January 22 - February 13 / A Professional Ensemble Production in Repertory

On January 22, The Theater Project of Brunswick will premiere LA FILLE AT TESS' MARKET, an original musical by founder and Artistic Director Al Miller.

Who was this La Fille, and why should she have a play? Though known as "La Fille," her real name is Theodora. A long time resident of Brunswick, La Fille was on Maine and Pleasant Streets every day except Sunday, collecting bottles and cans. Miller got to know her after he told her there were bottles and cans at The Theater Project. "I told her we worked with a lot of kids and they drank a lot of soda and juice while at the theater. The next day she showed up and after that, she was a regular. We would speak a little French together, and one day I noticed she was curious about what was going on in the theater itself. I invited her in to watch and from then on, she often stayed for a while and watched a rehearsal or class."

Miller decided he wanted to write a play with La Fille as the main character and Brunswick the location. It would be a fantasy, not a realistic historical play. “As I got to know La Fille a little, I realized how little we know about people, any people, if we don't take time with them. I wanted La Fille to have a secret life that only someone close to her knew about."

Those close to La Fille in the play are Tess, the late owner of Tess' Market, and Dancer, her silent partner. There is also a musician, a troubadour, who gets to know her. What these three discover about her is that she travels, or seems to, through time and space, going back to the late 1800's and the mid 1950's in Brunswick. She visits the Cabot Mill and the Franco-American community when the mill was active, wanders in Merrymeeting Park over 100 years ago, and goes to St. John's Bazaar in the past and present.

LA FILLE AT TESS' MARKET is a musical, with music by Jim Hall and lyrics by Al Miller. The show opens Friday, January 22, and runs for four weekends, together with The Theater Project's other rep offering, David Lindsay-Abaire's raucous adults-only comedy WONDER OF THE WORLD. All tickets are Pay-What-You-Want, with a suggested price of $18, and are available anytime on this website, or by calling the box office at 729-8584. The Theater Project is located at 14 School Street in Brunswick.