New Fashioned Barn Raising
The 120-year-old Harvey barn in Ardentowne, long ago renovated as a theater, is in need of help. The main stage of the New Candlelight Theatre needs to be replaced, and that, of course, costs money. You can help by attending “Another Openin’, Another Show” Sept. 27-29, when 40 performers will re-create the best Broadway openings in Candlelight history, including “Grease,” “Chicago,” “Footloose,” “Oklahoma.” “A Chorus Line,” “Hairspray” and “42nd Street.” You’ll watch them sing and dance on a 75-year-old stage that slopes so obviously, “A lot of the audience members think the scenery is crooked,” says development chair Peter Briccotto. The wooden structure has suffered a lot of wear and tear over the years, Briccotto says. “Another Openin’” is the first in a series of events, to be announced in the next couple of weeks, to help raise $300,000 for the project, which includes other updates to the theater. For those who have never been, the theater is an icon. The barn was made into The Robin Hood Theatre in the 1930s and operated as a summer stock theater until the mid-1960s. In 1969 volunteers renovated the place yet again, then opened it as Candlelight Music Dinner Theatre, Delaware’s first dinner theater. For 31 years it produced five shows a year, nurtured the talents of luminaries such as Tony Award-winning choreographer Susan Stroman and film star Bruce Willis.

In November 2003, Bob and Jody Anderson Miller acquired the theater and a major renovation began in December. The Millers and a team of volunteers
spent almost two months improving the barn, then reopened as New Candlelight Theatre in February 2004. In 2006 the not-for-profit New Candlelight Productions was formed.
 The Millers turned over management to the nonprofit in 2010. It now owns the building and operation. You can keep it glowing by seeing “Another Openin’,” but the season is packed with great shows. NCT will present its beautiful and touching “Christmas by Candlelight” from 2012, but with some new surprises. It runs Nov. 15-Dec. 22. It gets better from there. 475-2313, www.ncstage.org
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Sept. 19 | |
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Every night is family night when food, music, dancing and entertainment fill the Wilmington Riverfront. Now that’s a reason to polka. The five-day Polish Festival continues… More |
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Enjoy a three-course Food and Flora progressive dinner as you stroll the beautiful grounds of the Delaware Center for Horticulture in Wilmington. Gardens never tasted so good… More |
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Farmers plus chefs equal fun. Hit the Farmer and the Chef to enjoy outstanding local foods prepared by outstanding local chefs at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. You’ll help the March of Dimes… More |
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Beer is good. Art is good. Together? Double good. Sip and learn the creative process behind Dogfish Head bottle labels during Art for Labels at the Mispillion Art League in Milford… More |
Sept. 20 | |
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It’s time for authentic German foods and beverages, dancers, music, amusement rides and games when Oktoberfest begins at the Delaware Saengerbund on Salem Church Road in Newark… More - Partner Content -
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What do you get when you mix a Hitchcock masterpiece, a juicy spy novel and a bit of Monty Python? The fast-paced whodunit called “The 39 Steps.” It opens at Chapel Street Playhouse in Newark tonight… More |
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Comedian John Pinette is hungry for your laughs. The food-obsessed comedian delivers smart, original, observations on everyday life, inspired by a guy named Bill Cosby, at the DuPont Theatre in Wilmington… More |
Sept. 21-22 | |
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Femfolio at the Delaware Art Museum examines important works of the feminist art movement of the 1970s. You go… More |
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Art lovers, see Goya up close in Goya’s War: Los Desastres de la Guerra at the Old College Gallery of the University of Delaware… More |
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The Fifer Fall Fest at the famed orchard in Wyoming features a corn maze, hayrides, pumpkin picking and more family fun than you can imagine… More - Advertisement -
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There is no better place to be than the exquisite Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square to watch Autumn’s Colors emerge… More |
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