The Year of Magical Thinking
After "a masterful performance" according to a letter to the editor in The Picton Gazette, Joan took her final bow in Prince Edward County in October 2024. In 2026 Theatre Kingston invited her to reprise her performance at the Homstead Baby Grand Theatre in Kingston. The show played to appreciative audiences from October 13 to 25, 2026. Read the review here.
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County Roads Theatre Company is a small group with a passion for telling important stories through small, independent, professional theatre productions.
In 2017 we presented The Belle of Amherst, a one-woman show by William Luce about the life of poet Emily Dickinson. The show, featuring Joan McBride as Emily and directed by Fred Robinson, ran for two weeks at the lovely Mount Tabor Playhouse.
Audiences loved the play, which prompted us to offer On A First Name Basis by Norm Foster in 2019. Joan McBride played the role of Lucy Hopperstaad, housekeeper to the very successful, but cantankerous, novelist David Kilbride, played by John Koensgen. This play was directed by Fred Robinson and entertained mostly full houses for the two week run.
In 2022 we presented Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Directed by Fred Robinson, Joan McBride played the role of Ruth Steiner, a feisty professor and published author, and Melissa Paulson played the role of Lisa Morrison, a graduate student and aspiring author. Audiences loved this complex and clever play, and raved about the performances of the actors.
In 2024 we presented The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Directed by Joan McBride with Assistant Director Melissa Paulson, Joan also played Joan Didion in this one-woman show. Audiences were effusive in their praise of Joan's performance in this challenging, heart-felt play.
