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Provincetown’s vibrant cultural landscape is taking center stage this season, highlighted by Cape Rep Theatre’s 25th-anniversary production of the Vietnam War-era play 9-Ball and Twenty Summers’ latest multimedia exploration, Ecosystems & Imagination | Future Ocean Bohemians.

Macklin Devine Steps Into His Father’s Boots for Cape Rep’s 25th Anniversary of 9-Ball

When Art Devine’s Vietnam War-era play 9-Ball debuted at Cape Rep Theatre in 2001, Macklin Devine was not yet born. Yet, the play permeated his childhood as household lore, filled with family photos, phrases, and deep discussions about the production. At just 10 years old, Macklin helped out at rehearsals while being kept clear of the play’s coarse language, according to reporting by Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll for The Provincetown Independent via Heritage Art House.

Now 22, Macklin stars as Richie, a troubled youth who swaps lives over a pool game with meek Larry, played by Elijah Corbin. In this narrative arc, Richie ships off to Vietnam while Larry is imprisoned for Richie’s crimes. The plot draws directly from Art Devine’s 1969-1970 stint as a Green Beret. Both father and son describe the restaging as a full-circle moment, particularly during a jump school scene where Macklin recreates a historic pose captured in a photograph from his father’s collection.

“It’s a privilege to get to use his words and his story,” Macklin says. “Paying homage to my father is a huge part of not only why I wanted to do the show but why he cast me as Richie.”

While the two have collaborated on previous theater projects, 9-Ball marks their first actor-director collaboration. The family’s artistic homage to Art Devine extends beyond the stage. Macklin’s two older brothers previously formed a hard-rock band named Club 9-Ball—a nod to the nickname actors gave the bar section on the set of the original production—which Macklin later joined. The band also founded the Veterans Rock Music Festival to benefit local veterans.

Preparing for the role required a dramatic physical transformation for Macklin, who is known alongside his brothers for long locks and facial hair. As recruit Richie, he traded his signature look for a clean-shaven buzz cut. “This is the first time I’ve seen my top lip in eight years,” he notes.

9-Ball runs from May 6 to May 31 at Cape Rep Theatre, located at 3299 Rt. 6A in Brewster. Tickets range from $30 to $40, alongside student rush options and a pay-what-you-like performance on May 8, as detailed by Cape Rep Theatre.

Twenty Summers Explores Coastal Futures Through Music, Performance, and Eco-Art

A few miles down the Cape, art and ecology intersect at Twenty Summers with the latest installment of Ecosystems & Imagination | Future Ocean Bohemians. Artist and ecologist Mark Adams describes the performance as a pastiche of acts anchored by a 40-page play he assembled from coastal literature spanning science, theater, and poetry.

“The performance crosses centuries, and all writings have to do with how we experience the ocean, how it came to be, and what its future will be,” Adams explains.

According to coverage by The Provincetown Independent, Kat Wright characterizes the production as a psychedelic web of stream-of-consciousness ocean text, movement, and song exploring human connection to the sea. Adams anchors the staging with dynamic projections cast across a giant map of the world’s oceans he spent a month handcrafting.

The eclectic script weaves together disparate narrative threads, including segments from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, dialogue between shellfishermen and British yachtswoman Jeanne Socrates, and a starring role assigned to a giant cuttlefish. Performers Katie Castagno and Tommy Tucker of the Center for Coastal Studies demonstrate their versatility by slipping seamlessly into roles as shellfishermen, captains, and marine life.

The ensemble features baritone Colin Levin, alongside musical accompaniment from artist Joe Hay on drums and Josiah Mayo on guitar, who also reads passages celebrating coastal heritage.

A Season Where Personal History Meets Ecological Reflection

Both productions highlight Provincetown and Cape Cod’s unique ability to anchor universal human experiences in local geography. Whether channeling familial sacrifices from the jungles of Vietnam or staging a psychedelic meditation on rising seas, local creators continue to push narrative boundaries.

Photo: heritagearthouse.co.uk

How do local artistic spaces like Cape Rep and Twenty Summers shape your own connection to coastal history? Drop a note in the comments below.