Theatre of Twilights
" If something doesn't happen I don't know if we'll open next year. This place has had so many twilights, what it needs is a few more sunrises."
After the death of the theatre’s founder, Enrica Dillon, in 1946 Deertrees closed, and it was not until more than two years later, in 1949, that New York attorney, A. L. Sainer, assumed responsibility for Deertrees and reopened the theatre under the management of his brother-in-law, Robert Harris. Mr. Harris ran Deertrees as an Equity repertory company – “no stars, just good shows.” He assembled a cast that included Peggy Allenby, Margot Stephens, Jim Flynn, Charity Grace, John Scranton, Arthur Storch, Rubee Raymond and Helene Reynolds and presented such plays as Arsenic & Old Lace, For Love or Money and The Glass Menagerie. They performed six nights a week with Thursday matinees. Harris had no managerial experience although he had previously been associated with an ill-fated repertory company managed by Gerald Savory and Michael Linenthal at Boston's Copley Theatre and he found summer theatre a tough routine. Directing a new play and keeping an over-all eye on every single detail proved too much and after two years Harris moved into television. The company folded, leaving only their custom of hanging lovely Chinese lanterns around the Deertrees grounds as a legacy. The theatre went dark and it was three years before Deertrees would open again. In August of 1953 it was announced that The Boothbay Playhouse Corporation, headed by Sherwood Keith purchased the theater and 16 surrounding acres for $20,000. A reknown actor and director with twenty-five years of stage, radio and television experience, Keith designed and built the Boothbay Theatre in 1937 and had operated it continuously since. At Boothbay Mr. Keith introduced a policy of utilizing the best of community theatre programs in New England. He felt that most little theatre groups had a quota of ex-professional people with great enthusiasm for their avocation, but, perhaps more importantly, that this would be another step toward both stimulating local theatres and decentralizing the American Theater from New York. In 1954 he selected twenty groups, ten to play at each theatre for a one-week engagement each. With the spotlight of national attention and publicity on his novel plan of operation, Keith himself starred in the Deertrees' opening performance of Berkeley Square in front of a sell-out crowd. For two years Mr. Keith presented the outstanding repertory companies of New England at his two theatres, but the second season did not meet with great success in Harrison. "Barter" nights on Friday, when audience members could exchange goods of all sorts for admission tickets, still failed to fill the house. A series of children's plays, a concert by the Harrison Community Association including members of the Berkeley Music School, and the "Oriental Magic of Fu Ling" were offered to augment the regular schedule of light plays. Mr. Keith had announced the opening of the Deertrees Telefilm Studio for the fall of 1955 but that winter he and his wife became active in a new radio station in South Paris. In January of 1956, after twenty years of being one of the leading summer theatre producers in Maine, Mr. Keith announced his plans to retire from the field. “All these years I have concentrated almost entirely on the development of every department of Summer Theatre from the making of an actor's career to the nearest approach of complete satisfaction of the public's entertainment in this medium, often having to personally pay for the privilege. My unshakable belief in the value of Summer Theatre, from its cultural and entertainment aspects remains. Now, however, I feel it necessary to direct my efforts in other channels of the theatre profession. To allow this transfer, the Boothbay Playhouse in Boothbay and Deertrees Theatre in Harrison will be sold.” Mr. Keith retained his palatial historical Long Lake residence known as "Quilchgue," but moved on to Hollywood where he continued his acting career in both movies and on television, becoming well known for his frequent appearances on the Andy Griffith Show. Mrs. Aya Sholley purchased the Deertrees property and Emily Perry Bishop, resident director for Keith at Deertrees, assumed operation of the theatre. Mrs. Bishop had started her theatrical career with John Craig of Castle Square fame, and on Broadway; she played opposite George Arliss in Disraeli. For two summers she toured in the German pantomime company, Die Gerzren Schule. Returning to this country, she played in classical repertory with Walter Hampden and in Shakespearean comedies under the direction of Fritz Leiber. In 1930 Mrs. Bishop joined the faculty of the Leland Powers School, spending summers