Firehouse

Best If Used By
2023-10-12 19:00, 2023-10-13 19:00, 2023-10-14 14:00, 2023-10-14 19:00, 2023-10-15 14:00 (America/New_York) | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
$20/All Seats
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A chorus girl kicks up her heels — an actor jumps around on furniture — no big surprise. In the theatre, these things happen.
But usually, the chorus girl and the table-hopper aren’t senior citizens. This fall, they will be.
A new bittersweet stage comedy, Best If Used By, will be performed by two North Shore actors in the range of 80 years old.
The biting and sometimes surprising humor of the story focuses on issues of aging and ageism — topics of growing concern to increasing numbers of Americans.
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Soggy Po Boys
2023-10-20 20:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
$15/Non-Members
$12/Members
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The Soggy Po Boys, native to New England, have quickly become an institution. They are spreading the good news of New Orleans music across the northeast and beyond, playing at concert halls and street corners; music festivals and burlesque festivals; bars and libraries; wherever the party requires. Part of the beauty of New Orleans music is that it’s celebrated and appreciated wherever it goes, from the street to the theater.
The Po Boys formed in 2012 to shake the walls of a local club on a Fat Tuesday but have honed their sound and become more than a Mardi Gras centerpiece. Exploring the vast musical traditions of New Orleans and expanding their repertoire to look beyond NOLA jazz, the band includes traditional Caribbean tunes (it’s been said that New Orleans is the northernmost city in the Caribbean), as well as Meters funk, soul, and brass band / street beat music. There are a myriad of traditions that flow into New Orleans culture just as there are tributaries that feed the Mississippi, and the Po Boys are eager to explore what makes the music of New Orleans so damn special. You’ll hear the heavy influence of the New Orleans sound across the band and in the stories told by their original tunes. Despite the scope of its sound, the outfit is only seven people, and thrives on the interplay and group dynamics that bring this music to life.
The Soggy Po Boys are:​
Stu Dias- Vocals / Guitar
Eric Klaxton- Clarinet/Sop. Sax
Nick Mainella- Tenor Sax
Josh Gagnon – Trombone
Mike Effenberger- Piano
Scott Kiefner- Upright Bass
Brian Waterhouse – Drums/Percussion
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Spookley the Square Pumpkin
2023-10-21 11:00, 2023-10-21 14:00, 2023-10-22 11:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Non-Members: $15 for adults/$10 for children
Members: $13 for Adults/$8 for Children
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Spookley The Square Pumpkin: The Musical tells the story of a square pumpkin living in a round pumpkin patch on Holiday Hill Farm. Shunned by the other pumpkins, Spookley is befriended by Edgar, Allan and Poe, three hilarious spiders who convince him that, square or not, he has a right to be the Pick of the Patch. Encouraged by kindly Jack Scarecrow, Spookley tries his best, but he isn’t sure he has what it takes until a mighty storm threatens Holiday Hill Farm. Spookley realizes it is up to him and his square shape to save the day. As a result, all the pumpkins in the patch learn that the things that make you different make you special.
Length of show: ~55 minutes
Great show for ALL ages!!
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Grace Kelly
2023-10-25 19:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Members: $40/$50/$60
Non-Members: $45/$55/$65
SOLD OUT

“…broad tone and tenacious flow on the alto saxophone, clearly in possession of virtuoso talents… impressive singing voice, flitting among a range of styles.” – NY Times
An unequivocal musical prodigy, singer-saxophonist-songwriter-composer and band leader Grace Kelly has rocked the jazz world with sold-out concerts, 14 acclaimed albums and a resume that includes performing at the Hollywood Bowl as well as being part of the house band for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – all before reaching her mid-twenties. As of Oct 2022 she has become the youngest member of the Board of Trustees of Berklee College of Music.
Kelly was named the winner of “Song of the Year” for her single “Feels Like Home” in the 2018 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and has been named nine times consecutively in the Annual Downbeat Magazines Critics Poll “Rising Star Alto Saxophone” from the age of 17 in 2009 and winning the poll in 2017 (Youngest ever named to Downbeat critics poll in 2009.). She has also won multiple ASCAP Composer Awards, Boston Music Awards, and International Songwriting Awards. She has also appeared as a featured performer in films and television, including acclaimed documentary “Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story”, Amazon’s Emmy-nominated original series “Bosch”, and featured in the 2017 Emmy-winning Yamaha production “The Right Note”
SOLD OUT

