NORWAY — Maine author and playwright Monica Wood spoke to a sold out crowd after the Saturday night performance of her play “Papermaker” at Norway Grange #45.

“This is where this play is meant to be performed,” she said, after being welcomed to the stage by the plays director, Julie Middleton, and the cast of Papermaker. “In western Maine and in a grange hall!”

Wood’s play is based on her novel, “Ernie’s Ark,” which was published in 2002. “The themes of talking across the table are as relevant today,” Wood commented at the talk-back. Middleton added, “I wanted to bring this play to Norway because I thought it would appeal to folks interested in Maine history, but also to anyone interested in theater because it is a beautiful play mostly about family.”

Members of Saturday’s audience included OHMPAA supporters as well as a large contingent of papermakers and mill families from surrounding areas, and the board of the Livermore Falls Paper and Heritage Museum.

Jenny Adams, producer and president of the OHMPAA Advisory said, “Interest in the play has been strong all along, from sponsors and advertisers as well as volunteers. Attendance for the opening weekend was outstanding, with folks traveling from Rumford and Jay, as well as Kennebunk, Biddeford and Saco.

“Papermaker” is set in a fictional Maine paper mill town during a strike in 1989. A union family is struggling in the third month of the strike when the paper company CEO and his daughter unexpectedly show up on their doorstep. There is pressure on all sides but the fully realized characters and a dose of humor fill the play with nostalgia and emotion.

There are four more performances of Papermaker, June 27-30. Tickets are on sale at The Tribune in Norway (in person only) or online at brownpapertickets.com.

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