A year after the future seemed as cloudy and dark as ever, it's good to see hope springing anew for one of the area's most popular destinations for residents of Cape Ann and elsewhere.
That hope burst forth last Friday, when South Shore businessman and southern New England enterpreneur Bill Hanney announced his plans for the reopening of North Shore Music Theatre this summer. And Hanney emphasized that the season will include the return of the holiday classic, "A Chistmas Carol," which decamped to Portsmouth, N.H., last December while the stage that sits just off the southbnound side of Route 128 in Beverly stayed dark.
Hanney's plans for the theater — five shows between July and year's end — are ambitious, but realistic. He also plans to stage concerts at the theater-in-the-round to keep the bottom line healthy. That holds immense potential for Cape Ann music lovers as well.
There is no doubt some lingering bitterness among area theatergoers over the facility's 2008-2009 demise — especially among those left holding the bag after subscribing to a 2009 season that never happened.
But it's nice to be talking about North Shore Music Theatre in terms of theater, production plans and concerts — rather than debt, finances, poor production choices and bad deals.
Let's hope Hanney's new season sparks a new path toward success.
