April 21, 2008
At last, it is sunny and warm here on the Cape, but the real signs of spring are the reopening of the local clam shacks, up and down the Cape. We were in Dennis recently to learn about the Cape Playhouse summer schedule and to visit the Cape Cod Museum of Art. There were only a few people enjoying the art treasures at the museum, but it was opening day at Captain Frosty’s, and the line stretched out the door. We didn’t have much time, so opted to leave without ordering anything. As we were going, another customer in the line called out to us to stay, that we’d be missing all the fun if we left.
Fried seafood is not, of course, all the fun to be had on the Cape. Other amusements and signs of spring include an increase in art exhibits, fairs, music festivals, concerts, theater productions, and other entertaining events.
Which brings me back to the Cape Playhouse. The summer season begins in June, with “Marc Salem’s Mind Games,” from June 23 to July 5.
Marc Salem was on hand at the Playhouse to preview some of his incredible mind games: guessing the exact amount of someone’s pocket change, figuring out the first word on a random page in a book, predicting audience answers to questions, and mentally changing the time on someone’s watch. He was very, very good, completely mystifying, and funny too. He said that it wasn’t magic, just a heightened sense of reading people’s body language. He has been hired by police departments to train their personnel to tell when people are lying. His time-changing talents are hard to explain though. You can see some of his mental feats on his 60 Minutes appearance with Mike Wallace, which can be viewed on his website, marcsalem.com.
Other Cape Playhouse shows include:
July 7 to 19, “A Day in Hollywood/ A Night in the Ukraine” (musical)
July 21 to August 2, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (musical)
August 4 to August 16, “Leader of the Pack” (musical)
August 18 to 30, “Born Yesterday”
September 1 to 13, The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith (musical)
For more information on Cape Playhouse events, see the Cape Cod Center for the Arts.
Notes on The Arts 