at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis and the Stockbridge Playhouse in the Berkshires. In 1935 she established the Bishop-Lee Theatre School in Boston and the Nell Gwynn Summer Playhouse in Malden Bridge, N.Y. Among the notable who studied with Mrs. Bishop were Ruth Roman, Betty Field, Jane Wyatt, Tris Coffin and Rita Shaw. For the 20th anniversary season at Deertrees in 1936, Mrs. Bishop brought a small resident stock company to perform "The Best in Theatre at the Theatre of the Lakes.” Notables such as Bette Davis, Moss Hart, Sophie Tucker and Jane Wyatt were listed as "professional sponsors," while "patrons" included Senator Margaret Chase Smith and Governor Christian Herter as well as local residents, the Forrests, Chutes and Chalmers. An enormous searchlight on loan from the Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston was set up on the theatre lawn and the playbill announced the season's fare with poetic license: We're going to Light Up The Sky for you And take Time Out For Ginger too. Then we'll set The Tender Trap That makes The Little Foxes snap. Our Papa is All but watch his pitch It's sure to give you The Seven Year Itch. You'll Dial "M" For Murder and be aghast To find The Fifth Season gone so fast. Mrs. Bishop continued a diverse program of dramas and matinees for children until 1959, but falling attendance and increased expenses took their toll. Nine plays were produced during that last season but she was forced into resorting to benefit performances for worthy causes at a flat rate to increase the take. In 1960 and 1961 the theatre failed to open. In 1962 Deertrees Theatre once again took a premiere place on the Summer Theater circuit in Maine. Under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Dangel of Waban, Mass. and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel L. Lebovitz of Bridgton, the theatre pursued a policy of resident players plus guest stars, most of whom were drawn from television. Ann B "Schultzy" Davis, the first guest star to appear on the Deertrees stage in 22 years, opened the season in Everybody Loves Opal. Shirley Knight, rock idol Fabian, Allen Case and John Saxon were among the other stars during "Season of Stars.” However, the enthusiasm that greeted opening night did not last and the theatre closed at the end of that year and did not re-open for two years. In 1965 Mrs. Aya Sholly presented her alma mater, Boston's Emerson College, with the deed to Deertrees. In an opening statement reminiscent of Enrica Clay Dillon, the College put forth its aims and ideals for the theatre: “We're new so we thought we would like to introduce ourselves. The Deertrees has been acquired through the generosity of the former owners by Boston's Emerson College. Emerson was established in 1880 as a school specializing in the speech arts. The College offers four-year degree programs in Speech Education, Speech Therapy and Broadcasting as well as the Theatre Arts. The Deertrees Theatre is now being operated as part of the Emerson College Center for the Performing Arts, a division of the College set up for the purpose of allowing students the opportunity to operate a summer theatre as well as take the usual academic courses. Though this first season is limited to the presentation of three "straight" plays over a period of six weeks, future plans include an extended season of music and dance as well as theatre. (There is even some talk about building an out-door Greek arena-style theatre on the land we purchased that used to be Camp Ha-Wa-Ya.) In any event, our purposes remain the same: to present the best in theatre (and we mean this in the broadest sense) at a cost that is prohibitive to no one. That, actually, is the whole point. Because we are not dependent on our box-office sales to survive, we do not have to do "box-office" shows. This means that we can afford to experiment (and, yes, we can afford to make mistakes) and present productions that the commercial theatre cannot. We hope that you enjoy the show. If you don't, please let us know. As teachers, we have a responsibility to our students. As representatives of the theatrical profession we have an equal responsibility to our audience.” Dr. Michael E. Rutenberg was the artistic director for the first rear and presented three plays during a six-week season. Shows were performed eight times over a two-week period with time in between to rehearse the next play. By 1967 there were 33 students enrolled in the Deertrees summer program. All took turns as both actors and technicians and among the students associated with Deertrees during these years were Paul Kreppel, who became known on television for his role as the obnoxious piano player in the hit series It's A Living, Andrea Martin, who recently received a Tony Award Nomination for her performance