The Jay Psaros Band with Special Guest Francoix Simard
2023-10-26 19:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
$15/Non-Member
$12/Member
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What type of songwriter is Jay Psaros? That’s a question Psaros has been asking himself for years. With his new Album “Long Time Coming,” Psaros touches on many themes found within a coming of age. The impact of distance, reflections of a time since passed, and the human spirit which rings hopeful in times of hard earned growth. Pen and paper surrounded by the sound of beautifully crafted Folk, Rock, and Americana.​
This album is a celebration of a career high for Psaros, spending the past two years touring extensively with Gordon Lightfoot, Three Dog Night, Collective Soul and a variety of music’s most recognizable names spanning dozens of genres and decades. “Long Time Coming” is a subtle nod to the bright moments, and a warm embrace to the lessons learned along the way.
Psaros has always been a committed live performer. Jay and his guitar are warm, inviting and connective. When with The Jay Psaros Band, bigger energy prevails, covering a wide range of musical influences set to the backdrop of Psaros’ own brand of New England Folk/Rock. It is through these shows, nearly 15 years of them, that Psaros has been earning recognition and opportunity in places far beyond his New England Roots.
Psaros has shared the stage with: Gordon Lighfoot, Styx, Three Dog Night, Collective Soul, Lisa Loeb, Ziggy Marley, Little River Band, Third Eye Blind, Peter Cetera, Anders Osborne, Tower of Power, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Daughtry, The Mavericks, Billy Currington, Foreigner, Grand Funk Railroad, Brett Eldredge, Los Lonely Boys, Boz Scaggs, Joe Nichols, Rusted Root, Donovan Frankenreiter and many more.
The Jay Psaros Band is:
Jay Psaros
Sam Chase: Guitar/Vocals
Matt Heisler: Drums
Steve Davis: Bass
Brad Goff: Keys
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Madeleine Peyroux
2023-10-27 19:00, 2023-10-28 19:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
$125/Members
$145/Non-Members
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*Due to the special nature of this event, Member COMP Tickets and I Believe Passes will not be accepted*

