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“An Evening with William and Helen Gillette” As portrayed by Harold (Tyke) and Theodora (Teddie) Niver
Date and Time
Tuesday Oct 23, 2018
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM EDTTuesday, October 23rd at 7:30 pm
Location
First Church Congregational, 2183 Main Street in Glastonbury
Fees/Admission
Free
Website
Contact Information
James Bennett, Executive Director
Send Email“An Evening with William and Helen Gi...Description
It is commonly said that “a man’s home is his castle”. But for William Gillette (1853-1937), a native of Hartford, who, despite his father, US Sen. Francis Gillette’s, misgivings, went on to become the most important and influential actor of his day, it was quite literally true. That home, of course, is Gillette Castle, designed by Gillette himself and constructed between 1914 and 1919 on a prominence overlooking the Connecticut River in East Haddam, and now a state park. Providing Gillette with the means to indulge his every architectural and creative fancy was his decades-long popularity and immense financial success playing Sherlock Holmes in the play of the same name that he, not Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, had written back in 1899. On Tuesday, October 23rd at 7:30 pm, Harold and Theodora Niver will portray “Will” and his wife, Helen, in their own popular historical interpretation “An Evening with the Gillettes”. Sponsored by the Historical Society of Glastonbury, this entertaining and educational theatrical-style performance will take place at First Church Congregational, 2183 Main Street in Glastonbury. It is the last of the four free presentations open to the public which the HSG has sponsored this year. Live-long enthusiasts of both Sherlock Holmes and the Gillettes, the Nivers have been appearing as Will and Helen weekends at Gillette Castle State Park since 2002. “An Evening with the Gillettes” is a cohesive and expanded version of those appearances featuring authentic period costuming, witty repartee, and Victorian-era musical interludes. During the course of the performance, attendees will learn about the life, loves, and illustrious career of William Gillette who almost single-handedly changed the way turn-of-the-century actors performed before pioneering the role of Sherlock Holmes. It was Gillette, for example, who popularized the deerstalker cap, the calabash pipe, and even the phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson.” But the Nivers don’t just portray the Gillettes at Gillette Castle or throughout Connecticut in their “An Evening with the Gillettes,” they live them in their Victorian-themed home in Rocky Hill. As a result, they – and their house – have been profiled in magazines such as “US,” “Smithsonian,” “Fortune,” “Connecticut” and “Yankee,” and appeared in numerous local and national TV news segments.
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