as Aunt Eller in the revival of Oklahoma, Ron McClartney who was featured in the TV series Spencer for Hire in the 80’s, and Barry Bailey who went on to a very successful career as designer for theatre, television and films. Although they had been student productions, the plays were of the most professional quality; however, attendance was low and many were blaming television for "the death of American Theater." Emerson College continued the project through 1969, but after losing over $5,000 on the operations it decided to sell the property. The facilities were badly in need of repair after 33 years. In late 1969, David Maturi, a student who had worked as a Deertrees stagehand, purchased the theatre for $9,000. At age 21, he was the youngest owner to oversee Deertrees Theatre. For his first year, Maturi and his Coventry Theatrical Community produced a program of musical comedies including The Odd Couple, Mame and Cabaret Sweet Charity, the last starring Cecelia “CC” Hart He continued to use Emerson students as his cast and technical crew and Al Corona as director. In an August 1970 interview with Robert M. Moorehead in the “Portland Telegram” he addressed the difficulties of Summer Theatre: "If something doesn't happen I don't know if we'll open next year," said the young theater owner. "Last year we paid all the bills, but lost $5,000. We didn't plan to set the world on fire, but we hoped to break even this year." So far, the gates have been weak, despite a menu of interesting, highly watchable productions performed by a bevy of talented Emerson College actors and actresses. Maturi feels Deertrees' problem, aside from the fact that Enrica Dillon picked an ultra-isolated spot to build, is that people have the wrong impression of student theatre. "The problem," he says, "is because students run it, theatre followers think it's a plaything. We do professional work, but we don't want to be labeled professional theatre." As Maturi swallows hard and scouts the prospects of the 1971 season, he is considering some changes in the operation. Number one on his list will be stronger promotions and advertising. "Last year the cast got around and was known," he remarked. "This year, we've been so busy we haven't promoted as we should have." He will also try to convince area Chamber of Commerce that a local Summer Theatre is an attribute worth boosting. "The most important role of any resident theatre company should be the entertainment of its immediate audience and the stimulation of local theatre," he says. Maturi doesn't want to be the next owner to turn the Deertrees Theatre lights out. "This place has had so many twilights," he said, "What it needs is a few more sunrises." Despite Maturi’s fine intentions, the next season was a financial disaster. Singer Don Grava appeared in concert on July 3rd and three benefits - Camp Encore/Coda presenting Rogers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma and the Homestead Players, directed by Gloria Bleeszard, performing The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife and Cyrano de Bergerac - for Bridgton's Northern Cumberland Memorial Hospital followed. Benefits; however, do not pay one's creditors and Maturis's dreams were defeated. In 1974, after three years of being closed, Deertrees changed hands for the eighth time since it was built; the new owners were Donald and Judith Ritter. In the 1940's Mrs. Ritter came to Harrison to study under Enrica Clay Dillon. She too fell in love with the area and would return each summer from her Mount Sinai, N.Y. home where she was a teacher. She and her husband, the owner of an electronic firm, had become interested in owning the theatre out of this long summer association with Harrison and were enthused about the building and its musical potential. The Ritters promised no resident theatre company and no professional touring theatre companies. Instead a two-month season with a concert series, country and western music, square dancing, special performances and a film festival were planned. However, the 1975 season opened with a resident opera company performing Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti - not co-incidentally, the last opera Enrica Clay Dillon produced before her death - and for the next three years the theatre rotated between theatrical and operatic programs with "Twilight Pop Concerts" held on Sundays. In 1977 the Maine Opera Association made Deertrees its official home and presented six performances of Puccini's La Boheme. In 1979 Frank Best, a York, Maine native and manager of the 600-seat Roberts Theater in West Hartford, Conn., leased the theatre from the Ritters and formed the Deertrees Performing Arts Festival as a non-profit corporation. As well as three productions by the Maine Opera Guild, Best planned a resident