Granite State Stuff : Frost Heaves

"Frost Heaves" variety show returns Oct. 10-11

AskLisa — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:35:00 GMT

"Frost Heaves" returns with more comedy and music October 10-11

Frost Heaves, winner of a 2009 "Best of NH" award for "Best Granite State Variety Show," returns to the Peterborough Players theatre with original comedy, music and nonsense, Saturday Oct. 10 and Sunday Oct. 11.

"We had a lot of response to our shows last season," says Fred Marple, unofficial spokesman for the town of Frost Heaves. "But we decided to carry on anyway."

This time out, Frost Heaves celebrates foliage season. Fred Marple (humorist and musician Ken Sheldon) provides the news from Frost Heaves, including a report on the second annual Hay Festival, what Millie Tuttle almost sold at the town-wide yard sale, and assorted stories, rumors, and outright lies. The Frost Heaves Players (Kathy Manfre, Beth Signoretti, and Dave Nelson) present another installment of "Life's Little Mystery Theatre," along with a gritty new crime drama that examines mysterious goings on in the pumpkin patch.

Musical support is provided by the Speed Bumps band (Mike Rousseau, Mark Crory, and Tom Bielecki), including the popular "Song on the Spot" feature in which they write an original song based on suggestions from the audience.

Frost Heaves is presented at the historic Peterborough Players theatre in Peterborough, NH. "We originally planned to do the show at the town hall in Frost Heaves," says Fred Marple. "But the Peterborough Players is more convenient, more comfortable, and it has indoor plumbing."

Tickets to Frost Heaves are $15, general admission, and are available at the door, at the Toadstool and Steeles in Peterborough, Rousseau's music in Jaffrey, online at frostheaves.com, or by calling 603-525-3391. Visit http://www.frostheaves.com to see video clips from previous shows.

Frost Heaves variety show wins Best of NH

AskLisa — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:22:00 GMT

Frost Heaves, the comedy show from "the most under-appreciated town in New Hampshire," has been chosen as "Best of NH" by New Hampshire Magazine in the "Granite State Variety Show" category.

"This is the most exciting thing to happen to us since Millie Tuttle's pickled chicken wings won honorable mention at the Cheshire Fair," says Fred Marple, spokesman for Frost Heaves. "That was in the 'Things You Never Thought You'd Eat' division."

Frost Heaves is the brainchild of humorist and songwriter Ken Sheldon, who is joined by a talented group of actors and musicians in sketches and musical numbers about life in Frost Heaves, topical issues, and what he describes as "other nonsense."

The show premiered in October of 2008 and was soon playing to packed houses at the historic Peterborough Players theater. Currently on summer break, Frost Heaves will kick off its second season on Columbus Day weekend. "Right now, we're too busy making money off the summer folks to put on a show," says Fred Marple.

Marple heads up the Frost Heaves Regional Economic Development council (F.R.E.D.), which wages a never-ending but largely fruitless battle to put Frost Heaves back on the map. "We're especially proud of this Best of NH award given the competition," says Fred. "Course, we don't actually know if there was any competition, but we're still pretty proud."

Frost Heaves is located in the Monadnock region, although the exact location is a well-kept secret, hence the town's slogan, "You can't get there from here."

"In the late winter, there are lots of signs for Frost Heaves," says Fred. "But right now, the only sign we got is one of them big government stimulus project signs." He is quick to add, "We didn't actually get any stimulus money, we just got the sign. But that's better than nothing, I guess."

Prospective visitors to Frost Heaves are invited to visit the town's web site at http://www.frostheaves.com, which might make them rethink the whole thing.

Frost Heaves presents April Foolishness at Peterborough Players Theatre April 18 and 19

AskLisa — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:08:00 GMT

The town of Frost Heaves--the most under-appreciated town in New Hampshire-- presents "April Foolishness," April 18 and 19 at the Peterborough Players theatre.

"This will be our final show of the season," says Fred Marple, unofficial spokesperson for Frost Heaves. "I've got a lot of clean-up work to do from the ice storm and I can't be worrying about show business all the time."

This time out, the Frost Heaves Players (Ken Sheldon, Kathy Manfre, Beth Signoretti, and Dave Nelson) will tackle such weighty topics as: why do lines stop moving when you get in them, why do songs get stuck in your head, and why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?

Frost Heaves is also under consideration for a mysterious government project that could bring much-needed growth to the town. "This is our chance to get some of that federal stimulation money, so we're quite excited," says Fred Maple.

