The Public Theatre starts the New Year with one of the most powerful and unique experiences you will ever have in a theatre with the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit Every Brilliant Thing playing Jan 24 – Feb 2.

Every Brilliant Thing is a funny, moving and unforgettable story told with the help of the audience.

If you have ever written a “gratitude list” or lost sight of the things that make life worth living, this humorous and heartbreaking interactive play is for you.

When a woman goes into the hospital because she finds it “hard to be happy”, her 7-year-old daughter starts writing her a list of all the brilliant things in life worth living for. No. 1: “Ice cream”, No. 25: “Wearing a cape”, No. 317: “The even numbered Star Trek films”. As the girl grows older, her list grows longer, ultimately reminding her of all the large and small miracles in her own life.

“The Public Theatre has never done a play like this before” says Artistic Director Janet Mitchko.  “We are altering the theatre to create a greater sense of intimacy with the performer, including seating 24 people on the stage. People in the audience both on the stage and in the auditorium will help the actress to tell the story. This play is the most unique, delightful and non-intimidating interactive play I have ever experienced and the powerful impact it makes on everyone who sees it comes from the sense of community that is created by the spontaneous way the audience works together. In fact, this play’s unique structure is a part of its charm and central message reminding us that we are never alone, and can help each other get through life’s toughest moments.

Before the show begins, the actress will mingle with people throughout the entire audience giving out slips of paper numbered with “brilliant things” to be read aloud when she calls out their corresponding number. Other audience members may also be asked to interact within the context of the story with strong guidance from the actress.

Starring in this show will be Tarah Flanagan. Tarah has previously appeared at The Public Theatre in Private Lives, The Nerd, Almost Maine, The 13th of Paris, The Language Archive, and The Ladies Foursome. A professional actress based in New York, Tarah has performed at some of the finest regional theatres the country as well as on film and tv.  The production will be directed by Laura Kepley, an award-winning artistic leader, director, producer, and educator.  Laura was the Artistic Director of Cleveland Play House for nine years during which time her theatre was awarded the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award.

THIS PRODUCTION WILL BE SEATING 24 LUCKY PEOPLE ON THE STAGE for only $20!

Special post-show events will include a free talkback on Sun, Jan 25 and Sat, Feb 1 following the matinee performances. Free Pre-show events included with your ticket will be a wine-tasting on Thurs, Jan 30 and a beer tasting on Sat, Feb 1 before the evening performances. Visit ThePublicTheatre.org for more details.

Every Brilliant Thing runs Jan 24 – Feb 2 at The Public Theatre, Lewiston/Auburn’s Professional Theatre located at 31 Maple St. Thurs-Friday at 7:00pm, Sat at 3pm, Sun at 2pm with a Sat evening show on Feb 1 at 7:30pm. Tickets $35 – $15. Tickets and information at www.ThePublicTheatre.org or 207-782-3200.

Tarah Flanagan, Photo by Roger Mastroianni

LEWISTON, ME – The Central Maine Healthcare (CMH) Board of Directors and Prime Healthcare Foundation (PHF) announced that they have reached an agreement for PHF to become the sole corporate member and parent company of Central Maine Healthcare, pending regulatory approvals.

Under the agreement, Prime Healthcare Foundation, headquartered in Ontario, California, a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2006, affiliated with Prime Healthcare and operating 14 not-for-profit hospitals in six states, would become the owner of all CMH services and facilities, which will retain their current names and local leadership. PHF will offer substantially all CMH team members positions at comparable wages and benefits, and they will honor provider and physician contracts.

CMH Chairman of the Board Devore Culver said PHF was chosen after a thorough evaluation of the system’s mission, vision, and values, and a review of their track record of investing in hospitals to improve healthcare, especially in vulnerable communities throughout the country. “I was convinced Prime Healthcare Foundation would be the right partner for Central Maine Healthcare after meeting with their senior leaders and visiting its hospital in Woonsocket, RI,” he said. “We saw first-hand how Prime cares about people, invests in technology, and values community partnerships to secure the vibrant future of critical healthcare resources.”

“Prime Healthcare Foundation has made a tremendous commitment to investing in our people, our facilities and equipment, and to improving access to quality healthcare throughout central Maine,” said CMH Chief Executive Officer Steve Littleson. “As part of Prime Healthcare Foundation, we will now have the capability and the resources to attract and retain top talent, improve quality and access to care, and address unmet healthcare needs across Central Maine.”

Prime Healthcare Foundation has provided more than $3.4 billion in charity care and sponsored local and global initiatives to promote health, support medical education, provide humanitarian aid, expand access to quality compassionate care and address healthcare disparities nationally and globally.