acting company and a series of concerts ranging from bluegrass to ragtime. "DEERTREES TROUPE VICTIM OF MORE THAN GAS CRUNCH" read the headlines in The Maine Sunday Telegram on August 12, 1979. Frank Best's efforts to run a combination season of opera, professional theatre and musical events ranging from the Columbia String Quartet to an evening with Scot Joplin's music failed as people simply seemed unwilling to hazard an automobile trip during the gasoline pinch of '79 into the Lakes Region. A scathing review of The Deertrees Acting Company production of “Macbeth” by Kevin Jenness did little to help the ailing company: “Their design resembles that of the play overall, low budget and confused, yet with a few inspired moments and sometimes ludicrous enough to be funny. It is not the "Royal Nonesuch, from Huckleberry Finn, but it may be the closest thing to it this summer. But visitors should at least see the Deertrees Theatre, one of the best and certainly the biggest example of camp architecture (summer camp, that is) in the area.” As it had been throughout the history of Deertrees, economics, location, scheduling and a host of other factors were the problem. Bob Niss and Donna Pizza of the “Portland Sunday Telegram” were quick to enumerate the theatres failings; "Perhaps it's just too out of-the-way: it's a long haul from the popular coastal tourist havens with their own wealth of straw hat playhouses." "Harrison is off the beaten track and the tourists just don't happen upon the theatre since it is situated back among the pines and not along the main road that leads through the lovely lakeside town." "Perhaps Deertrees confused a few people by hosting La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro and Die Fledermaus, anything but summer gate." "Summer opera may never compete in Maine with such fare as Show Boat and Neil Simon's Chapter Two." "Winter opera in Maine has enough trouble." Mr. Best was undeterred and early in 1980 formed a group to buy the theatre from the Ritters under the auspices of the Deertrees Performing Arts Festival. Dr. Stephen Aronson was appointed president of a group that included such local notables as Stephen and Tabitha King, and Will and Dolly Holt. However, the group could not come to an agreement with the Ritters on a purchase price and the tentative plans for the 1980 season were cancelled. Twilight had turned to darkness and by 1984 the Town of Harrison had foreclosed the property in lieu of property tax.
After the death of the theatre’s founder, Enrica Dillon, in 1946 Deertrees closed, and it was not until more than two years later, in 1949, that New York attorney, A. L. Sainer, assumed responsibility for Deertrees and reopened the theatre under the management of his brother-in-law, Robert Harris. Mr. Harris ran Deertrees as an Equity repertory company – “no stars, just good shows.” He assembled a cast that included Peggy Allenby, Margot Stephens, Jim Flynn, Charity Grace, John Scranton, Arthur Storch, Rubee Raymond and Helene Reynolds and presented such plays as Arsenic & Old Lace, For Love or Money and The Glass Menagerie. They performed six nights a week with Thursday matinees. Harris had no managerial experience although he had previously been associated with an ill-fated repertory company managed by Gerald Savory and Michael Linenthal at Boston's Copley Theatre and he found summer theatre a tough routine. Directing a new play and keeping an over-all eye on every single detail proved too much and after two years Harris moved into television. The company folded, leaving only their custom of hanging lovely Chinese lanterns around the Deertrees grounds as a legacy. The theatre went dark and it was three years before Deertrees would open again. In August of 1953 it was announced that The Boothbay Playhouse Corporation, headed by Sherwood Keith purchased the theater and 16 surrounding acres for $20,000. A reknown actor and director with twenty-five years of stage, radio and television experience, Keith designed and built the Boothbay Theatre in 1937 and had operated it continuously since. At Boothbay Mr. Keith introduced a policy of utilizing the best of community theatre programs in New England. He felt that most little theatre groups had a quota of ex-professional people with great enthusiasm for their avocation, but, perhaps more importantly, that this would be another step toward both stimulating local theatres and decentralizing the American Theater from New York. In 1954 he selected twenty groups, ten to play at each theatre for a one-week engagement each. With the spotlight of national attention and publicity on his novel plan of operation, Keith himself starred in the Deertrees' opening performance of Berkeley Square in front of a sell-out crowd. For two years Mr. Keith presented the