fragile haven. Written by Joshua Faigen. Directed by Leslie Pasternack.

• Crimes of the Heart

Bedford Off Broadway (Bedford Old Town Hall, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford) When: Friday, Nov. 6, through Sunday, Nov. 15. Tickets: $12-$15 at bedfordoffbroadway.com. Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy about three estranged sisters who reunite in Mississippi after the youngest shoots her abusive husband. Writer: Beth Henley. Directed by Deb Lund and stage managed by Pat Napolitano.

• A Wrinkle in Time

Winnipesaukee Playhouse Education Dept. (Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith) When: Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $16-$22 at winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org. Stage adaptation performed by students ages 8-18 of Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery-winning novel, in which Meg Murry, her brother and their friend travel through time and space to rescue her scientist father from an evil force.

• Blithe Spirit

Cue Zero Theatre Company (Arts Academy of New Hampshire, 19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, Salem) When: Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. Tickets: $10 at cztheatre.com. Noel Coward comedy about a novelist’s dead first wife who’s accidentally conjured up by an eccentric medium and proceeds to haunt his second marriage, presented by Arts Academy of New Hampshire.

Lend me your beers

Bar Shakespeare in Manchester

At Stark Brewing Co. on Monday, Oct. 19, it will be possible to order a pint and enjoy a Shakespeare play. That’s the idea behind Shakesbeer, a bar-reading series from Stage of Fools Theatre Company. It began with a back room staging of Much Ado About Nothing on Sept. 21 and continues with Julius Caesar.

Stage of Fools founder and artistic director Glenn Provost describes the format as loose by design, with actors carrying scripts as they weave among the tables and let the play spill into the crowd.

“It’s a little bit improvisational because we only have two rehearsals, one of which is going to be over Zoom and then the other one is in person,” Provost said. The big beats are blocked, but everything else is looser, as actors feel out the room in real time.

The concept wasn’t invented from scratch. Provost points to Seven Stages Shakespeare Company, which ran the similar ShakesBEERience in Portsmouth for many years, as a direct inspiration. He got the blessing from its former executive director Christine Penny, now at the Dance Hall in Kittery, to carry the idea forward.

He’s also performed twice with VanGuard Shakespeare, a comparable series in Salem, Mass. Provost has run companies before like Strangers at Home Theatre Company and Bolt Cutter Productions, but he said those were built as vehicles for two-person dramatic shows.

Stage of Fools is the opposite instinct: an ensemble built to grow. Nine actors make up the Much Ado cast, with nine or 10 expected for each of the next two shows; Provost estimates the company will work with more than 50 actors by the end of its first season.

That season runs monthly through fall and into spring, with Julius Caesar on Oct. 19, Henry IV on Nov. 16, then a winter break before Romeo & Juliet returns Feb. 8 with a “gender-crossed” Valentine’s Day spin, The Winter’s Tale on March 8 and The Comedy of Errors closing things out April 12.

Every (free) show is one night only, at Stark Brewing Co., 500 N. Commercial St., Manchester, 6 p.m. — Michael Witthaus

Featured photo: Quinn Spiewak at Bar Shakespeare. Courtesy photo.