“Prime Healthcare Foundation is a steward of a mission to improve lives and uplift communities by ensuring access to the highest quality, compassionate care when people need it the most,” said Kavitha Bhatia, MD, President and Chair of the Prime Healthcare Foundation. “We look forward to welcoming the CMH staff, physicians, patients, and communities to the Prime family.

Through our dedication to health equity, clinical quality and patient-centered, physician-led care, we are deeply committed to ensuring the CMH legacy continues for generations to come.”

The CMH facilities will have access to Prime Healthcare’s resources and nationally recognized leadership team that currently operates and manages 44 tax-paying and not-for-profit hospitals, more than 300 outpatient locations, and nearly 45,000 employees and affiliated physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare.

Rebecca Brakeley, MD, CMH’s interim chief medical officer, said, “Prime Healthcare Foundation’s nationally recognized commitment to quality and patient safety, as well as expanding access to medical education, is shared by our 600 medical staff providers who are and will remain dedicated to caring for people in our communities.”

Terms of the agreement include a commitment by Prime Healthcare Foundation to invest $150 million in facility improvements including investments in technology and infrastructure across the system. Charity care and community benefit programs will continue, preserving CMH’s role as a valued community partner.

“We know our team members, patients, and community supporters will have a lot of questions,” said Littleson. “Over the next several months, as we pursue regulatory approvals, we commit to communicating as much as we can, as soon as we can. Until we receive final approvals, our team members will remain focused on taking care of our patients and each other. We appreciate the support of our team members, our patients, and our community as we make this exciting partnership a reality.”

“The people we serve, and our team members who care for them, can look forward to a bright future, full of optimism about what we will do together to provide state-of-the art care in state-of-the-art facilities across central Maine.”

AUBURN, ME — Introducing Ashleigh St. Pierre’s directorial debut at Community Little Theater (CLT)! Heart and Music is sharing the love between each other, albeit complicated, romantic, or platonic. Shows are February 14th & 15th.

L/A Community Little Theatre, located at 30 Academy Street in Auburn, has been producing live theatre since 1940. A volunteer, non-profit organization, our goal is to provide affordable and quality entertainment in the performing arts as well as education, training, and experience in theatre for area youth. www.laclt.com.

From Left to Right: Gregory Judd, Justin Morin, Sara Chaloux (stage manager), Samantha Harriott, Adrian Morneau (music director), Ashleigh St. Pierre (Director), Eileen Messina, and Jacob Sutherland. Not pictured Anthony M. Delorme. Photo credit to Sophie Wood, prior editing done by Benjamin Simpson

PORTLAND, ME  — The American Red Cross urges donors to make an appointment to give lifesaving blood or platelets in the new year to help keep the blood supply strong this winter. Type O negative blood donors and those giving platelets are especially urged to give now to keep critical blood products on the shelves for patients in need.

The start of the new year is one of the most challenging times to collect blood products as the threat of severe winter weather builds and can often lead to widespread blood drive cancellations. Additionally, an active cold and flu season may prevent people from keeping donation appointments as they rest and recover from illness. During National Blood Donor Month, the Red Cross celebrates those who generously roll up a sleeve to help save lives and urges those who are feeling well to make and keep donation appointments to help the blood supply stay on track throughout the winter.

Don’t sit on the sidelines ? kick off 2025 with a blood or platelet donation. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

For the sixth year, the Red Cross and the National Football League (NFL) are partnering in January for National Blood Donor Month to invite football fans and blood donors to join our lifesaving team and score big for patients in need. As a special thank-you to donors for helping address the need for blood during the critical post-holiday time, those who come to give Jan. 1-26, 2025, will be automatically entered for a chance to win an exciting Super Bowl LIX giveaway. The trip includes access to day-of in-stadium pre-game activities, tickets to the official Super Bowl Experience, round-trip airfare, three-night hotel accommodations (Feb. 7-10, 2025), plus a $1,000 gift card for expenses. For full details, visit RedCrossBlood.org/SuperBowl.

 Upcoming blood donation opportunities Jan. 16-26:

Androscoggin

Lewiston

1/20/2025: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., CMMC, 12 High Street, Lower Level

TOPSHAM, ME —The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra (MSO), conducted by Rohan Smith, continues the company’s 35th season with a concert entitled “Invigorating Water Music” which takes place at the Franco Center in Lewiston on Saturday, January 18 at 7pm and the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham on Sunday, January 19 at 2:30pm.  The concerts feature a number of short family-friendly pieces, including two selections from both Handel’s Water Music and Duke Ellington’s The River Suite. The MSO’s January concert traditionally is programmed to appeal to young audience members, and in keeping with that commitment, the concerts feature a number of components showcasing students, as well as the annual “Meet the Instruments” events, which allow people of all ages to try orchestral instruments. Individual tickets for “Invigorating Water Music” are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, with free entrance to any audience member 25 and under. Complete concert and ticket information is available at midcoastsymphony.org or by calling the box office at (207) 481-0790.

