Old postcard of the Mariarden stage where Bette Davis performed.
Bette Davis’ connections to New Hampshire are fairly well known. Her ancestors hailed from here, and she spent some of her adult time in the Sugar Hill area, where she met one of her husbands. Much less known is her connection to Peterborough, New Hampshire, that had several acting camps, including the The Out-Door-Players and Mariarden. Bette Davis was “discovered” there. In fact 2015 is the 90th Anniversary of that event. On Tuesday, April 7th at 7:00 pm, local historian Tracy Messer will give a multi-media presentation at the Monadnock Center for History and Culture: PETERBOROUGH, NH Seen Through “Bette Davis Eyes.” Thanks to photographs taken by Miss Davis’ mother, Ruth Favor Davis, the audience will experience what Peterborough was like in 1925, seen − as the hit song by Kim Carnes goes − through “Bette Davis Eyes.”
Per Tracy, “Ninety years ago, a talented yet undiscovered seventeen-year-old had her own Midsummer Night’s Dream as she made her stage debut in the Mariarden dance theatre’s production of this classic Shakespearean tale. Looking back in her later years, the legendary actress, Miss Bette Davis, fondly recalled that her rise to stardom began right here in Peterborough, NH.”
This sounds like an exciting presentation, that I highly recommend. For additional information, contact: Tracy Messer, at (603) 562-8538 or tracy.messer@gmail.com.
