Langdon Parlor Entertainments: A Series of Festive Holiday Perfomances: Oct. 15, 17, Dec. 3, 5 and Feb. 11, 13
Historic New England and New Hampshire Theatre Project invite you to join us for seasonal celebrations and entertainment at Langdon House in downtown Portsmouth.
Langdon House Parlor Entertainments, a three-part event series that invites guests to experience the histories and traditions surrounding three fall and winter holidays—Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. Combining theater, music, storytelling, and delicious holiday-themed nibbles, the Langdon House Parlor series immerses audiences in celebrations of the past with performances and interactive presentations by local artists and Historic New England staff, each themed around a specific time period.
A Victorian Frightful
Thursday, October 15, 7:00-8:30pm and Saturday, October 17, 4:00-5:30pm
The series begins in October, when Mrs. Elizabeth Elwyn Langdon - last owner of Langdon House - hosts a Victorian evening with gothic tales and haunting music. Diane Edgecomb is the featured artist in A Victorian Frightful, a multi-disciplinary, interactive program focusing on Victorian observations of the Halloween season. Diane will perform an original adaptation of Carmilla (1872) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu with musical accompaniment by Tom Megan. The event will also include songs inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting poems performed by musician Tom Megan, an interactive presentation describing the Victorian interest in tarot, mysticism, and spiritualism from New Hampshire State Artist Laureate and Theater Artist Genevieve Aichele, and an ensemble reading of Poe’s 1843 masterpiece “A Tell-Tale Heart” - by Diane Edgecomb, Genevieve Aichele, and Historic New England Interpreters and independent Theater Artists Kathleen Somssich and Megan Sullivan. Sound effects and musical accompaniment will be created and performed by Tom Megan.
A Revolutionary Yuletide
Thursday, December 3, 7:00-8:30pm and Saturday, December 5, 4:00-5:30pm
In December, Miss Eliza Langdon Miss Eliza Langdon welcomes revelers to the Langdon House for an evening of storytelling, music, and delectable nibbles inspired by eighteenth century Yuletide celebrations. Guests will experience an evening of songs and stories, jokes and riddles, and festive wishes performed in costume by acclaimed musicians Lindsay Straw and Larry Young of Fair Liberty’s Call. Together, the duo will perform acoustic tunes and instrumentals of the Revolutionary War, including sea chanties, songs of winter, and holiday carols, and will lead a sing-along to share good cheer, much like the Langdon Family once did. Food historian Michael Duncan Smith, The 18th Century Cook, will lead guests in a discussion of favorite holiday foods while they enjoy popular Georgian Yuletide treats such as sweet jellies, twelfth night cake, and Queens cake.
An Antebellum Valentine
Thursday, February 11 7:00-8:30pm and Saturday, February 13, 4:00-5:30pm
In February, we invite guests to celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day at the Langdon House where Mrs. Anne Ringe Pierce Burroughs welcomes friends and sweethearts for an evening
of romance, music, and delectable nibbles inspired by nineteenth century traditions. Beloved songbird Susie Burke and master musician Kent Allyn will perform poignant, humorous, and bittersweet love songs from the antebellum era set in the sumptuous Langdon House parlor. Historic New England Curators Erica Lome and Nora Carleson will host a special interactive presentation featuring tokens of love such as cut paper Valentines cards, miniature portraits, hair jewelry, love letters, and sailors valentines found in the collections of Historic New England. And theater artists Genevieve Aichele and Kathleen Somssich will recite touching poems and letters that are sure to make hearts flutter. What is Valentine’s Day without sweets? There will be plenty of delicious seasonal treats made from 19th-century recipes, too. To complete the evening, guests will be invited to create valentine cards using vintage ephemera and notions that they can give to loved ones or keep for their own.
Tickets:
Historic New England Members $25; General Public $35; Students (13-18 yrs) $15 Tickets available at www.HistoricNewEngland.org
