Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain

Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain covers seventy years of live theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts, from vaudeville, operetta, WPA-sponsored shows in the Great Depression, and its heyday from 1941 to 1962 with a resident repertory company called The Valley Players. In the early 1960s, two new incarnations: The Casino-in-the-Park, and finally, the Mt. Tom Playhouse with touring packaged shows featuring well-known stars from television and movies. Many stars of stage and screen, and many newcomers who would one day become stars, performed over several decades on Mt. Tom. Through interviews, newspaper reviews, and many photographs, relive their performances, and go backstage for personal experiences that were both comic and tragic, and enjoy again the excitement of opening night.