Bucks County Playhouse continues the new book club series with “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Playhouse Books in the Barn is a book club that brings together the worlds of literature and theatre putting them in the context of Bucks County Playhouse’s 2025 mainstage season. The book club meeting will take place on August 20, 2025, at 7:00pm in the Bill Harris & Jay Manas Playhouse Barn. Reservations are required as seating is limited. Tickets are $20 and include light bites and a cash bar is available.
Chosen in conjunction with the Playhouse staff and the team at the Doylestown and Lahaska Bookshops, selections for the Playhouse Books in the Barn are designed to promote stimulating conversations and thoughtful interaction related to the production currently on stage.
Books are not included in the ticket price and participants may choose their own book supplier or receive a 20% discount if the book is purchased from the Lahaska Bookshop, 162A Route 263, Paddler’s Village in Lahaska, PA.
The current book club selection is themed to the upcoming production of “She Loves Me” with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.
About the book: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey? Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
About “She Loves Me”: Amalia and Georg, two clerks in a 1930s perfumery, are constantly at odds. They both find joy, however, in the romantic letters exchanged with anonymous pen pals they discovered through a “lonely hearts ad.” Little do they know, they are actually writing to each other! Based on the classic film “The Shop Around the Corner,” and the inspiration for the blockbuster film, “You’ve Got Mail,” “She Loves Me” is a delightful musical that celebrates one of the most enchanting love stories ever told.
The book club kicked off on March 5th where a sold-out group met to discuss “Run, Rose, Run” by James Patterson and Dolly Parton. The meeting also included a discussion about the music industry by a special guest, Marty Dodson. On May 7th, the book club met to chat about “At the Edge of the Orchard: A Novel” by Tracy Chevalier with special guest, Amy Manoff, owner at Manoff Market Gardens & M2 Cidery LLC who provided insight into growing an apple orchard and making cider. For the current production of “Leader of the Pack,” the book club delved deep into the girl group phenomenon of the 1960s and 1970s with “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of the ’60s Girl Groups” by Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz.
Tickets may be purchased now via the Bucks County Playhouse box office by calling (215) 862-2121, or online at BucksCountyPlayhouse.org.
ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE
Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the twelfth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler took the helm of the Playhouse, and it has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of “Company” starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named by Wall Street Journal to its “Best of Theatre” list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of “42nd Street” and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse “one of the best regional theaters on the East coast.” Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” directed by Marsha Mason, “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42nd Street,” and “Guys & Dolls” (all directed by Hunter Foster) and “Mamma Mia!” directed by John Tartaglia and choreographed by Shannon Lewis. The 2023 season was the brightest yet, featuring hit productions of Jonathan Larsen’s “Tick, Tick Boom” directed by Eric Rosen, “Bridges of Madison County” directed by Hunter Foster, who also led “The Rocky Horror Show” starring Frankie Grande. “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” became the top-selling show in Playhouse history. In 2024, more than 40% of the audience was new — flocking to record-breaking productions of “Grease!” and “Anastasia: The Musical.” The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.
