Gail Phaneuf named executive director of Maine’s historic Deertrees Theatre
Gail Phaneuf
Gail Phaneuf – a playwright, educator, composer, actor, director and a 40-year summer resident of Harrison – has been named the artistic and executive director of the historic Deertrees Theatre, which has provided performing arts entertainment to the Greater Maine region since 1936. Phaneuf has permanently relocated to Harrison to live there year-round and assume her new position. As a playwright and composer, Phaneuf has penned three full musicals and 16 plays that are performed at venues around the world. Her award-winning “MONSTERS! A Midlife Musical Meltdown” premiered in Boston and subsequently was produced at Deertrees, among other theaters. Originally founded as an opera house by prominent opera singer and director Enrica Clay Dillon, Deertrees Theatre has since been home to Broadway stars and local actors, world-acclaimed musicians and aspiring students.