The program for “Invigorating Water Music” includes two movements from Handel’s Water Music, which was composed in 1717 and premiered by a boat full of 50 musicians trailing the king’s King George I’s boat on the River Thames. The concert also features two movements from Duke Ellington’s The River Suite, from a score commissioned by Alvin Ailey for his American Ballet Theater in 1970. Other works the MSO brings to life include: Charles Ives’ “The Housatonic at Stockbridge,” the final melodic movement of the composer’s Three Places in New England; a fascinating modern composition by Alan Hovhaness, And God Created Great Whales, that included actual whale sounds; Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides (Overture), inspired by Fingal’s Cave on the namesake islands; and the stirring “The Moldau” from Má Vlast, by Czech composer Bed?ich Smetana.  Joining the MSO for the first movement of Tomasi’s Trombone Concerto is trombonist Joshua Zhang, winner of the biennial Judith Elser Concerto Competition. Joshua Zhang is a computer science and music double major at Colby College from Wayland, Massachusetts who began playing trombone in fourth grade. Additionally, Lewiston High School alumnus Kyle Almquist, winner of the MSO’s silent auction last spring and son of MSO horn player Beth Almquist, conducts the orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Theme” from Swan Lake. The final youth component for these concerts takes the form of artwork, created by students from Connors Elementary in Lewiston,  Bowdoinham Community School, Brunswick Junior High, Mt. Ararat Middle School, and the Portland Arts and Technology High School, that will be shown during several of the pieces.

In keeping with the focus on youth for this concert, each concert will be preceded by the popular “Meet the Instruments” event, at which audience members of all ages can try many instruments featured in the symphony’s performance. MSO musicians will be present to provide instruction and guidance on how to play their instrument.  This event begins one hour before each of the two concerts – at 6pm in the Heritage Hall at the Franco Center and at 1:30 in the gym at the Mt. Ararat Middle School (where the Orion Performing Arts Center is located). Interested members of the public may attend this free event without purchasing a concert ticket, and MSO is offering up to two complimentary tickets to parents accompanying children under 18 to the concert. The Saturday, January 20th concert will also feature Buckfield High School student Noah Smith performing on his clarinet during intermission in Heritage Hall at the Franco Center.  Noah Smith began his journey studying clarinet at age 9 at a conservatory in France and is continuing his studies in Maine with David Hoagland.  He has performed as principal clarinet with the Kennebec Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra and will be principal clarinet at All-State Festival in May. Both of these events are part of the MSO’s enrichment series entitled “More with Midcoast.”

he public is invited to read more about all of the compositions that are part of the 2024/25 MSO season on its website at www.midcoastsymphony.org.

Meet the Instruments (photo credit Heather Linkin)

Dear friends of Hope House,

Here are some of the highlights of 2024.  We are SO thankful for each of you who have shared in Hope House’s activities, helped enable them, or cheered us on!

Last year started out with good media coverage of our center’s help to New Mainers. A great Spring Market season then culminated in our Family Support Center’s biggest backyard BBQ yet!  Held on the 4th of July, it was followed by prizes and a walk together to watch the Great Falls Fireworks show.  Special thanks to our friends from the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston who manned the BBQ’s and enabled the activities.

In the fall, HH Directors Bruce and Jan took a few months off to give in-home hospice care to Bruce’s 96yr.old mother with uterine cancer, until she went home to heaven. 

Late fall brought preparations towards a Free Coat & Toy Fair, made possible by helpers both local and from Boston. “Share Your Christmas” features Coats for Kids news coverage of Hope House, as well as a song video of the holiday event on Dec 7th that drew out 140 neighborhood families in need of coats and winter help.  It was fun to get to see growing babies brought to the fair, who our staff had not seen since we and their mothers saw the ultrasound images of them in our center’s clinic! 

In mid-Dec., Bruce slipped on icy steps at home, and x-rays showed 2 fractured ribs that are painful but slowly healing. Jan also sustained injuries in her shoulder that are still healing, from her care of Mom.  Your prayers are appreciated.

The center’s Host Home, as well as the Mechanic Falls Host Home, are both presently hosting some great people who lost their apartments in December.  Prayers are appreciated for the sweet family of 5, as well as for the skilled young woman, who have been displaced and are awaiting God’s provision for them in the New Year.

Your friends at Hope House pray that you also know God’s help to meet all your needs as you face this next year. Let us know how we might be of help. Our Family Support Center at 91 College St. in Lewiston will have weekly market days again in the spring, but winter hours for our Free Women’s Health Clinic or Free FamilyThrift Store services can be arranged by appointment to meet urgent needs. Call or text us at 207-577-1165, or email us at hopehouse17@gmail.com.  If goods are needed, we will help if supplies are in stock. Our website lists other local help agencies that may be of assistance as well.

