On its opening day, May 27, 2025, the Bar Harbor Historical Society will present a special performance of Reef Point, a poignant one-hour play by award-winning playwright Carolyn Gage. The event will take place at the society’s home at LaRochelle at 127 West Street, Bar Harbor, Maine. The show starts at 4:30 p.m. Please visit our website to register.
“With Reef Point, Carolyn Gage captures a turning point in Bar Harbor’s history through deeply human characters and beautifully layered storytelling,” said Bar Harbor Historical Society Executive Director Erin Cough. “This play speaks to the heart of our mission—preserving the past while engaging with the present—and we are honored to host it on our opening day.”
Set on Mount Desert Island in 1955, Reef Point offers an intimate, moving look at two women navigating profound personal and societal change in the aftermath of World War II and the devastating fire of 1947. As the island shifts from a Gilded Age playground for the elite to a middle-class tourist destination, two aging lady’s maids—Maisie and Clem—confront the realities of a world insists it no longer needs them.
One of the women, Clem, works for the famed landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, who has just made the startling decision to dismantle her beloved summer estate, Reef Point, and sell off its celebrated gardens. The other woman, formerly employed by heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean, finds herself adrift in a changing household and a changing world. When the famously private Mrs. Farrand makes a rare appearance, a quiet but powerful confrontation ensues, reshaping the lives of all involved.
Described by readers as “one of [Gage’s] most brilliant and wisest works,” Reef Point is a meditation on legacy, loss, and adaptation. It is a play about surrendering long-held dreams, recalibrating priorities, and ultimately, finding grace in transformation.
Carolyn Gage is known for her evocative, women-centered plays that bring underrepresented voices to the stage. With a bare stage and a cast of four women and one man (Phoebe Barnes, Mary Heffernon, Chris Josephs, Cherie Magnello, Katie Migdal, Cindy Robbins), Reef Point offers a rich theatrical experience with minimal staging—an ideal pairing with the historical setting of the Society’s museum. Carolyn Gage is an autistic playwright, performer, director, and activist. The author of nine collections of lesbian- and feminist-themed plays and eighty-eight plays, musicals, and one-woman shows, she specializes in non-traditional roles for women, especially those reclaiming famous lesbians whose stories have been distorted or erased from history.
This performance marks a unique opportunity to reflect on Mount Desert Island’s past through the lens of powerful storytelling. Admission is by donation, with pre-registration recommended, and all are welcome for its 4:30 pm showing.