Independent Arts News Reporting Hammerstein Museum Presents Home with Hammerstein, Concert with Stories of Oscar in Doylestown
Reported on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
Pictured Above: Nick Dunn. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: DOYLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
Hammerstein’s Real-Life Paperboy Serves as MC!
Doylestown, PA — The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center in conjunction with On Demand Programs & Events presents performer Barbara Weikamp in her Home with Hammerstein concert, featuring her husband and Doylestown native Nick Dunn who served as Oscar Hammerstein’s paperboy decades ago, accompanied by Bill Gottshall on piano. The concert will take place on Sunday, March 22 at 2:00 pm at the James-Lorah Memorial Auditorium: 100 N. Broad Street, Doylestown. Tickets are $20 and are available at https://www.hammersteinmuseum.org/homewithhammerstein
Barbara Weikamp has performed from coast to coast. Born and raised outside of Cleveland, Barb was a performing arts major at Baldwin Wallace College. After college she pursued a show business career that led her to the Burt Reynolds Theatre, The Carousel Dinner Theatre, Theatre by the Sea, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival and Walt Disney World’s Hoop Dee Doo Revue. She spent six years doing various shows on cruise ships in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico and Hawaii. She also spent 10 years teaching voice and acting at The Community Conservatory of Music in her current hometown of Doylestown, PA. Barbara now produces, writes, and directs one-woman shows that entertain audiences through song, storytelling, and humor. As an actress and performance artist, Barbara brings her characters to life in full costume.
Pictured Above: Barbara Weikamp. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Nick Dunn, MC, was indeed Oscar Hammerstein’s paperboy. Nick grew up across the fields from Hammerstein’s home at Highland Farm in Doylestown, PA. No matter how many books, biographies, or documentaries you’ve seen, you will hear some personal stories you probably never heard before in Home with Hammerstein.
Bill Gottshall, pianist, is a playwright and composer who has written several plays and has composed or arranged more than 100 pieces of music for vocal and instrumental ensembles. Bill was the Chair of the Piano Department at the Community Conservatory of Music in Doylestown. He also served as a teaching artist with two different non-profit educational foundations, Delaware Valley Arts Institute, based in Doylestown, PA and Arts of Anyone, based in Lawrenceville, NJ. Bill graduated from Boston’s Berklee College of Music in 1978 with a degree in music composition. During the 1980’s, Bill was an Assistant to the Music Director on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “My One and Only.” Bill frequently performs jazz in the Philadelphia area, both as a solo performer and with small combos.
About The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center
The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center is a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Oscar Hammerstein II’s Doylestown home and telling the story of his legacy as a librettist, lyricist, humanitarian, and mentor. The Hammerstein family resided at Highland Farm from 1940-1960. Hammerstein composed the lyrics to his best-loved musicals while in residence at the farm, including “The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma!” “South Pacific” (inspired by Doylestown’s James Michener’s novel Tales of the South Pacific), and others. A friendly neighbor, Hammerstein was known to fly a flag when local children could come to use his swimming pool or play tennis. He also met and mentored a young Stephen Sondheim while living at Highland Farm. Hammerstein’s role as a mentor and humanitarian will play a large role in the planned theatre education center at Hammerstein Museum.
The nonprofit is currently raising funds for the restoration and preservation of Highland Farm, and to build the theatre education center on the site of the historic barn on the property. Individuals and entities interested in helping to Create Hammerstein Museum can contribute online at https://www.hammersteinmuseum.org/donate. Contributions of any amount can also be made by check, credit card or appreciated securities. Naming opportunities are available for rooms and spaces in the house and barn. For more information email info@hammersteinmuseum.org.
