Cumberland’s Homebrewed Theatre staging new outdoor production
CUMBERLAND – The characters of “Daughters With Daggers 2: The Lion and the Bull” face the double-edged sword of thrill and terror as their next journey commences.
In the Homebrewed Theatre Company’s debut of its original show Aug. 5, the Bellemer pirate family is brought together and closer than ever as they stand against their enemy – Mary Reed, played by Ts Burnham.
Picking up where last year’s first installment left off, the Bellemer sisters, Jeanne, Heloise, and Marie, portrayed by Jean-Marie Neave, Rachel Beth Beauregard, and Alexandria Hassan, respectively, received a letter from their mother who was believed to be dead.
However, their mother, Anne DieuLe-Veut, played by Crystal Weeks, is very much alive and will be united with her family once more.
Though this play is the sequel in what is set to be a trilogy, each play stands on its own and can be enjoyed without prior knowledge of the series.
The play will be performed August 11 – 13 and 18 – 20 at 7:30 p.m. each night. The stage is located on Stone-ELea Golf Course in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
The performance takes place on an outdoor stage with a run time of approximately two hours, including a 15-minute intermission. Tickets are $15 each and can be purchased at the event or online at homebrewedtheatre. com.
The outdoor stage at the golf course was built just this summer for the play. Items and materials were donated to its making with Jim and Andrew building the whole set themselves.
The stage was designed to look like a pirate ship with varying elements to demonstrate other settings.
The show opens with a display of Italian flag waving and an introduction of all the play’s characters through its first fight scene before the narrator interrupts to provide a brief recap of the previous play while setting the scene for the start of its sequel.
The narrator is Captain Van Morrison who is the daughters’ grandfather and portrayed by Christopher Perrotti.
Though this first fight was interrupted, there is plenty more to come with approximately 17 fight scenes taking place throughout the course of the play.
The play is a comedic pirate drama filled with adventure, action, and, most importantly, family.
Homebrewed is no stranger to the importance of family as the company itself is run by father and son, Jim and Andrew Beauregard. “Daughters With Daggers” was written by Andrew while Jim directed.
Andrew graduated from Cumberland High School and George Washington University. Jim, currently a Cumberland resident, is a professor at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts.
Along with this duo, Andrew’s sister Rachel Beth Beauregard stars as one of the daughters and his mother helped with costume design.
Andrew said the inspiration for the play came from the three lead actresses themselves. Having recently taken a fight acting class, the women
longed for the opportunity to show off their skills, but were discouraged when their search for the strong female leads they desired came up dry.
In his search for a story idea that would combine the use of strong female leads and fight acting, Andrew found himself inspired by the legends of Laurens de Graaf and Anne Dieu-Le-Veut who were both actual pirates.
The marriage proposal between the two pirates was portrayed in Andrew’s play. The story goes that Laurens and Anne agreed to a duel and when Anne brought a pistol and he a sword, he knew Anne was his true love and proposed on the spot.
With these uniting elements, Andrew made legends and dreams come true.
However, thanks to Jim’s directing, Andrew’s words were brought to life.
Jim’s role also includes the fight choreography.
“Fight choreography is dance choreography,” Jim explained.
With a love for big numbers, Jim said 17 is just his “modest” approximation of the fight scenes involved in the play.
Jim said making the fight scenes and telling Andrew’s story is made easy due to his “talent well” he had built throughout his time in theater work.
All of the cast are alumni of Dean College where Jim teaches. He added each member has done another production with him at least once before.
Cast members shared their experiences working on the play this summer.
Joe Zumbo, who plays Erec, described his time as a “wonderful experience” with “wonderful people.”
Zumbo added it was his first time performing on an outdoor stage.
At the start of the summer, Zumbo wrote an essay on his character to acquaint himself more with the role.
He said he appreciated how this play can be a “collaborative process” due to Andrew being the playwright and on set.
Nick Wakely, who plays Bertrand, said he was a part of the cast in last year’s play.
He said coming back this summer was “a cool homecoming after quarantine.”
Michael LoCicero, who plays the daughters’ father Laurens de Graaf, said he was also returning to his role this year.
LoCicero said he had taken a break from acting to do film writing and producing, but inevitably returned for this series.
Ts Burnham said last year she was in the ensemble so she was excited to have a role of her own this year as the villain, adding she believes her character is “not so different from the daughters.”
Crystal Weeks said she was “thrilled to be a part of the company.”
She said she appreciates the professionalism and talent displayed by everyone who is a part of the show.
Alexandria Hassan said starring in one of the main roles has been “an amazing process.”
Hassan said to “originate an original role is exciting” and she enjoys being able to “feed off the energy of the playwright.”
She added how “magical” it feels with everyone working together.
Hassan said, “Jim’s mind knows no bounds.” When something is written, “he can see it.
“It’s our own little world and Jim makes it a beautiful one,” she added.
The cast also includes the golf course’s owner Dave LaPierre.
“I’ve been Jim’ed,” LaPierre joked when discussing his involvement.
LaPierre said theater performances are “perfect” for his seasonal golf course.
Jim said, “It’s a wonderful thing we have going.
“The world needs to laugh,” he added.