HARRISON — The Deertrees Theatre Festival, a tradition for more than a decade at the rustic arts center in the Lakes Region, has a new emphasis this summer.

Taking center stage will be lighthearted musical entertainment rather than the dramatic and literary fare presented in years past by the theater celebrating its 75th anniversary this summer.

In its heyday, noted producer Bela Blau would import a complete play, including cast, from New York each week during an eight-week season, according to the Deertrees website. Talullah Bankhead and Dame Mae Whittey are two stars who appeared on the Deertrees stage, where Rudy Vallee made his dramatic debut.

However, it’s noted, “The era of ‘summer stock’ died as Americans discovered television and vacation habits changed. … Many of the original Summer Straw Hat Circuit theatres offered musical entertainment. So in lieu of our standard drama offerings, this year we are going to let the rafters ring with songs.”

As usual, the festival features four plays, starting with “The Bikinis,” a musical beach party of sorts, which ran Aug. 3-7.

Now showing, through Aug. 14, is “Burt & Me,” featuring music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David. “Monsters! The Musical,” a mid-life story that captures the humor, agony and insight experienced at life’s milestones, will play Aug. 17-21.

The final production, “Breakfast with Mary,” an eccentric comedy revolving around a group of friends who reconnect at a birthday getaway, will run Aug. 24-28.

‘Burt & Me’

In “Burt & Me,” by Larry McKenna, Joe Madson and Lacey Turner share two common interests when they meet in high school: basketball and music by Burt Bacharach. However, when they go to different colleges, their history can not overcome their geography. The two separate only to meet years later when Joe plots an elaborate scheme to win her back — with the music of Bacharach and David playing a big part.

Featured in this romantic musical comedy are such classic songs as “What the World Needs Now,” “Walk On By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “This Guy’s In Love with You,” “The Look of Love” and “I Say A Little Prayer for You.”

“Burt & Me” will be presented at 8 p.m. on Aug. 10-13 and at 2 p.m. on Aug. 14. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students.

‘Monsters! the Musical’

“Monsters! the Musical,” by Gail Phaneuf and Ernie Lijoi, is set in Samantha’s Manhattan apartment. Her mother pays a visit to celebrate her 40th birthday, when Samantha reveals she plans to quit her Wall Street job and head for soul-searching adventure in Machu Picchu. Her mother desperately tries to convince Samantha to do the practical thing. Samantha insists she is resolved to strike a new path at 40, but her mother’s words stir up a toxic blend of old insecurities embodied by monsters familiar to us, including apathy and fear.

“Monsters! The Musical” will be presented at 8 p.m. on Aug. 17-20 and at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students.

‘Breakfast with Mary’

“Breakfast with Mary,” also by Gail Phaneuf, takes place at a weekend birthday celebration at a bed and breakfast. The group of friends is tossed into the tumultuous realm of a sage but declining innkeeper in a remote New England town. Through a humorous and surprising turn of events, they find themselves immersed in ghostly intrigue and mystery, testing their perceptions of honesty, family and loss, and of one another. Before they get out, they will each have to face ghosts — Mary’s and their own.

“Breakfast with Mary” will be staged at 8 p.m. on Aug. 24-27 and at 2 p.m. on Aug. 28. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students.

Phaneuf, an award-winning playwright from Boston, has ties to the Harrison area. A Maine summer resident since age 5, her family camped at Long Lake Shores for 10 years before settling into a permanent summer home on Crystal Lake, where they still gather from across the country. Her first regional theater experience was at Deertrees Theatre, where she saw a production of “Vanities” as a teenager.

“My own family is as far flung as Texas, Minnesota and Hawaii. There has always been something mystical drawing us all back to the front porch in Harrison, Maine,” Phaneuf said. “As a kid, I thought everyone went to Maine. Everyone.”

Establishing a new definition of family on the set of “Breakfast With Mary” was Phaneuf’s creative inspiration. “Families are redefined today compared to years past. They’re created out of close bonds, friendships. The importance remains,” she said. “‘Breakfast With Mary’ demonstrates how families can be created through strong relationship bonds, and can be just as permanent as their bloodline counterparts.”

“In this play, the lead character Mary recreates her family from a group of strangers, because it is integral to her survival. Her fear of being alone is something everyone can relate to,” Phaneuf said.

Deertrees Theatre is on Dawes Hill Road. For tickets, call 583-6747; visit Bridgton Books in Bridgton, Country Sleigh in Naples or Books N Things in Norway; or log on to www.deertreestheatre.org.

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