Our view: Theater, tours make for lively July

July 10, 2009 05:00 am

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Plenty to do inside and outside on the North Shore this weekend.

If we have to settle for two days of sun per week, most would prefer to that old Sol show his face Saturday and Sunday. But rain or shine — and most would prefer the latter — there's an opportunity tomorrow to explore Salem's hidden gardens and some of the region's most distinguished First Period (1625-1725) houses.

Tickets for the former, sponsored by the Salem Garden Club, can be obtained for $25 apiece at Hamilton Hall beginning at 10 a.m.

Some of the oldest houses in Salem, Peabody, Beverly, Danvers and Ipswich will also be open tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. as part of Escape North's 17th Century Saturdays program (normal admission fees apply). Olde Ipswich Tours is offering a free tour of that town's impressive collection of historic homes (leaves from visitor center, 36 S. Main St., at 11 a.m.). There will also be an opportunity to see workers employing 17th-century construction techniques to build a replica house behind the visitor center on Memorial Green.

For a complete list of 17th Century Saturdays sites that will be open tomorrow, go to www.escapesnorth.com/17thCenturyBrochure.pdf.

Meanwhile, the demise of the North Shore Music Theatre has by no means brought an end to live drama in the region.

Two shows open in Salem next weekend — the Salem Theatre Company's production of Steve Martin's adaptation of "The Underpants" at the First Church and the Salem State College production of "Footloose" at SSC's Mainstage theater. Many of those at Salem's jam-packed Fourth of July celebration, in which the cast from "Footloose" performed several lively numbers from the musical, have no doubt placed their ticket orders already.