“A History of Theater on Cape Cod,” by Sue Mellen (2020, The History Press, $21.99) Mellen’s fondness for her subjects is clear from the start when the recent returnee to Cape Cod begins by describing a summer evening here in a non-pandemic year: “the soaring sounds of orchestras tuning up for an overture, laughter at flawlessly performed physical comedy, dramatic lines cutting through the air like razor-sharp knives and — everywhere — applause, applause, applause.” Mellen traces highlights of the history of live theater here, from professional to community, starting with Provincetown’s importance as the birthplace of American theater in the early 20th century. Chapters focus on companies past and present along the Cape and on the islands, noting that many people believe theater here just keeps getting better. Mellen was once arts and feature writer for the Cape Cod Times, then left the area for decades of other pursuits before returning and reviewing theater for the Times on a freelance basis. (Full disclosure: A foreword about a century of theater here was written by me.)