Winni Playhouse brings 'Israel Potter' to stage for first time

Mike Newman (Israel Potter) during tech rehearsal for “The Almost True and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter, American Patriot” at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse Tuesday afternoon. (Karen Bobotas/for the Laconia Daily Sun)

By ADAM DRAPCHO, LACONIA DAILY SUN

MEREDITH — It's a rarity for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse to produce a play that hadn't yet been performed in New Hampshire. This week, the Playhouse has the honor of performing a script that has never been staged, anywhere: "The Almost True and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter, American Patriot," debuted this week and is being performed through Aug. 13.

"Israel Potter," written by Joe Bravaco and Larry Rosler, is based on Herman Melville's novel, "Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile," which itself is loosely based on an autobiographical pamphlet that a man named Israel Potter published in 1824. Potter, born in 1754, had an extraordinary life that allowed him to witness the birth of the United States of America and brought him into contact with several well-known people from that era. Melville added a few other notable encounters to Potter's autobiography, and Bravaco and Rosler have further fictionalized the story to weave in more icons and events. The result is a rollicking, humorous, adventurous story that delights audience members as much as it enlightens them as to the characters and events of the nation's founding, all seen through the telling of one man's life story.

And, it's never been staged before.

"It's exciting in that way, to have the first bite of the apple. Exciting, frustrating, scary," said Matt Cahoon, who is directing the production.

The play, which takes about two hours, divided by an intermission, is family-friendly material that will include new historical insights for all audience members, whether they are amateur historians or just beginning to learn about the American Revolution.

The cast includes six actors, who play 40 roles. Cahoon and Neil Pankhurst, artistic director for the Playhouse and producer of "Israel Potter," said it's uniquely challenging to be the first playhouse to stage a script; there's no example to learn from.

"You get to work out how to do everything the first time. Sometimes playwrights write something that works in their brain, but doesn't work on the stage," said Pankhurst. He and Cahoon have spend months in contact with the play's authors, exchanging notes and making changes. One scene, and one character, have been trimmed from the original script, and more music – all period-appropriate songs – has been added.

And there may be further changes, especially once the Playhouse team can gather impressions from ticket holders.

"The response that the audience is giving is going to be fed back into the work, will be fed back to the writers," said Pankhurst. Audience members, he continued, "They get to have a real say in how the show is developed."

"If audiences want to come see a fun, sing-ey, comedy, adventure story, we have everything they want in this show," said Pankhurst. Ultimately, he hopes the show will take on a life on its own and begin productions elsewhere, such as New York City.

He added, with a smile, "The people that come see it here will see it before it gets really expensive."

Israel Potter (Mike Newman) with the Frenchmen (James Hesse and Nicholas Wilder) during tech rehearsal for “The Almost True and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter, American Patriot” at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse on Tuesday afternoon. (Karen Bobotas/for the Laconia Daily Sun)