Blessings in 2025!

Bruce & Jan Willson and the Hope House family 

The Public Theatre starts the New Year with one of the most powerful and unique experiences you will ever have in a theatre with the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit Every Brilliant Thing playing Jan 24 – Feb 2.

Every Brilliant Thing is a funny, moving and unforgettable story told with the help of the audience in most delightful and non-intimidating way.

If you have ever written a “gratitude list” or lost sight of the things that make life worth living, this humorous and heartbreaking interactive play is for you.

When a woman goes into the hospital because she finds it “hard to be happy”, her 7-year-old daughter starts writing her a list of all the brilliant things in life worth living for. No. 1: “Ice cream”, No. 25: “Wearing a cape”, No. 317: “The even numbered Star Trek films”. As the girl grows older, her list grows longer, ultimately reminding her of all the large and small miracles in her own life.

THIS PRODUCTION WILL BE SEATING 24 LUCKY PEOPLE ON THE STAGE for only $20!

Every Brilliant Thing is an interactive play where the audience participates in helping the actress to tell the story.

Before the show begins, the actress will identify and chat with multiple people throughout the entire audience giving then slips of paper numbered with “brilliant things” to be read aloud when she calls out their corresponding number. Other audience members may also be asked to interact within the context of the story with strong guidance from the actress.

Participation will be sought from audience members sitting both on the stage and in the traditional theatre seats. The powerful impact this play makes is created by the amazing community that is built to tell this unforgettable story.

Every Brilliant Thing runs Jan 24 – Feb 2 at The Public Theatre, Lewiston/Auburn’s Professional Theatre located at 31 Maple St. Tickets and information at www.thepublictheatre.org or 207 782-3200.

LEWISTON, ME – Andwell Health Partners is pleased to announce that Keith Beck, RN, has been appointed as the new Hospice House Manager for its Hospice House facility, located in Auburn. Beck, who has been serving as the Clinical Manager of Hospice Services at Andwell Health Partners, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role.

Beck has been with Andwell Health Partners since January 2023, initially serving as a Contract Hospice Case Manager before transitioning to the role of Clinical Manager of Hospice Services in July 2023. Keith worked earlier in his career at Androscoggin Home Health & Hospice (now Andwell Health Partners), where he collaborated with healthcare providers to deliver tailored care plans and provided emotional support to patients and their families. In between his time with Androscoggin/Andwell, Keith spent eight years as the Clinical Manager of Hospice at Northern Light Health (formerly VNA) in South Portland.

Katherine Pushee, Director of Hospice Services, expressed her enthusiasm about Beck’s new role: “We are thrilled to have Keith step into the role of Hospice House Manager. His extensive experience and dedication to hospice care make him an invaluable asset to our team. We look forward to his vision and support in continuing to provide exceptional care to our patients and their families”.

Beck has demonstrated extensive knowledge of healthcare systems, including hospice and other reimbursement mechanisms, community resources, and referral processes. He has also showcased his ability to counsel families and clients in dying and death, conduct grief counseling, and manage symptom control. He holds a Registered Nurse degree from the University of New England in Biddeford.

MAINE — The Sabattus Rec Club running group held its annual Jingle Jog on Saturday, Dec. 21. The group traveled various routes in the village area spreading cheer, before returning for treats and mulled cider. This year’s turnout was the largest in the several years the group has been doing the Jingle Jog.

Also, the running group again held its annual toy drive for Loaves and Fishes this year, and had the most successful collection yet. Many thanks to community and running group members who donated to the drive.

The Rec Club Running group meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in front of Mixers nightclub on Sabattus Rd. Participants include runners, joggers, and walkers of all ages and abilities who match up and go out for 30-45 minutes of exercise. There is no charge and people are free to attend when they can and want to.

FMI, check out the Sabattus Rec Club Running Program page on Facebook, or email running@sabattusrec.com

LEWISTON, ME – The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society announces the winners of their “Cold Paws, Warm Heart” Annual Raffle. With over $12,500 in ticket sales the winners were: Saundra Martel of Turner winning $500 of home heating assistance and a handmade quilt, Joe Valecko of Lewiston with $300 of home heating assistance, Barbara Provencher of Falmouth with $200 of home heating assistance and Mary Brown of Rumford with $100 of home heating assistance. All proceeds from the raffle directly benefit the Humane Society.

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society provides a safe haven for over 3,000 sick, homeless and abused animals in the greater Androscoggin area per year. The primary support for the shelter comes from fundraising events and donations of concerned citizens.

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society is located at 55 Strawberry Avenue in Lewiston. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering at the Shelter or adopting an animal call 783-2311 or visit the website at www.SavingPetsInMaine.org. You can also join them on www.facebook/GAHumane.