The Speed Bumps band will present a brief history of rock and roll, condensing several decades of popular music into a few minutes. "Even that may be too long for real music lovers," says Marple.

The Frost Heaves show is modeled after an old-fashioned radio variety show and is the brainchild of humorist and songwriter Ken Sheldon. Performances of April Foolishness are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday April 18 and 4 p.m. on Sunday April 19 at the Peterborough Players theatre. Tickets to either performance are $12, general admission, and can be purchased at the door, online at frostheaves.com, at the Toadstool Bookshop and Steele's in Peterborough, at Rousseau's Music in Jaffrey, or by calling the Peterborough Players box office at 924-7585. To see clips from previous shows, visit www.frostheaves.com.

Frost Heaves variety show returns with March Mudness

AskLisa — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:49:00 GMT

Frost Heaves returns to the Peterborough Players on March 21 and 22 with March Mudness, featuring music and comedy from "the most under-appreciated town in New Hampshire." Performances are 7:30 p.m. March 21 and 4 p.m. March 22.

"Our show has really taken the Monadnock region by storm," says Fred Marple, unofficial spokesperson for the town of Frost Heaves. "Of course, the last thing we need right about now is another storm."

Frost Heaves is hosted by humorist Ken Sheldon and his character Fred Marple, who is just back from a "fact finding" mission that coincidentally took him down south during the worst part of winter. "We took a month off to think up some new jokes," says Fred. "Although some folks might think that wasn't enough time."

This month, the folks in Frost Heaves are talking about town meeting, time changes, snowplows, mother's spit and other topics. Fred Marple will deliver the news from Frost Heaves and as always, Ken and the gang will create a "Song on the Spot" based on audience suggestions. "That's probably the most popular part of the show," says Sheldon. "Maybe we should just do an entire Show on the Spot and make it up as we go along."

Joining Ken will be Peterborough Players regular Kathy Manfre, Beth Signoretti of the Granite State Opera Company, and Dave Nelson of Dublin. The Speed Bumps band—Mike Rousseau, Mark Crory, and Tom Bielecki—will be back to provide musical support and classic hits.

"We nearly sold out the last show, so we're adding a Sunday performance," says Fred Marple. "Also, a lot of the audience was nodding off towards the end of that show, so we decided to make it a matinee in case folks have to get up early to milk or something."

Tickets to either performance of March Mudness are $12, general admission, and can be purchased at the door, online at http://www.frostheaves.com, at the Toadstool Bookshop and Steele's in Peterborough, at Rousseau's Music in Jaffrey, or by calling the Peterborough Players box office at 924-7585. To see clips from previous shows, visit http://www.frostheaves.com.

"Noel Nonsense" at the Peterborough Players, December 13

AskLisa — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:56:00 GMT

"Noel Nonsense," an evening of comedy and music from Frost Heaves, the most under-appreciated town in New Hampshire, will take place on December 13, 2008, 7:30 p.m., at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, NH.

Frost Heaves, the creation of singer-songwriter and humorist Ken Sheldon is a town that can't seem to do anything right. (The curse began when the town told Thornton Wilder they'd rather he wrote his classic play "Our Town" somewhere else.)

Along with Sheldon, "Noel Nonsense" will feature Peterborough Players regulars Jon Egging and Liz Wright, with Beth Signoretti of the Granite State Opera. Folk, rock and jazz accompaniment will be provided by the Speed Bumps Band--Mike Rousseau, Mark Crory and Tom Bielecki. Alicia Arnold, violinist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, will perform Christmas carols from her recently released CD, "For You - Christmas."

The festivities will include a visit to the office Christmas party at the North Pole, Santa's attempt to get a government bailout, regifting, holiday albums, and the popular "Song on the Spot" feature, in which Sheldon and the band write an instant song based on suggestions from the audience.

Fred Marple, unofficial spokesperson for the town of Frost Heaves, will report on the annual Snowflake Fair at the Frost Heaves Community Church, as well as a look at the hot Christmas items available at Dingle's Hardware and the swap shed at the dump.

Here's what visitors have said about previous shows: "Absolutely entertaining and fun"... "Just what I needed after a long week at work"..."The best fun I've had in a long time."

Tickets to Frost Heaves: Noel Nonsense are $12, general admission, and can be purchased at the door, online at http://www.frostheaves.com, at the Toadstool Bookshop and Steele's in Peterborough, and at Rousseau's Music in Jaffrey, or by calling the Peterborough Players box office at 924-7585. To see clips from previous shows, visit http://www.frostheaves.com.