Much like songbird Edith Piaf, Madeleine Peyroux spent her teenage years busking the busy streets of Paris. Just like the ‘little sparrow’, Madeleine befriended the city’s street musicians and made its Latin quarter her first performing stage. Years later, Peyroux would cite iconic Piaf as an influence on her music and record a rendition of the classic La Vie En Rose, soulfully capturing the tune’s romanticism and melancholy.
Born in Athens, Georgia in 1974, Madeleine “grew up in a house filled with music” and from an early age “instinctively realised music’s soothing power” but it was her teenage years in the French capital that turned the childhood notion into an all-consuming vocation for life.
Young Madeleine moved to Paris with her mother in 1987 following her parents divorce. “To soothe me during the upheaval”, she recalls, “I was given a guitar and took to playing in the streets almost immediately.”
The curious teenager started skipping school to frequent the city’s Latin Quarter where street musicians dwelled, keen to learn about their music and way of life. At 16, the fearless teen joined the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band with whom she toured the streets of Europe, discovering Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday while “voraciously picking up all the songs and all the guitar playing” she could.
The two-year touring adventure set Madeleine on a creative path for life and proved to be a gateway to greater things. In 1991 the band travelled to New York where Madeleine’s unique talents were spotted by Atlantic Records’ Yves Beauvais. The young singer declined the music executive’s initial record deal offer but relented several years later and in 1996 her breakthrough album Dreamland was released.
Dreamland sold a striking 200,000 copies and Madeleine’s dusky voice was likened to that of Jazz greats Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Featuring top musicians Marc Ribot, Vernon Reid, Cyrus Chestnut, Charlie Giordano, Greg Cohen, Kenny Wollesen, Regina Carter, Leon Parker and James Carter, the album included Madeleine’s renditions of Holiday’s Gettin’ Some Fun Out of Life, Bessie Smith’s Lovesick Blues, and I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.
Dreamland cemented Madeleine Peyroux as a ‘classic’ musical talent that was here to stay, and the soulful singer found herself touring the world, singing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and opening for Cesaria Evora.
Thirty years after her formative busking days Peyroux is the proud curator of nine beguiling albums and an accomplished performer with sell out worldwide tours under her belt. Her atmospheric version of Serge Gainsborough’s La Javanaise was used in the soundtrack of Oscar Winner The Shape of Water and her countless accolades include the coveted BBC International Artist Of The Year honour.
Madeleine’s thirst for creative exploration is unfading and her willingness to face creative challenges remains as solid now as it was three decades ago.
With endearing passion and great curiosity the unstoppable genre-defying virtuoso continues her search for the good and examines life with the treasured William Congreve belief that Music has charms to soothe the savage beast.
Madeleine might attribute her success to “mostly luck” but to the industry and loyal fans alike, it is the immense talent and utter dedication to her craft that shines through. “Peyroux is a tremendous talent and almost a total intuitive” reflects Larry Klein, “she has the capacity to get the magic. When she sings and plays her guitar, great things happen.”
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Portal to Laughter - Seven 10-minute plays by the playwrights of Group
2023-10-29 14:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Tickets: $5
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From a man who knows way too much about grilled English muffins and isn’t afraid to publicly curse about it, an aging couple desperately trying to stay connected, a hypochondriac in search of an illness, and a lonely woman in love with an internet fraudster, the playwrights from Group offer seven insightful looks into the complicated and hilarious journey of being human.
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DOC OF THE DEAD - A Documentary Film
2023-10-29 18:00 | MA
Presented by NBPT Docu Fest
$12/General Admission
$10/Student & Seniors
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As part of the Newburyport Arts Collective’s spooky slate of Halloween events, the NBPT Docu Fest is chilled to the bone to show DOC OF THE DEAD, a film about zombie culture that premiered some years ago on Epix (and has rarely been seen since).
Join us at 6pm Sunday, October 29, for Alexandre O. Philippe’s bloodthirsty look into the undying significance of the zombie genre, which includes appearances by the late filmmaker George Romero, the Hollywood makeup genius Tom Savini and the writer Max Brooks, among others. The filmmaker certainly knows his stuff — he has also made documentaries about “The Exorcist,” the making of Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” and David Lynch.
Be there if it kills you!
Tickets are available on-line or by calling 978.572.0993
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Shemekia Copeland
2023-11-03 20:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Members: $35/$45/$55
Non-Members: $40/$50/$60

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“Shemekia Copeland is the greatest blues singer of her generation.” –The Washington Post

Award-winning blues, soul and Americana singer Shemekia Copeland possesses one of the most instantly recognizable and deeply soulful roots music voices of our time. She is beloved worldwide for the fearlessness, honesty and humor of her revelatory music, as well as for delivering each song she performs with unmatched passion. Copeland — winner of the 2021 Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year— connects with her audience on an intensely personal level, taking them with her on what The Wall Street Journal calls “a consequential ride” of “bold and timely blues.” NPR Music says Shemekia sings with “punchy defiance and potent conviction.” The Houston Chronicle describes her songs as “resilient pleas for a kinder tomorrow.”

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Million Dollar Quartet
2023-11-17 20:00, 2023-11-18 20:00, 2023-11-19 15:00, 2023-11-24 20:00, 2023-11-25 20:00, 2023-11-26 15:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
$35/Members
$40/Non-Members
Introducing “Pay What You Can Saturday Nights” presented by Matter Communications. At the Firehouse, we’re committed to removing the financial barrier for audience members to enjoy a high-quality performing arts experience. We’re grateful to Matter Communications for making this program possible!

