Pontine Theatre presents CORNISH CASTLES, an original play based on the life and works of illustrator Maxfield Parrish, one of New England's most famous residents. Pontine has drawn the text of Cornish Castles from Parrish's letters to his children as well as from two fictional works he illustrated, The Knave of Hearts by Louise Saunders and Dream Days by Kenneth Grahame. The letters include Parrish's thoughts on art, his career, family matters, and daily life at The Oaks, his Plainfield, New Hampshire home. Parrish lived and worked around Cornish, NH for many years ; the view of nearby Mt. Ascutney out his studio window inspired many of his luminescent landscapes.

Music by Richard Schumann enhances the action, conjuring up Parrish's wistful tone and the sense that something delightful is about to happen.

One of the most successful artists of his day, Parrish is still one of America's most beloved illustrators. For 65 years he produced book, magazine, and calendar illustrations, advertisements, posters, paintings, and murals, all using a unique combination of brilliant color, photorealism, and fanciful imagery. Even today, no other artist has equaled the technical excellence and surrealistic quality of Parrish at his best.

The fantastical character and spatial balance of his work is well-suited to Pontine's highly visual theatrical technique. The stylized poses of his figures inspire movement motifs that evoke his playful spirit. Rather than reproduce the paintings, Co-Artistic Director Gregory Gathers has researched the Parrish's methods as outlined in his writings as well as those of his son, Maxfield Jr. Gathers' production design, including a two-dimensional puppet stage, takes the illustrator's pictorial and graphic elements and recombines them in new ways to express the play's themes.