NANTUCKET, Mass.:At the turn of the twentieth century, ’Sconset was a spirited summer actors colony that attracted many of the major Broadway and movie stars of the era—Digby Bell, Harry Woodruff, Mrs. G. H. Gilbert, Isabel Irving, Percy Haswell, and Lotta Linthicum—who brought their theatrical talents to this quaint village by the sea. Even a popular silent movie called The Sinners was filmed at the ’Sconset Casino and around the village in 1919.
In celebration of this lively period of island history, the Nantucket Historical Association is releasing The ’Sconset Actors Colony: Broadway Offshore, a new book by Betsy Tyler, NHA Research Fellow. The NHA is launching the new publication with a festive book signing party on Sunday, July 24, 6 to 8 p.m., at 4 Chapel Street, ’Sconset—the former home of actress Lotta Lithicum. In case of rain, the event will be held at the ’Sconset Casino.
Hosted in conjunction with On the Isle’s summer schedule of theatrical programs, the party will transport guests back in time as they “mingle” with some of the great actors of the period and enjoy a few performance surprises and appearances by costumed actors.
The ’Sconset Actors Colony: Broadway Offshore was published in conjunction with the NHA’s ’Sconset History Research Group, with special support from the Judy Family Foundation, Dennis and Connie Keller, and Rhodes and Marcella Zimmerman. The ’Sconset Actors Colony: Broadway Offshore will be available for purchase at the NHA’s Museum Shop and online.
For more information about the book, contact the NHA at 508-228-1894, ext. 0, or for more information about the book-signing party or
