(Transcriptions of 7 news paper articles dated March 1940)
“Movie Queen” is Now Being Rehearsed
Movie Scenes Are Taken Daily Throughout City
While a local cast of some 65 people are rehearsing both afternoon and night for the American Legion Auxiliary benefit production, “Movie Queen”, the first three acts of which are in the form of a stage show, movie cameras are on the street daily, photographing scenes to be shown in the fourth act which will comprise a 50-minute local movie reel. Miss Ruth M. Shaw, the “Movie Queen” is featured in all the moving pictures. From now on until the end of the week she will be photographed shopping in the business district, visiting the schools and various plot pictures. Sunday church-goers were “shot” as they left various houses of worship. Every school in town will be shown in the movies. The Windham High School basketball team and several grade schools have already been photographed. Many unsuspecting Easter shoppers will be caught unawares and put in the movies.
One of the interest features of the stage show will be the snappy song and dance numbers in which the high school girls take part. Besides the chorus numbers, specialty dances and song numbers are to be interspersed into the show. The most flashy routine features 16 girls in a military tap. Other numbers include a ballet tap routine, fast tap numbers and toe tap. Some of the girls taking part are: Barbara LaBarre, Helen Pappas, Bernice Olsen, Agnes Haddad, Theresa Dion, Katerine Harold, Jean Blair, June Mastin, Jacquline Nelson, Mary King, Beverly Swanson, and Marjorie Selavaka. Mrs. Arthur Fontaine is pianist and is accompanied by Yelande Leiss, violinist.
“Movie Queen” is something entirely new and different in the line of entertainment in that it combines a three act stage show with a fifty-minute local moving picture. It will be shown on Thursday and Friday, March 28th and 29th in St. Mary’s Hall.