Director Doug Lockwood
Stage Manager Tareena Wimbish*
Costume Designer Molly Trainer**
Lighting Designer Russ Swift**
Set Designer Michael Griggs**
Props Master Thomas Rash
Production Assistant Joseph Fanning

“…likable comedy drama…mordantly witty dialogue…these two auld acquiantances should never be forgot.”  –Don Aucoin, The Boston Globe

“Play blends comedy, drama and mystery in one entertaining package!”  – Mark Sardella, The Wakefield Item

“A strikingly original humorous thriller…Snee is a pure delight…Plum is fascinating” -Sally Applegate, Wicked Local

By Nicole S. Colson | Sentinel Staff | June 21, 2012 (excerpts of review)
A dark and stormy New Year’s Eve. A knock on a lonely widow’s door. She knows him, but he doesn’t know her. She’s called him there for a favor on the most significant night of her life.

So begins Jack Neary’s “Auld Lang Syne,” part mystery, part drama and big part comedy, the first production of the 2012 season at Peterborough Players. The play opened Wednesday night to a half-full theater. Adding to the excitement was that it was a world premiere, and the production’s Boston playwright was sitting in the audience.

But what can be revealed is although Joe and Mary’s interactions are entertaining, the play deals with many serious themes — life and death, heaven and hell — but in such a way that you can’t help but sit back and enjoy the ride — until the ball drops in Times Square.

By Dave Chivers | New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA | www.newcenturytheatre.org | July 2012
With “Auld Lang Syne,” New Century Theatre co-founder Jack Neary has written a witty, engaging, thoughtful play that provides for a delightful evening of theatre.

The play receives a workmanlike performance from its two actors, Anne Scurria as the solidly Catholic, middle class Mary and Barry Press as Joe LeCedra a two-bit mobster with hopes of becoming something more. Before being brought together on New Years’ Eve for a purpose that is slowly revealed, their only previous connection in life had been as elementary schoolmates some fifty years before.

The play begins with a rat-a-tat opening that seems right out of the best of Abbott and Costello, with silly wordplay and misunderstood double meanings. But under Neary’s sure writing this eventually evolves into something more—an unexpected, but not out of place, exploration of questions such as the relative merits of Heaven and Hell, the existence of God, and what makes life worth living—or not.

NYPD Blue Emmy-award winning actor Gordon Clapp stars in this world premiere as Joe LaCedra, a shady character with unsavory intentions.

Peterborough Players Wins 7 New Hampshire Theatre Awards
The Peterborough Players took home seven awards at the 11th annual New Hampshire Theatre Awards ceremony held on January 26th at Pinkerton Academy’s Stockbridge Theatre in Derry. Auld Lang Syne, a world premiere production, won five awards as follows: Best Production Drama/Comedy; Best Director Drama/Comedy (Gus Kaikkonen), Best Original Playwright (Jack Neary); Best Actor in a Drama/Comedy (Gordon Clapp), and Best Actress in a Drama/Comedy (Kathy Manfre from Peterborough). The 39 Steps took home two awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama/Comedy (Kraig Swartz) and Best Sound Designer (Benjamin Marcum).

In addition to its wins, the Peterborough Players was also a top three finalist in seven categories for The Admirable Crichton, in five categories for The 39 Steps and one category for Auld Lang Syne.

The Peterborough Players, a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization, has been providing professional theatre to audiences since 1933. Peterborough Players, PO Box 118, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458, (603) 924-9344, www.peterboroughplayers.org.