‘The Lost Book of Lakewood House’

Ghosts from Sullivan’s past

By FRITZ MAYER

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — “For me, a bicentennial is a celebration, but it’s also a moment for us to look at everything; it’s a time to look at all the good stuff, but it’s also a time to look at some of the mistakes that were made, and what went wrong.” Those words are from Brad Krumholz, the artistic director of the NACL Theatre in Highland Lake.

The theater’s contribution to the bicentennial celebration of Sullivan County this summer is a play about the partly real, but mostly fictional, history of the resort building that serves as the theatre’s artists’ residence. “The Lost Book of Lakewood House” is a sequel to ‘The Mystery of Lakewood House,” which the company performed in 2005 and 2006 to enthusiastic reviews.

In a phone interview on June 3, Krumholz explained some of the details about the play, though many remained to be worked out. One thing seems set—there will be two psychics in the cast who will help guide the audience as the story travels through the decades. As for the lost book, Krumholz said, the psychics are looking for it, but, “we don’t even know what it is yet, but there are actual manifestations of this book; at one moment the lost book is actually the lost registry of Lakewood House that was hidden away in the late ‘20s.”

The play is split up into different times in history, the earliest of which is the 1920s, when Lakewood House was a resort. “In 1929 everything is starting to boom in the resort industry, and the bungalow colonies, and the Borscht Belt, and part of the idea right now involves Henry Ford, who actually has a connection to the area. There’s a rumor that Henry Ford is thinking about coming up here, driving through, and maybe getting a place in the area.

“The problem is that in order to make Henry Ford feel welcome, there are certain things that people feel pressured to take care of, for instance, to get rid of Jews. Henry Ford was a raging anti-Semite. A lot of stuff happens because of his impending visit.

“Lakewood House kind of digs its own grave. They end up closing out all this potential clientele, and so by the end of that time they’re really limited in the people who are going to become their clientele—and it’s all for nothing, because Henry Ford never came.”

From the 1920s the play takes a big leap to the ‘60s, when Lakewood House was a hunting lodge. Krumholz said, “Its’ another big time of change, the beginning of the decline of Borscht Belt, also when Woodstock is going on, the moon landing, air travel, air conditioning.

For that time, Krumholz and his research collaborator Mimi McGurl looked at such areas as openness to immigration and the relationship between the hunters in the area and the hippies that were coming in and looking for artists housing.

Finally, Krumholz said, the play will also look at the present time.

A challenging time for NACL

The production of “The Lost book of Lakewood House” comes during a difficult time for the theater. This will be the first summer since 1999 that the company will not be presenting the The NACL Catskill Festival of New Theatre.

The reason is that funding from the New York State Council for the Arts was cut by 100 percent, and for the second year in a row the company received no money from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Still, Krumholz and the other core members of the company, Tannis Kowalchuk, Glenn Hall, Sarah Dey Hirshan and Brett Keyser are still launching new projects. Kowalchuck is developing a new family-oriented show, and there is underway a large new collaboration that involves groups in Canada and Mexico.

In the meantime, Krumholz is taking on work in other areas, such as conducting a workshop in New Orleans and directing a play in New York City. Of the NACL Theater, he said, “I think we’re going to make it through this year.”

A description from NACL

“The Lost Book of Lakewood House” is a site-specific theatre performance that takes place in the 1920s American Gothic church that now houses NACL Theatre. The historic building has had many lives—from a Franciscan church, to a hideout for squatters, to a home for wayward youth. NACL’s resident theatre company creates a unique and spectacular performance experience, exploring the hidden lives and stories of Sullivan County in its heyday, including tales of gambling, cruising, moonlight boat-rides and summer lovin’.

In the spirit of NACL’s summer hit, “The Mystery of Lakewood House,” the NACL company of actors will create another night of interactive and imagistic theatre to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. It features Tannis Kowalchuk, Glenn Hall, Sarah Dey Hirshan, Kathy Randels, John Bevan, Brett Keyser, Rosaruby Glaberman, Laura Moran and a host of NACL collaborators. The performance is directed by Brad Krumholz and dramaturged by Mimi McGurl. It is created and presented with support from the Sullivan County Bicentennial Committee.

Tickets cost $15 and $10 for students and seniors.

The play will be performed on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20 at 8:00 p.m.