“A Life in the Theatre”

Freeport Factory Stage, 5 Depot St., Freeport

By David Mamet, directed by Sally Wood

Featuring Will Rhys and Dustin Tucker

Tickets: $19 for adults, $15 for seniors and students. All Thursday performances are pay what you can; call 865-5505 or visit freeportfactory. com.

“Charlotte’s Web”

Portland Stage in the Studio Theater

Performed by A Company of Girls

Tickets: $5 at the door; 874-2107.

“A Cheever Evening”

Johnson Hall in Gardiner

By Open Book Players

Directed by Lucy Rioux

Gurney has adapted 17 of John Cheever’s funniest stories, in which he probes the affairs of that set of people (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) who once considered themselves to be in the majority but soon became aware that they were in the twilight of their power and at the mercy of a

changing world. Seen through the lens of A.R. Gurney’s dramatic sensibility, Cheever’s separate stories of a fragmented and lonely universe have been combined into a whole and resonant portrait — that of a culture which, while teetering on the brink of extinction, combats loss with humor, wit and feeling.

Tickets: $7 for general admission, $5 for students and seniors. This play contains mature language and themes; 441-3210 or [email protected].

“The Human Experience”

Lincoln Auditorium in

Roberts Learning Center on UMF campus

The story follows Molly (Samantha Ellis), Amy (Tiarra LaPierre), and Jennifer (Katie Tilton): three young, recently-deceased women preparing to enter the eternal afterlife. Before their final ascension, however, they are met by the gate-keeper Janus (Eric Buckhalter) who has one last task for them. In order to depart from humanity, the three must first come to fully appreciate it — by learning compassion for a few less-than-lovable mortals.

The two-act play is written and directed by Emily Pottle, a life-long Farmington resident and graduating UMF student.

Suggested donation: $5 donation per person at the door.

“Kate”

Mount Blue High School auditorium

By Mt. Blue High School

Adapted and directed by Dan Ryder

An original musical adaptation of “The Taming of the Shrew.” Kate takes Shakespeare’s story of an angry, bitter young woman targeted for marriage and “taming” and puts a modern spin on it — sort of. Set in 1930’s Franklin County, Kate introduces a young woman, Katherine Minola (Jennifer Hinds), more than a little frustrated by her mother, Baptista’s (Kerri Cooper) insistence that she be married before her more agreeable, charming and courted sister, Bianca (Paige Kincaid) may wed. Enter Petruchio (Noah LePage), just the sort of quick-witted, smooth-talking, empty-walleted man for the job. What follows is a madcap comedy of false impressions, mistaken identities, and general lunacy, leaving audiences thinking about being true to one’s self while finding satisfaction in the least likely of places.

Tickets cost $7 for adults, $4 for students/seniors. Tickets are available at Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers in Farmington; [email protected] or 778-3561.

“The 39 Steps”

Hallowell City Hall

Adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the movie by Alfred Hitchcock and the novel by John Buchan Directed by Lynette Miller.

A man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale.

Tickets: $12 for adults, $10 for students/seniors; 626-3698 or [email protected].

Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater

Hall-Dale High School, 97 Maple St., Hallowell

Fast-paced, energetic, universally engaging and theatrically clever, Garbo mesmerizes audience members of all ages with imaginative imagery and artistic foolishness. Laugh, gasp, be amazed.

Tickets: $19 for adults, $16 for Johnson Hall members, $10 for children younger than 14.

“The Perils of Long Term Care” by Michael Kimball, directed by Lee Kerr and featuring Lee Kerr and Julie Barrett.

The program will be April 13 and 14 and will begin at 7:30.

Admission is free, donations are accepted; 626-3698