Frost Heaves returns with Harvest Hijinks

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:34:00 GMT

Peterborough, NH--Following its highly successful opening performance in October, the town of Frost Heaves, NH returns to the Peterborough Players on Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. with "Harvest Hijinks", a cornucopia of Thanksgiving silliness.

Frost Heaves, an old-fashioned radio-style variety show, is the brainchild of musician and author Ken Sheldon, who headlines the show as Fred Marple, the self-appointed representative of Frost Heaves, "the most under-appreciated town in New Hampshire."

"We didn't know what to expect with our first show," says Sheldon, who had hoped for an audience of 80 or 100 people. Instead, 200 people came to the historic Peterborough Players theater. "And the Red Sox were playing that night," he notes.

Sheldon credits the success of the show to the talented professionals collaborating on the project, including actors Kathy Manfre and Jon Egging of the Peterborough Players, and the Speed Bumps band: Mike Rousseau, Mark Crory, and Tom Bielecki, musicians with decades of musical experience in everything from top-forty bands to classical performances.

The November 7 show will feature a Thanksgiving theme, with turkeys discussing "the present crisis" and Fred Marple's announcements from Frost Heaves, including a report on the recent Hay Festival. "Song on the Spot" will also return, in which Sheldon and the band write and perform an entire, original song based on suggestions from the audience. Their instant song "Twist Ties"—about bread bag closures that no one ever throws out—was among the most popular segments of the first show.

Response to the first Frost Heaves show was so great that Sheldon plans to make it a regular part of the Monadnock region arts scene.

"It seems as if people are looking for alternatives to 'Dancing With the Stars' and 'Desperate Housewives'," says Sheldon, who promises that Frost Heaves will contain "nothing racier than you might find in the Old Farmer's Almanac."

Tickets to Frost Heaves: Harvest Hijinks are $12, general admission, and can be purchased at the door and at the Toadstool Bookshop or Steele's in Peterborough, and at Rousseau's Music on Route 124 in Jaffrey, by cash or check. To order by credit card, call the Peterborough Players ticket office at 924-7585. For more details and clips from the first show, go to www.frostheavescom.

"Frost Heaves: Foliage Follies" variety show comes to Peterborough Players Oct. 11

AskLisa — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:04:00 GMT

The town of Frost Heaves, NH is tired of being out of the limelight.

"Frost Heaves used to be a thriving town," says semi-official spokesperson, Ken Sheldon. "But nowadays, nobody even knows how to get there."

To correct that, the citizens of Frost Heaves--plus a few carefully selected "people from away"—will present Frost Heaves: Foliage Follies, the first in a series of monthly variety shows, at 7:30 p.m. on October 11 at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough. Tickets are $12.

"We were going to do the show in Frost Heaves," says Sheldon. "But the church's septic system is backing up and the grange still smells from the turkey grooming workshop the 4H held there last month."

The purpose of the evening, according to Sheldon, is to put Frost Heaves back on the map. "Progress has passed us by, but we still have a lot to offer."

He cites the new bug zapper at Herb Cullen's Pick-Your-Own-Zucchini farm as an example. "Then there's the swap shed at the dump, where the competition for the good stuff gets pretty intense, let me tell you."

Along with an update on happenings in Frost Heaves, the evening will feature humor and music about leaf peepers, people who talk too much, on-air pledge drives and the dangers of cleaning out the attic.

This event has been declared a politics-free zone, says Sheldon. "The most controversial topic we'll cover is whether they should ban that pumpkin-flavored coffee from the Frost Heaves market."

Ken Sheldon is a singer, songwriter and humorist who has performed for audiences across New England. Joining him will be Peterborough Players veterans Kathy Manfre, Peter Eisenstader and Liz Wright, along with musical guests Wendy Keith, Mike Rousseau, Mark Crory, and Tom Bielecki.

"We had planned to use local Frost Heaves talent," says Sheldon. "But it turns out there isn't any, except for Sophie Hamilton, the church organist, and she's got a bingo game that night. So we had to bring in some ringers."

This is the first of a series of monthly shows, each of which will be completely different, though audience members will get to know the characters from the town of Frost Heaves. "We'll be taking a close look at what still makes Yankees and New England stand out from the crowd," Sheldon said. "I think you'll recognize some of the characters that pop up on the Frost Heaves stage."

Tickets are $12, general admission, and can be purchased at the door and at the Toadstool Bookshop or Steele's in Peterborough by cash or check. To order by credit card, call the Peterborough Players ticket office at 924-7585. For more details, go to http://www.frostheaves.com.