Page 3 - Changing Granger

Let the Show Go On!
Actors, both professionals and local residents, are still treading the boards of Grange Hall’s stage. The Two of Us Productions has been working in collaboration with the Grange to bring high- quality, full-scale theatrical productions to the area. The company is the creation of Stephen Sanborn and Constance Lopez who have produced award-winning dramatic, comedic and musical theater works at venues throughout the Hudson Valley and nearby Berkshire County. They have brought live theater, live music, murder mysteries and a variety of entertainment events to the Grange’s nicely intimate theater space as well at to the Performing Arts Center at Taconic Hills.
The first contributor to the Copake Grange’s 2019 fundraising campaign was Grant Hermans of Bash Bish Bicycle. His donation was a happy surprise and had us wondering why he had given so generously. A short talk with him told us the reason for his gift - he had fond memories of the Grange from when he was a kid. His mother was in one of the many plays held at the Grange, which one he doesn’t remember but one can only imagine a little boy looking up to the stage and seeing his mother as an actress.
Somehow, Grant was wrangled into a role in a Tom Thumb wedding, an all-kids reenactment of a real wedding. The children were washed and clothed in their best little suits and dresses. Two were selected to be bride and groom and the others were the wedding party. Grant, someone who shuns the spotlight, was happy not to be chosen as the groom. Instead, he was a groomsman.
A Tom Thumb Wedding at the Copake Grange circa 1950
The Copake Grange: A Kid’s Memories