Recently, the RI Commerce Commission announced some exciting news about tourism. The “fun-sized” advertising campaign spearheaded by Chief Marketing Officer, Lara Salamano, apparently drew some $1.9 million with booked hotel rooms and a potential six-fold return ($11M) on spending by visiting tourists by early June. The connection between the campaign and bookings is recorded by a data embedded code when people view the ads and then book a flight or hotel.

Rhode Islanders sometimes forget the theater treasures we have in this state. Certainly, Providence’s PPAC and Trinity Rep earn well-deserved kudos from theater-goers. Gamm hopes to repeat in Warwick its successful run in Pawtucket. One “fun sized “ true treasure in the state is the 490-seat Theatre By The Sea in Matunuck, whose pedigree dates back to 1933 and whose stage has been graced by stars in their productions on a pretty consistent basis. After a few hiccups like a hurricane in 1938, and a “dark” period during the war, the Theatre By the Sea roared back to life in 1946 with headliners like Tallulah Bankhead, Mae West, Groucho Marx, Ava Gabor, Jackie Gleason, June Havoc, Dorothy Lamour, Walter Matthau, Ezio Pinza, Helen Reddy, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando, well, you get the point.

Similar to what almost happened to the Providence Performing Arts Center, it almost was torn down. Tommy Brent saved the theater from demolition and had 22 successful seasons. His tenure was aptly filled thereafter by such producing luminaries as Laura Harris, Renny Serre and Richard Erickson.

Running a summer theater is fraught with economic challenges so the theater went dark between 2003 until 2007, when entrepreneur Bill Hanney successfully reopened it. Ever since, Theatre By The Sea continues to produce a successful four musical subscription season along with a children’s theater and a concert series.

While the “headliner” approach to presenting theater with the Ethel Barrymores of the acting world is no longer, you can catch the next stars of tomorrow on stage. A rousing production of Mamma Mia! runs until July 21. I am not prone to exaggeration, but its opening night was contagiously joyful! The talent was first rate! While the ABBA music are stand-out hits on their own merits, you still need actors who can take the songs to a blockbuster level. Donna (played by Erica Mansfield) brings the house down with The Winner Takes It All. Rosie (Jeannette Bayardelle) has the audience eating out of her hands with Take A Chance On Me. Artfully directed and choreographed by Artistic Director Kevin P. Hill, audience members were up on their feet and dancing in the aisles at the end of the show.

There are 2 more shows after Mamma Mia! Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat runs from July 25-August 12, and Chicago runs from August 13-September 9. You can be a RI ambassador by attending and bringing your visitors to the historic “Old Barn”. The Bistro By The Sea serves a fabulous pre-theater dinner with a post-show cabaret on weekends. Most importantly, you will rarely have a more wonderful musical experience, whether it is watching the talented performers on stage, or sipping a martini at the outside bar on the property. Rhode Island is, indeed, a mecca for tourists and Theatre By The Sea is the very definition of fun-sized.