outstanding repertory companies of New England at his two theatres, but the second season did not meet with great success in Harrison. "Barter" nights on Friday, when audience members could exchange goods of all sorts for admission tickets, still failed to fill the house. A series of children's plays, a concert by the Harrison Community Association including members of the Berkeley Music School, and the "Oriental Magic of Fu Ling" were offered to augment the regular schedule of light plays. Mr. Keith had announced the opening of the Deertrees Telefilm Studio for the fall of 1955 but that winter he and his wife became active in a new radio station in South Paris. In January of 1956, after twenty years of being one of the leading summer theatre producers in Maine, Mr. Keith announced his plans to retire from the field. “All these years I have concentrated almost entirely on the development of every department of Summer Theatre from the making of an actor's career to the nearest approach of complete satisfaction of the public's entertainment in this medium, often having to personally pay for the privilege. My unshakable belief in the value of Summer Theatre, from its cultural and entertainment aspects remains. Now, however, I feel it necessary to direct my efforts in other channels of the theatre profession. To allow this transfer, the Boothbay Playhouse in Boothbay and Deertrees Theatre in Harrison will be sold.” Mr. Keith retained his palatial historical Long Lake residence known as "Quilchgue," but moved on to Hollywood where he continued his acting career in both movies and on television, becoming well known for his frequent appearances on the Andy Griffith Show. Mrs. Aya Sholley purchased the Deertrees property and Emily Perry Bishop, resident director for Keith at Deertrees, assumed operation of the theatre. Mrs. Bishop had started her theatrical career with John Craig of Castle Square fame, and on Broadway; she played opposite George Arliss in Disraeli. For two summers she toured in the German pantomime company, Die Gerzren Schule. Returning to this country, she played in classical repertory with Walter Hampden and in Shakespearean comedies under the direction of Fritz Leiber. In 1930 Mrs. Bishop joined the faculty of the Leland Powers School, spending summers at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis and the Stockbridge Playhouse in the Berkshires. In 1935 she established the Bishop-Lee Theatre School in Boston and the Nell Gwynn Summer Playhouse in Malden Bridge, N.Y. Among the notable who studied with Mrs. Bishop were Ruth Roman, Betty Field, Jane Wyatt, Tris Coffin and Rita Shaw. For the 20th anniversary season at Deertrees in 1936, Mrs. Bishop brought a small resident stock company to perform "The Best in Theatre at the Theatre of the Lakes.” Notables such as Bette Davis, Moss Hart, Sophie Tucker and Jane Wyatt were listed as "professional sponsors," while "patrons" included Senator Margaret Chase Smith and Governor Christian Herter as well as local residents, the Forrests, Chutes and Chalmers. An enormous searchlight on loan from the Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston was set up on the theatre lawn and the playbill announced the season's fare with poetic license: We're going to Light Up The Sky for you And take Time Out For Ginger too. Then we'll set The Tender Trap That makes The Little Foxes snap. Our Papa is All but watch his pitch It's sure to give you The Seven Year Itch. You'll Dial "M" For Murder and be aghast To find The Fifth Season gone so fast. Mrs. Bishop continued a diverse program of dramas and matinees for children until 1959, but falling attendance and increased expenses took their toll. Nine plays were produced during that last season but she was forced into resorting to benefit performances for worthy causes at a flat rate to increase the take. In 1960 and 1961 the theatre failed to open. In 1962 Deertrees Theatre once again took a premiere place on the Summer Theater circuit in Maine. Under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Dangel of Waban, Mass. and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel L. Lebovitz of Bridgton, the theatre pursued a policy of resident players plus guest stars, most of whom were drawn from television. Ann B "Schultzy" Davis, the first guest star to appear on the Deertrees stage in 22 years, opened the season in Everybody Loves Opal. Shirley Knight, rock idol Fabian, Allen Case and John Saxon were among the other stars during "Season of Stars.” However, the enthusiasm that greeted opening night did not last and the theatre closed at the end of that year and did not re-open for two years. In 1965 Mrs. Aya Sholly presented her alma mater, Boston's Emerson College, with the deed to Deertrees. In an opening statement reminiscent