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The Tony® Award-nominated musical MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is set on December 4, 1956, when an extraordinary twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley together at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET brings that legendary December night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal and celebrations that is both poignant and funny.
Relive the era with the smash-hit sensation featuring an incredible score of rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, R&B and country hits, performed live onstage by world-class actors and musicians. Showcased hit songs include “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Walk the Line,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Hound Dog,” and more.
Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrix
Original Concept and Direction by Floyd Mutrix
Inspired by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins
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The Wizard of Stars
2023-11-19 20:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Multi-impressionist Gary Leavitt with special guest Paul Nardizzi
Non-Member: $15
Member: $12
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Gary Leavitt teams up with his favorite comedian and good friend Paul Nardizzi for a night of incredible entertainment.
Leavitt who has been a radio talent for the past 37 years has been called the top celebrity voice impersonator/impressionist in the country. To date he has over 6000 different voices as part of his repertoire. They include Hollywood actors and actresses, famous musicians, the most well-known, comedians, cartoon characters, professional athletes and politicians.
Nardizzi, who has had guest appearances on Conan O’Brien and Comedy Central is considered to be one of the best comedians in New England.
This 90 minute show will leave you wanting for more.
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Winter Wonder Neverland!
2023-12-01 19:30, 2023-12-02 14:00, 2023-12-02 19:30, 2023-12-03 14:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Presented by Joppa Dance Company
Adults: $15
Students/Seniors: $13
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Joppa Dance Company will be presenting, Winter Wonder Neverland! at the Firehouse Center December 1st-3rd. This dance-theater production follows Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell and friends as they try to rescue Christmas back from Captain Hook. It’s full of Pirates, Lost Boys and Fairies. Choreography is by Joppa directors, Fontaine Dubus, Jen Steeves, and Erin Staffiere, and also features pieces by Rebecca Maikels, and Joppa seniors, Lilly Brunnick, Simone Chabot, Ava Maglio, and Addie Varay. It’s great fun for the whole family! The program runs about an hour.
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Full Moon Story GRAND Slam
2023-12-03 19:00 | MA
In Advance
$25/Adult
$23/Students and Seniors
Day Of
$28 for all audience members
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When I Said YES!
Join The Actors Studio of Newburyport for their end of the year celebration where the top winners of 2023, compete for the title of “Full Moon Grand Slammer”, but anyone in the audience will also have the opportunity to tell a two (2) minute story. It can be based on the theme, or it can be about any subject they would like to talk about.
This is the eighth season of true-life stories told without notes or props on themes ranging from synchronicity to pronouns. The Studio’s Full Moon Story Slam is modeled after NPR’s Moth Radio Hour. It is a story telling competition with a few simple criteria for both the official judges and the audience to vote for their favorites.
It has been a consistently popular event since its inception, so much so that, during Covid restrictions, it expanded nationwide as a Zoom event.
The Slam is your chance to gather as friends and share true stories from your lives. Simply put, a story slam is a competition based on the art of storytelling. It puts a dual emphasis on content and performance, encouraging storytellers to focus on what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. It is an exercise in crafting stories within a set time limit.
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A Cinderella Panto
2023-12-08 19:00, 2023-12-09 15:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Presented in partnership with Theater in the Open
Non-Member Adults: $20
Member/Student/Senior: $18
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Come celebrate the holidays with everyone’s favorite soot-stained step-sister, as Cinderella shows her selfish, scroogey step-siblings the true meaning of Christmas, falls in love with a charming prince, and melts a lot of frozen hearts along the way! Cinderella is perhaps the most popular perennial panto across the pond, and we’re proud to present this classic to you at the Firehouse Center for the Arts this December with our own TitO twist! Get ready to cheer the goodies, boo the baddies, sing some carols and sling some snowballs as Theater in the Open and The Firehouse Center for the Arts present Cinderella in December: A Frozen Fairytale Panto!
What does Panto mean? Pantomime (informally, panto)— not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime. Panto is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally performed in the United Kingdom, mostly during Christmas and New Year season.
About Theater in the Open: The mission of Theater in the Open is to transform the magical tradition of storytelling into theater. Using puppetry, pageantry, music, movement, and acting, TITO presents and explores myths, classic literature, original scripts, and modern dramas that reflect the diversity of cultures around us. TITO embraces their audiences and invite the community to create with them from seed to flower, enjoying the beauty of art and nature in an affordable, accessible, and educational manner. TITO develops the talent and range of abilities of their unified company through a disciplined work ethic, fun, and a desire to grow. For more information about Theater in the Open please visit their website at www.theaterintheopen.org
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