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CONTROL TOP comes to LNT
September 02, 2026
LOST NATION THEATER HOSTS PLAYWRIGHT CAROLE VASTA FOLLEY & FRIENDS IN
Vasta Folley’s Newest Work: CONTROL TOP!
SADLY WE HAVE TO POSTPONE THIS GREAT SHOW DUE TO ILLNESS.
Stay Tuned for Reschedule Dates. All Advance Sale Tickets will be honored on the new Dates!
“IT HAS POCKETS!”
This common exclamation among women opens Control Top, a funny and poignant new play hosted by Lost Nation Theater, for two nights only, September 3 and 4, in their cozy but elegant home at Montpelier City Hall Arts Center.
Written by Vermont playwright Carole Vasta Folley, the production features an ensemble of five women reflecting on their lifelong relationships with clothing, revealing what lies beneath the very fabric of their lives.
And don’t forget – not only is LNT air-conditioned, but the elevator in Montpelier City Hall is once again fully functional!
(The show will still also be live streamed.)
all photos on this page courtesy of Lindsay Raymondjack Photography
Written with support from the Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, the playwright began creating the piece by interviewing women, hearing their personal stories of what they wear and why.
“Lucky for me, the women I talked to were generous, willing to take the time to share their experiences with clothes,” notes Vasta Folley. “Some were triumphant, others were heartbreaking, and many were hilarious. It was as if we were in a dressing room together lamenting over fit, size discrepancies, lack of pockets, and the brutality of three-way mirrors.”
Control Top’s mission was to examine the impact of gendered clothing on women, and ultimately, the playwright discovered each woman she spoke with was affected by the capriciousness and consumerism of a fashion industry that thrives on judgment of women’s bodies.
“I just wanted to tell you how much my friend and I were moved by your show last night! I’m still reeling.
We laughed and cried through the whole thing!” – Audience Member, 2025
The cast of Control Top includes some favorite actors from the Burlington theater scene: Kelly Kendall, Linda McGinnis, Kimberly Rockwood, Pam Toof Norton, & playwright Carole Vasta Folley. Linda McGinnis (an economist who works on climate change policy & analysis when not onstage) offers this:
“I am deeply honored to be part of ‘Control Top. “It is a play that makes us think about our shared experience as women expressing, hiding, embellishing, diminishing ourselves through the lens of what we wear, or of what we are ‘expected’ to wear. And Of Course the show provides the belly laughs and tears that our playwright, Carole, is known for!”
Lost Nation Theater is delighted to help bring this fun, but important show, to more audiences after the play’s 2025 “premiere”.
"We are so happy to host Carole's stimulating new work." LNT loves stories that celebrate the complex, funny, and deeply resilient folks. Control Top hits that theatrical sweet spot where a show makes you laugh, all while serving up a profoundly moving look at our shared experiences. It is exactly the kind of storytelling our community thrives on.”
– Kim Bent, Lost Nation Theater Founding Artistic Director.”
“I think Lost Nation Theater’s intimate - ”like being in your living room”- space is the perfect venue for Control Top!”
– Kathleen Keenan, LNT Producing Artistic Director
For her part, Carole Vasta Folley says:
“I’m excited to bring this work to the Montpelier community and especially Lost Nation Theater. I’ve long been in awe of Kathleen Keenan and Kim Bent. It is no small thing to create, let alone maintain for over three decades, such an exceptional top-tier theater company.”
