Archive for May, 2016

As of this writing, we have eight people (and counting) running for Selectman in the July 19 Special Election to fill the nine months left on former selectman Betsy Sheeran’s term. This sudden surge of interest in public service is truly a wonderful thing to behold. My only question is, where were some of these […]


By MARK SARDELLA Laura Hunt is dead. It was a shotgun blast to the face as she answered the door of her posh New York City Apartment. The only question was who killed the beautiful and successful advertising executive – and why? In Stoneham Theatre’s production of Laura, answering that question falls to NYC Police […]


By MARK SARDELLA It all started when he purchased nine Pleasure Island postcards at a local church antiques show. Since then, Wakefield’s Robert McLaughlin has written five books and turned himself into one of the country’s leading experts on American theme parks. His latest book, Magic Mountain was published last week and tells the story […]


Special effects

06May16

If you are one of those who thought last week’s election meant that you could finally count Phyllis Hull out, a) You don’t know Phyllis Hull very well and, b) you might want to cork the Champagne, at least for now. Hull was defeated in her bid to be re-elected to the Board of Selectmen […]


Directed by Nancy Curran Willis By MARK SARDELLA Israel Horovitz’s play “My Old Lady” is set in Paris but in Quannapowitt Players upcoming production there are Wakefield connections galore. Most obvious is the fact that Horovitz is a Wakefield native who grew up on Elm Street and graduated from Wakefield High School in 1956. On […]


By MARK SARDELLA If you encounter a police officer, a firefighter, an EMT or a paramedic in your travels around town, you might want to say “thank you.” The week of April 25, 2016 through May 1, 2016 was “First Responder Week” in Wakefield, as proclaimed by the Board of Selectmen. Many Wakefield Police officers, […]