New London Barn Playhouse

A magical night at the New London Barn Playhouse! I had the privilege of attending the Sister Act performance on opening night. Wow, what a fantastic show!! The cast & crew are all incredibly talented… Broadway caliber! It was wonderful to have drinks and food to buy during intermission. The greeters and staff were helpful, kind and welcoming. I can’t wait for the next show! Thank you to all that made this incredible night possible.

We had a fantastic time seeing Mary Poppins. The actors were absolutely amazing and I feel so fortunate seeing them in such an intimate setting. Looked like any seat was a good view. We sat in the balcony. Parking in the back. Adorable set up outside to sit and have wine or beer. $10 for wine. You are given a hard cup w a cover and can bring back anytime for refill costing $8. Can bring back for other shows as well. We can’t wait to return!

We have been going since 2010. We love it. The productions are great. We always have a great time. Its a hidden gem.

I really wanted to go for a 5 start review. The barn house was quaint and the balcony provided amazing views. The show was great, the ushers were pleasant and helpful. We will definitely be back for more shows. The only negatives were; not accepting cards for anything other than alcohol at concession, and it was hot in the balcony.

Amazing performance of Hairspray by a first rate cast of actors and actresses. Can't say enough about the quality of the performances. I just really wish the seats were more comfortable and the temperature was not so warm.

A fun place with some great talent. We saw SPLIT there, which was a visiting troupe from off-broadway for their fifth SPLIT show ever. It was very good. I'm a tall guy and as usual in theater venues, it's not at all comfortable for me, which is why we don't do many theater-type activities... But, if you're normal-sized you'll fit right in and do go and enjoy their many selections during the summer season.

We went and saw Hairspray last night, it was absolutely supercharged!! I have seen quite a few of the plays here, and you NEVER disappoint!! Thank you!

Great time enjoying the local playhouse theater last night. We saw Guys and Dolls and the cast was amazing!! The playhouse was updated about 1.5 years ago....and what a remarkable change...keeping the nostalgia of the interior theater the same, but expanding the grounds and remaining facility was a huge upgrade! Thank you for providing such a great spot for the community and visitors to enjoy.

We saw Beautiful (Carole King life story) a few nights ago and it was fantastic. The small theater has been around for 91 years. It has so much charm. It's a must visit if you are in the area. My daughter (3.5 yo) loved the Children's performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She's so excited to see Nemo Jr. in a few weeks.

My family and I love going to the New London Barn Playhouse. They put on really great musicals!! A few of famous celebrities like Laura Linney (an actress) and Taye Diggs (an actor) have acted on the Barn stage. A lot of other people acted on the Barn stage or helped with productions in the past too.

Have been coming here on/off for more than 50 years and don't think I've ever seen a bad show! This seasons production of "Newsies" might be their best effort ever. Broadway quality at a quarter the price. Everyone here is super friendly...the barn has tons of character..terrific way to spend a few hours. Sure, seats could be more comfortable....you might have someone slightly blocking your view in front of you....but overall....the Barn playhouse gets a solid thumbs up from me!

The New London Barn Playhouse is top notch when it comes to live theatre! They have an awesome series of shows each summer - primarily musical theatre productions, plus at least 2 plays. The Barn players are primarily young interns - recent college graduates or current college students who are majoring in theatre or musical theatre, from schools with exceptional reputations for their programs (Dartmouth, The Hartt School, CCM, and Baldwin Wallace, to name a few). These young people not only act in the productions, but they also design and construct the sets and costumes for each production. Equity actors from NYC are also featured in productions from time to time. The New London Barn itself is the oldest, continuously operating Summer Stock theater in New Hampshire, a distinction which has gained it inclusion in the state's Register of Historic Places. Shows have been produced at the Barn since 1934, and many "Barnies" who got their start at this theatre have gone on to great acclaim in the entertainment business - Sandy Dennis, Steven Schwartz (famed composer of Godspell, Pippin, Wicked served as the Playhouse's Musical Director in the 1960s), Judy Kuhn (the original Cosette in Les Miserables on Broadway) and more! We have traveled to New London to see productions a number of times, and have never been disappointed. In previous seasons, we have seen "Godspell", "Evita", "Thoroughly Modern Millie", "My Fair Lady", "Fiddler on the Roof", and this year saw "Carousel". Every show was extremely professional in every way and we highly recommend a visit to the Barn for a show if you are in the area - you will be wowed!

I would love to give them 5 stars for an excellent performance and production value (and it was excellent!), however, the seating arrangement is horrible. They do make certain seats as limited view on their website, but pretty much any seat on the orchestra level will be somewhat limited by the balcony overhang and the heads in front of you (it's a flat layout). You'll hurt your neck looking up through the small window of space left to see (you can still see the actors from waist-up, but you'll see floating heads if they're sitting). There are also poles supporting the balcony that may get in your way. If you go during the day, tiny slivers of light will come through the side windows. Also, one of the theatre employees had her daughter there to see the show and came and went frequently throughout the show. This was very distracting because the entrance is a large door right at the back of the Theatre that is not only noisy, but lets in a lot of light when opened during the show. On the bright side, it was air conditioned!

The Barn Playhouse hasn't had any Yelp love in a couple of years, and it's past due now. We recently saw the new production of Monty Python's "Spamalot," and it was hilariously silly good fun. The cast is excellent, a couple of Equity actors and some talented interns, and they prove that, like Broadway people, they "can sing and dance, sometimes at the same time." The choreography and costumes are delightfully done, and the result is a rousing, laugh-filled successful staging of an award-winning Broadway musical. That specific show aside, the Barn Playhouse is a reasonably comfortable place to savor good summer rep. The seats are pretty comfy though a bit close together (we"ve experienced tighter conditions on and off-Broadway), and everything is close to the stage. There is a balcony overhang that limits some viewing at the rear of the auditorium, and we'd suggest getting as close to the front as possible. The staff is smilingly helpful, and ticket prices are quite worth the value of the shows.

Wow. Wow. Wow. We don't expect much when we walked in. Five minutes into their show, I know why they are sold out for the week. You feel like you are on the Broadway big production. From actors, actress, costumes, props and sets, they are going for the real deal. We would like to see them again if we could score another hard-to-find tickets.

I have been going here since I was a kid and the performances are great! It is such a nice way to spend a summer evening and a great night out at the theater!

We have been vacationing for years R and always try to grab tickets to at least a few productions. The barnyard does and excellent job of combining professional productions while retaining the small town charm that makes it unique. While necessity means scaling back some of the sets and rearranging the staging they make it work every time. Tonight we saw the sound of music. Of course it's hard to follow up to a mega movie musical and I have seen this on Broadway but these talented actors and actresses put their own stamp on the role and will have your standing giving them their due before they are through. The usual star roles of Matia, the Captain and the Abbess were outstanding. The surprise standout for me was Leisl played by Mackenzie Dade, top shelf! hats of to the cast and thank you all for a fabulous feel good evening!

Year after year we go to the playhouse. We look forward to the diversity of shows they offer and enjoy ourselves every time. Great venue, acting, song and dance and set design. Highly recommend it.