Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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56 | APRIL 2016 nshoremag.com tions, and the company is growing. Establishing the theater mostly on his own, Milauskas has since added a marketing director, business manager, and artistic associate to the team, hiring outside directors for shows as needed. Productions at the theater become the cumulative work of a large network of people, allowing everyone to participate in various capacities. The sense of com- munity is strong here, like it might be on a sports team: "It takes a vil- lage to raise a child. It takes a team NextDoor Theater 40 Cross St. Winchester 781-729-6398 nextdoortheater.org CONTACT A Little Night Music won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score. The show will open May 6 and run for three weeks. Tickets range in price from $15 to $40, and can be purchased at nextdoortheater. org or through the box office. of people to produce a show," says Milauskas. "It's a team in the same way that the quarterback doesn't play on Sunday all by himself on the football field because he'd have nobody to throw the ball to." Between shows, the NextDoor Theater also hosts community events such as March's "Thirty One-derful Events," when the venue holds a different art, music, film, or drama occasion each day of the month. The theater encourages peo- ple from all walks of life to explore the arts. Most of the events are free, some are fundraisers—all have a large base of community support. The theater itself seats 130, with full sound and lighting systems. With a stage set low to the floor and a closely positioned front row, the audience can fully engage in the action, dialogue, and nuances of each performance. "Our claim to fame is that we're this inti- mate venue that produces quality entertainment in a convenient location," says Milauskas. Hence the name. Being adjacent to his first organization, Kidstock, the NextDoor Theater is literally right next door. It is also positioned in the heart of Winchester and just a few miles from Boston, allowing it to draw in both the greater North Shore community and city-dwelling theatergoers. But the NextDoor Theater is more than your neighborhood theater. Milauskas describes his concept: "to produce theater where you're going to recognize people because you've seen them in some pretty high-end theaters in Boston, and because you shop next to them in the supermarket." True to their mission of marrying the commu- nity-based with the professional, productions feature both local and equity actors, who are union- contracted and typically associated with professional theater compa- nies. This season's production of A Little Night Music stars equity actresses Amelia Broome and Sarah deLima. Composed by Stephen Sondheim, the show tells the story of Madame Armfeldt, an aging ac- tress, and her love entanglements. With its beautiful music and ef- fortless comedy, the show is "like a glass of champagne that's bubbling the entire time," says Milauskas musingly. photographs by Lauren Poussard Brian Milauskas is the founder of NextDoor Theater in Winchester.