of Enrica Clay Dillon, the College put forth its aims and ideals for the theatre: “We're new so we thought we would like to introduce ourselves. The Deertrees has been acquired through the generosity of the former owners by Boston's Emerson College. Emerson was established in 1880 as a school specializing in the speech arts. The College offers four-year degree programs in Speech Education, Speech Therapy and Broadcasting as well as the Theatre Arts. The Deertrees Theatre is now being operated as part of the Emerson College Center for the Performing Arts, a division of the College set up for the purpose of allowing students the opportunity to operate a summer theatre as well as take the usual academic courses. Though this first season is limited to the presentation of three "straight" plays over a period of six weeks, future plans include an extended season of music and dance as well as theatre. (There is even some talk about building an out-door Greek arena-style theatre on the land we purchased that used to be Camp Ha-Wa-Ya.) In any event, our purposes remain the same: to present the best in theatre (and we mean this in the broadest sense) at a cost that is prohibitive to no one. That, actually, is the whole point. Because we are not dependent on our box-office sales to survive, we do not have to do "box-office" shows. This means that we can afford to experiment (and, yes, we can afford to make mistakes) and present productions that the commercial theatre cannot. We hope that you enjoy the show. If you don't, please let us know. As teachers, we have a responsibility to our students. As representatives of the theatrical profession we have an equal responsibility to our audience.” Dr. Michael E. Rutenberg was the artistic director for the first rear and presented three plays during a six-week season. Shows were performed eight times over a two-week period with time in between to rehearse the next play. By 1967 there were 33 students enrolled in the Deertrees summer program. All took turns as both actors and technicians and among the students associated with Deertrees during these years were Paul Kreppel, who became known on television for his role as the obnoxious piano player in the hit series It's A Living, Andrea Martin, who recently received a Tony Award Nomination for her performance as Aunt Eller in the revival of Oklahoma, Ron McClartney who was featured in the TV series Spencer for Hire in the 80’s, and Barry Bailey who went on to a very successful career as designer for theatre, television and films. Although they had been student productions, the plays were of the most professional quality; however, attendance was low and many were blaming television for "the death of American Theater." Emerson College continued the project through 1969, but after losing over $5,000 on the operations it decided to sell the property. The facilities were badly in need of repair after 33 years. In late 1969, David Maturi, a student who had worked as a Deertrees stagehand, purchased the theatre for $9,000. At age 21, he was the youngest owner to oversee Deertrees Theatre. For his first year, Maturi and his Coventry Theatrical Community produced a program of musical comedies including The Odd Couple, Mame and Cabaret Sweet Charity, the last starring Cecelia “CC” Hart He continued to use Emerson students as his cast and technical crew and Al Corona as director. In an August 1970 interview with Robert M. Moorehead in the “Portland Telegram” he addressed the difficulties of Summer Theatre: "If something doesn't happen I don't know if we'll open next year," said the young theater owner. "Last year we paid all the bills, but lost $5,000. We didn't plan to set the world on fire, but we hoped to break even this year." So far, the gates have been weak, despite a menu of interesting, highly watchable productions performed by a bevy of talented Emerson College actors and actresses. Maturi feels Deertrees' problem, aside from the fact that Enrica Dillon picked an ultra-isolated spot to build, is that people have the wrong impression of student theatre. "The problem," he says, "is because students run it, theatre followers think it's a plaything. We do professional work, but we don't want to be labeled professional theatre." As Maturi swallows hard and scouts the prospects of the 1971 season, he is considering some changes in the operation. Number one on his list will be stronger promotions and advertising. "Last year the cast got around and was known," he remarked. "This year, we've been so busy we haven't promoted as we should have." He will also try to convince area Chamber of Commerce that a local Summer Theatre is an attribute worth boosting. "The most important role of any resident theatre company should be the entertainment of its immediate audience and