It’s also an antidote to fears and concerns over changes in Provincetown. And now having an autumnal revival, the show is a perfect salve for the tired bones of weary townies and those visitors who prefer Provincetown dialed back a notch after the bacchanalia that is summer. A Slice of Ptown delighted audiences when it premiered in May. While of course known for her concerts and the theatrically infused Speakeasy Nights, time traveling to the era of Prohibition, Lewis first dipped her toe in the world of musical theater almost 10 years ago with the smash hit show Snail Road and again several years later with Across the Pond, a musical adventure set on a jetliner. A hallmark of Lewis’ work is her positivity and optimism. (L to R) Roxanne Layton, Zoë Lewis, Qya Cristal, and Parker Ousely.Ībove all else, A Slice of Ptown is a love letter to this kooky town on the tip of Cape Cod. Layton frequently tours with Mannheim Steamroller, the American neoclassical new-age musical group, while Ousley delights with his classical cello performances, and of course Cristal has been wowing audiences in Provincetown for several years now with a powerhouse voice and stage presence to match. Lewis’ castmates are all seasoned and exceptional musicians, adding their own flair to this musical walk down memory lane. Lewis’ observations over the years is at the core of A Slice of Ptown, which she’ll present on selected dates throughout the fall with her co-stars Roxanne Layton on the recorder, Parker Ousley on cello, Qya Cristal with vocals, and The Gorgeous Cigarette Girl of Speakeasy Night fame portraying a variety of characters. “Now I live in a quiet neighborhood, but all you have to do is go to Spiritus to get a read on the town.” “I always thought Spiritus is the nucleus of town,” says Lewis. Nevertheless, life is oh so mellow compared to being bookended downtown between two major pulse points of the town’s wild ways. She’s taken to country living, she jokes, as nowhere in Provincetown is far from anywhere else in town. Lewis rattles off a list of all that she loves and takes a deep breath preparing to deliver more as she sits outside Frog Cottage, her home in a wooded spot in town next to a small wetland croaking with numerous namesakes of her house. She jokes, where she’s from there’s lots of little old ladies with poodles and here there there are lots of men with the same breed. In some ways it reminds her of home, a northern oceanside town. In all her travels no one place has captured her heart and imagination more than Provincetown. Originally from the British seaside village of Rottingdean on the English Channel, Lewis has lived the life of a musical vagabond, traveling to over 70 countries. It’s about some of the things that are gone. It’s all the things I love about Provincetown. That’s old Provincetown, when townies cut a deal to artists and actors. “It always remained the same,” says Lewis. What’s more, Lewis’ landlord, Diana Henley, charged an affordable rent as she had a soft spot for artists, musicians, and bohemians, in general. And all from a delightful little apartment that was what locals call “old Provincetown,” with oak beams taken from ships, with crooked floors that creaked in a ramshackle house built in the 1880s. And for much of those 30 years Lewis has had an interesting vantage point on the goings on in town, as she lived between Spiritus, the famed pizza parlor that is also a late-night gathering spot, and the Ranch, a libertine guest house catering to gay men. Now, 30 years later, the vaudevillian musician reflects on her time thus far with a new musical variety show, A Slice of Ptown. Zoë Lewis has the classic Provincetown origin story.
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