Join us for A Colonial Holiday 2023 on December 10th from 2 to 4 pm

Join us on for our sixth annual Children’s Holiday Open House. Enjoy an old-fashioned holiday afternoon full of cookie decorating, holiday crafts, roasting chestnuts, live music, storytelling and refreshments. Create winter memories with the whole family! Admission is free.

Click here, here, here and here to see all the fun of previous Children’s Colonial Holidays.

2023 Theater Season’s Grand Finale on the Grave House Grounds!

Madison Lyric Stage concluded their season under the tent at the Grave House with The Women of Opera. Mid-October’s weekend event featured seven amazing divas performing renown arias.

The guest artists sang work from The Marriage of Figaro, Madame Butterfly, Carmen, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Walküre, among others. Audience members at the two soldout performances now look forward to the 2024 season.

Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits on the Deacon’s Grounds!

An impressive and large cast from Madison Lyric Stage presented many of the beloved works by Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Greatest hits from this stellar creative team included favorites from Carousel, Cinderella, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Sound of Music…among others.

Sold out performances took place under the Madison Lyric Stage tent, as MLS celebrated its affiliation with the historic Deacon John Grave House.

Annual George Manstan Band Concert

On August 27th, the George Manstan Band performed music from the great American Songbook on the beautiful Grave House grounds. The appreciative audience consisted of members from the Deacon John Grave Foundation, Madison Historical Society, The Garden Club of Madison, CLEMA (Charlotte L. Evarts Memorial Archive), and Madison Lyric Stage.

Madison Historical Society Summer Festival

DJGH Board members in colonial dress served as docents and participated in the return of the Historical Society’s Summer Festival on the Madison Green on August 26th. The festival featured antiques, arts and crafts, games, music, and food.

The Grave House display offered a collection of 18th century toys and games, where festival attendees of all ages left electronic devices in their pockets and stepped back in time for vintage fun.

Premiere of Elegy for a Fallen Angel showcased by Madison Lyric Stage!

Marc Deaton, the artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage and a tenor, collaborated with Nathaniel Baker, a local composer, to create Elegy for a Fallen Angel. The music for the production utilized themes from Purcell and Handel. The story followed two siblings on their path of self-discovery and through their recovery, after encounters with angels and monsters. The outstanding cast featured seven principal performers and a chorus of ten, accompanied by a
five-piece orchestra.

The well-attended limited run offered two evening performances to an appreciative audience.

Stellar cast presented the award-winning musical, Spring Awakening!

Talented young actors comprised the Madison Lyric Stage cast for the recent production of the rock musical, Spring Awakening. The show, based on a controversial play from 1891, followed youth through their experiences into a world of passion and rebellion. The story gave the audience a poignant look at the challenges that have faced some young adults.

 

Barn Parking Area Redo

A Bauer Grant was used to upgrade the Grave Barn parking and Seashore Construction of Madison was selected for the project.

Barn Parking

The north existing lot and the westside parking areas were first sub-graded and then topped with 3/4-inch Tilcon process stone which was machine spread and packed.

Postcards from Pierrot performed by Madison Lyric Stage

Marc Deaton, artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage, presented Postcards from Pierrot, a great work of the 20th century by Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg in which he explored the evolution of speak singing and its affects on opera, jazz and theater.

The evenings featured a full five person orchestra and a dance performance by Sarah Kennedy, piano by Kelly Worsted and conductor Nathaniel Baker.