the stimulation of local theatre," he says. Maturi doesn't want to be the next owner to turn the Deertrees Theatre lights out. "This place has had so many twilights," he said, "What it needs is a few more sunrises." Despite Maturi’s fine intentions, the next season was a financial disaster. Singer Don Grava appeared in concert on July 3rd and three benefits - Camp Encore/Coda presenting Rogers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma and the Homestead Players, directed by Gloria Bleeszard, performing The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife and Cyrano de Bergerac - for Bridgton's Northern Cumberland Memorial Hospital followed. Benefits; however, do not pay one's creditors and Maturis's dreams were defeated. In 1974, after three years of being closed, Deertrees changed hands for the eighth time since it was built; the new owners were Donald and Judith Ritter. In the 1940's Mrs. Ritter came to Harrison to study under Enrica Clay Dillon. She too fell in love with the area and would return each summer from her Mount Sinai, N.Y. home where she was a teacher. She and her husband, the owner of an electronic firm, had become interested in owning the theatre out of this long summer association with Harrison and were enthused about the building and its musical potential. The Ritters promised no resident theatre company and no professional touring theatre companies. Instead a two-month season with a concert series, country and western music, square dancing, special performances and a film festival were planned. However, the 1975 season opened with a resident opera company performing Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti - not co-incidentally, the last opera Enrica Clay Dillon produced before her death - and for the next three years the theatre rotated between theatrical and operatic programs with "Twilight Pop Concerts" held on Sundays. In 1977 the Maine Opera Association made Deertrees its official home and presented six performances of Puccini's La Boheme. In 1979 Frank Best, a York, Maine native and manager of the 600-seat Roberts Theater in West Hartford, Conn., leased the theatre from the Ritters and formed the Deertrees Performing Arts Festival as a non-profit corporation. As well as three productions by the Maine Opera Guild, Best planned a resident acting company and a series of concerts ranging from bluegrass to ragtime. "DEERTREES TROUPE VICTIM OF MORE THAN GAS CRUNCH" read the headlines in The Maine Sunday Telegram on August 12, 1979. Frank Best's efforts to run a combination season of opera, professional theatre and musical events ranging from the Columbia String Quartet to an evening with Scot Joplin's music failed as people simply seemed unwilling to hazard an automobile trip during the gasoline pinch of '79 into the Lakes Region. A scathing review of The Deertrees Acting Company production of “Macbeth” by Kevin Jenness did little to help the ailing company: “Their design resembles that of the play overall, low budget and confused, yet with a few inspired moments and sometimes ludicrous enough to be funny. It is not the "Royal Nonesuch, from Huckleberry Finn, but it may be the closest thing to it this summer. But visitors should at least see the Deertrees Theatre, one of the best and certainly the biggest example of camp architecture (summer camp, that is) in the area.” As it had been throughout the history of Deertrees, economics, location, scheduling and a host of other factors were the problem. Bob Niss and Donna Pizza of the “Portland Sunday Telegram” were quick to enumerate the theatres failings; "Perhaps it's just too out of-the-way: it's a long haul from the popular coastal tourist havens with their own wealth of straw hat playhouses." "Harrison is off the beaten track and the tourists just don't happen upon the theatre since it is situated back among the pines and not along the main road that leads through the lovely lakeside town." "Perhaps Deertrees confused a few people by hosting La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro and Die Fledermaus, anything but summer gate." "Summer opera may never compete in Maine with such fare as Show Boat and Neil Simon's Chapter Two." "Winter opera in Maine has enough trouble." Mr. Best was undeterred and early in 1980 formed a group to buy the theatre from the Ritters under the auspices of the Deertrees Performing Arts Festival. Dr. Stephen Aronson was appointed president of a group that included such local notables as Stephen and Tabitha King, and Will and Dolly Holt. However, the group could not come to an agreement with the Ritters on a purchase price and the tentative plans for the 1980 season were cancelled. Twilight had turned to darkness and by 1984 the Town of Harrison had foreclosed the property in lieu of property tax.