New Rep's Gift to Commander's Mansion a 'Bridge to New Beginnings'

Thursday, the Commander's Mansion received a gift that will make the facility a more attractive wedding spot, and will preserve a piece of the past for the New Repertory Theatre.

The set for New Repertory Theatre's 2010 production of "Hot Mikado" featured a bridge in the middle of the stage, but since then it sat in the storage area at the Arsenal Center for the Arts.

"Every time we do a load in and load out (of scenery) we have to move it," said Carter Miller, the light and sound supervisor at New Rep.

Rather than just getting rid of the bridge, which was made for New Rep by Wooden Kiwi, the theater company wanted it to have a new home, said Harriet Sheets, managing director of the New Rep.

"We talked to people about purchasing it, and then we talked to the Commander's Mansion because we have a lot of our events here," Sheets said. "It's such a great piece, we didn't want to just get rid of it."

Tammy McKenna, facility manager at Commander's Mansion, knew exactly where she would put it.

"This is helping us create a secret garden," McKenna said.

Friday, a crew from the New Rep wheeled over the bridge, which is about 15 feet long, across the Watertown Arsenal grounds over to the Commanders Mansion. They unloaded it in a grassy area, surrounded by hedges and underneath a couple trees.

"We have the arbor, which is great place to get married," McKenna said. "(The secret garden) is a nice place to gather afterward."

Right now the bridge is painted red, but McKenna is thinking about having it painted white.

"It will give couples the option to stand on it or stand in front of it and use it as a backdrop," McKenna said.

The area will need some work before it can really be a secret garden. This will be done with the help of Anthony Vanaria & Sons, the Commander's Mansion's landscapers.

Jeannine Sparkes, from Vanaria, had some ideas for the area, including replacing some of the bushes and adding more.

"We can put in a new backdrop (of bushes) to hide the trash receptacles and more over here so you can only get in through the two trees," Sparkes said.

The secret garden has been a dream for a long time, said Rae Grassia, assistant function coordinator at the Commander's Mansion.

"I've been here 6 years and (Tammy) has been talking about it the whole time," Grassia said.

As the three women looked at the bridge in its new spot, Sparkes said "It's a bridge to a new beginning."