Payomet Performing Arts Center

Any music lover who’s spent a significant amount of time on Cape Cod knows about Cape Cod Melody Tent, which has hosted a laundry list of household names since opening in 1950, and those of a certain age remember Cape Cod Coliseum, which presented a parade of acclaimed acts between 1973 and ‘83. But many musically inclined folks who’ve visited the Outer Cape since the late 1990s will tell you about yet another noteworthy venue, Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro, which has showcased a wildly diverse array of top-tier talent as part of what it calls “outside the box and inside the community” programming.

Along with hosting regionally, nationally and internationally renowned musical acts under its tent during its May-to-October season, the Payomet presents a wide range of theatre, circus and comedy productions and holds an impressive list of community events in its effort to “integrate with our land and community as much as our namesake did,” according to the venue’s website, referring to the Paomet people who settled on the land now known as Truro over 10,000 years ago. And the location makes perfect sense for such a far-reaching artistic endeavor because Truro’s been a popular destination for cultural tourism since the early 20th century thanks to its own rich history and that of its neighbor to the north, Provincetown.

OPENING, EARLY YEARS, MOVE TO HIGHLANDS CENTER

The Payomet was founded in 1998 by actor-writer Guy Strauss, a mainstay on the Cape’s arts scene who envisioned it as a home for artistic productions and education. The original space was at the intersection of Noons Drive and Route 6, featured a far smaller tent than the current one and presented mostly plays, though it also held one-person shows and book readings. All productions were run by professional directors and actors from the start but audience sizes were a fraction of what they are today, though the venue’s thoroughly laid-back vibe remains.

In 2006, after eight years of strong reviews from local and national publications including The Boston Globe and The New York Times, the Payomet relocated to its current 110-acre site at the Highlands Center at the edge of the Atlantic on Old Dewline Road and upgraded to a state-of-the-art tent that can withstand nearly any kind of weather. With all seats under its cover and a capacity of about 500 (depending on the seating configuration), the space includes a solid-wood floor that’s ideal for dancing and its removable sides allow for cool summer breezes to waft through (though it’s heated on chillier autumn nights). With an intimate atmosphere, clear sight lines to the stage from any seat and a roof low enough to provide excellent acoustics, the venue has received an abundance of praise from artists and audiences alike; singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash once called the Payomet her “favorite performing arts center in the country.”

KEVIN RICE, CIRQUE BY THE SEA, CIRCUS CAMP, OFF-SEASON SHOWS

In 2008, Milford, Massachusetts native Kevin Rice became managing artistic director at the Payomet, tasked with the job of expanding the programming while maintaining its small-town coastal charm. An award-winning playwright, director, actor and Russian literature scholar whose plays have been produced in New York City, Russia and at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival, Rice had lived on the Outer Cape since the early ‘80s, when he moved there to be with his wife, Marla Rice, the owner/director of the Rice Polak Gallery in Provincetown and a member of the board at Wellfleet Preservation Hall. After moving to Wellfleet, he cofounded Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; he’s written several plays that have been performed there and/or at the Payomet, among them “Oblomov,” “Hopper’s Ghosts” and “Under the Radar.”

While maintaining the Payomet’s theatre tradition, Rice further developed the music side of the business by booking a wider variety of artists and added two additional elements that differentiate the venue: Cirque by the Sea, a troupe that performs original circus shows, and Circus Camp, which provides circus-arts classes for kids between the ages of seven and 14 and is fully accredited by the State of Massachusetts. Rice has also expanded the venue’s off-season program, which now includes plays and various other productions at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, Tilden Arts Center, Eastham Music Hall and Provincetown Town Hall.

NOTABLE APPEARANCES, COMMUNITY-FOCUSED INITIATIVES

The Payomet’s musical roster has been about as multigenred as could be over the years, with acts ranging from Graham Nash, Lucinda Williams, John Mayall and Mavis Staples to The English Beat, The Wailers, Jefferson Starship and Blue Öyster Cult. A number of New England-rooted artists appeared between 2010 and 2019 including Arlo Guthrie, Taj Mahal, Chris Smither, Tom Rush, Lori McKenna, Mark Erelli, Aimee Mann, Johnny A. and Peter Wolf. Among the other acts were Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Leon Russell, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin, The Blind Boys of Alabama, 10,000 Maniacs, David Bromberg, Buckwheat Zydeco, Rosanne Cash and The Yardbirds. Since 2000, the Payomet has hosted Rickie Lee Jones, Robert Cray, Ana Popovic, Ani DiFranco, Vance Gilbert, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rufus Wainwright, Roomful of Blues in addition to a bevy of other acclaimed acts.

While the Payomet’s audiences and name recognition have grown dramatically over the years, its original commitment to being directly involved with the local community remains unchanged. The venue has close ties to a number of other nonprofits in the area including the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown-based WOMR-FM and the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, and is part of the Card to Culture program, which helps events be accessible to lower-income people in Massachusetts.

And each performance and community initiative is connected to the Paomets’ conception of time as a circle, according to the Payomet’s website, where “the processes of nature were imbued with divine importance and important events in this temporal rotation were acknowledged with ritual song and dance.” Unlike the linear path followed by European settlers, who championed development of the land and expulsion of all Indigenous people, a major element of the venue’s stated mission is to unite people of all colors and creeds: “Payomet aspires to close the circle, to produce artistic performances that bring people closer to the here and now. We hope that our little, round tent can be a place for locals and visitors alike to rest, spend time with loved ones and enjoy art that is immediate and beautiful.”

(by D.S. Monahan)