The Turn of the Screw

I recently attended a production of "The Turn of the Screw" at the Stoneham Theatre. After my last post about Stoneham Theatre, I received the following email from Mary Curtin on behalf of Stoneham Theatre:

Hi Chatelaine,

First of all, I want to thank you for not only coming to "Gaslight", but also posting a thumbs up in your blog. That's so great!

The theatre would love for you to come join us again, along with a friend, as our guests.


I was thrilled that they saw my blogpost. I had seen the play "Gaslight" with my sister and we had given it two thumbs up. This time I wanted to see another thriller. I saw the ad in the theatre brochure and I knew "The Turn of the Screw" was the show I wanted to see. I was also given two passes by my friend Carolyn who ushers at the theatre so I invited my friend Debbi and her mother to join us. Debbi and her mom are avid theatre goers.

What drew me to this show? Set in Victorian England, a governess and two children, ghosts, and a strange handsome man! Come on, this is right up my alley. The photo in the ad of the man and the woman and the gorgeous house in the background was intriguing. Just perfect for someone who loves anything Victorian, British, and mysterious.

At the show's opening it was announced that the play was 80 minutes with no intermission and I thought I might be bored. A quick glance at my program showed just two actors listed as the cast members. Yikes, I thought, it was going to be a long night.

I am happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed this production. The set was as sparse as could be. Just a chair on stage and strands of white cord with lights resembling a web. Nothing to distract from the actors' performance.

Both of the actors were fabulous. The male character played numerous parts including the role of a ten year old boy. The change in his voice, the body movements and mannerisms made him totatally believable as he morphed into the uncle, the housekeeper, and the child. Oh, did I mention he was also the narrator?

The young woman was superb as the governess. She was so innocent at first and then gained strength when on a mission to protect the children from all the sinister goings on in the house. She was perfect for the role.

"The Turn of the Screw" was another winner for Stoneham Theatre. It's wonderful to have first class entertainment so close to home. I shall definitely return.

Shopping in Salem

I had a little time on my hands on Saturday so I decided to head north to Salem, Massachusetts and visit my favorite shop, Sophia's.



As you can see, the shop was named after Sophia Hawthorne, wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne. The shop is across the street from Salem's Hawthorne Hotel.



Shop owner Marie was not in but her cousin Melissa was and we had a nice conversation about the shop and the items they carry. They have amazingly beautiful displays throughout the shop. I appreciated the opportunity to photograph them.

These bottles hold dusting silk. Doesn't that sound luxurious? I absolutely love these bottles and thought they looked great as a grouping.



I do love bath products and these jars were lovely too. These would be pretty on a vanity.



More bottles, so pretty displayed in the window.



A decorated bird cage. According to Melissa, Marie loves birds and she has a lot of bird themed items in the shop. She had tassels made of antique salt shakers hanging from the cage. They were really cool. I did not get a shot of them, sorry!




What a sweet face on this doll.



What a wonderful work of art on this screen. It was stunning in person. I love those albums and scrapbooks in front of the screen.



Melissa told me the story of this hat. Marie made this hat for the President of Salem State College who was going to be in Ireland on St Patrick's Day for an important meeting. The woman wanted to portray Salem but with an Irish feel, Marie designed this hat for her.

Marie also designed witches hats for a bride and her bridesmaids. The bride was getting married on Halloween so she got a white witches hat and the bridesmaids wore black hats.



This shop is so elegant, chandeliers hang from an old tin ceiling.



I mentioned I love bath products. These soaps smelled heavenly and yes I bought one. The scent is blackberry and currant and it has a nice not too sweet fragrance. No wonder I was drawn to this, the soaps were displayed on a tiered tea server!



This display of fine writing papers included a teacup.



A very fashionable dress form. There were several decorated dress forms in the shop.



More pretty perfume bottles.



Alice in Wonderland looks out the window.



If there's a cat, you know I'm going to snap a photo of it.



Fabulous colors on the earrings and isn't that an interesting holder?



Ooh, la, la, love this one too!



After my shopping excursion, I headed home and got ready for the evening's activities.

Last night, my sister and I went to the Stoneham Theatre to see the production of Gaslight. Based on the 1944 movie of the same name, the play was about a Victorian husband who is trying to make his wife think she is going mad. The movie starred Ingrid Bergman. All of the actors in the play were excellent and the costumes and set design were wonderful. Most of the dialogue was between the husband and wife. I was impressed by the actors' ability to flawlessly deliver their lines. I know that's their job but there was so much dialogue between the two characters. They made it seem effortless.

I had a fun filled Saturday. I highly recommend a visit to Sophia's if you travel to Salem and when in Stoneham, check out the Stoneham Theatre. They put on some great productions.