1979-80
SEASON
Growth continued at the St. Paul History Theatre in its second season. Not only did the organization flourish and present more shows, it also maintained its 91 percent average for ticket sales.
HISTORY THEATRE STAFF
Director of Programs, Community Programs for the Arts (COMPAS) – Lynnell Lohr
Playwright in Residence – Lance S. Belville
Producer, COMPAS – Kate Houston
Executive Director, COMPAS – Molly LaBerge
The Man Who Bought Minneapolis (World Premiere)
November 2-18, 1979
By Lance S. Belville
This is a one-man show about James J. Hill, told at two Christmas times in Hill’s life: one when he was 48 years old (1887) and at the start of his railroad career, the other at age 77 (1915), when he was at the height of his wealth and power. Hill’s detractors called him a ruthless “Plunderer of the Prairie” and history labeled him “The Empire Builder.” The play reveals both the public and private lives of the controversial railroad tycoon, whose presence and vision dominated the Northwest’s most important years of settlement and growth. Act I of the play is set at the executive offices of the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad; Act II is set at the Hill home on Summit Avenue.
James Lawless as James J. Hill
Photo courtesy of Minnesota Monthly magazine
Cast
James J. Hill – James Lawless
Artistic & Production Staff
Executive Producer – Lynnell Lohr
Producer – Kate Houston
Resident Playwright – Lance S. Belville
Director – Scott M. Rubsam
Research Historians – Steven Trimble, Stephen Davis
Set Designer, Technical Director – Glen S. Bjornson
Costumer – Sarah Sue Hardinger
Crew – Joe Truax
Publicity – D’Arlyn Marks, Anne Bambeneck, Evan Larson
Box Office – Glen S. Bjornson, Anne Bambeneck, Judy Griebler, June Lowe
Executive Director, COMPAS – Molly LaBerge
This production, the opening show of History Theatre’s second season,
was staged in Courtroom 1 at the Landmark Center in St. Paul
This production was developed in cooperation with COMPAS
(Community Programs in the Arts)
Nina! Madam to a Saintly City (World Premiere)
February 15-March 2, 1980
By Lance S. Belville
This popular play recounts the life of Nina Clifford, operator of a St. Paul bordello from 1888-1917 on Washington Street, in the Irvine Park area of the city.
Cast
Nina Clifford – Lynn Lohr
May Hempstead – Margaret M. Chase
Margaret O’Dell – Nancy Gormley
Capt. Martin Flannagan – Christopher Gordon
Lillian Lee – Lindsay Frost
Andrew – Richard J. Ayd, Jr.
Fred Dickson – Raymond Walsh
Walter Ife/Monsignor – Don St. Pierre
Rosie – Nettie Hayes Sherman
Note: the role of Rosie was not a character in the play; however, Ms. Sherman, then at age 79, performed period songs between Acts One and Two. Songs included “Bird In A Gilded Cage,” “Just A Gigolo,” “Little White Lies” and “Beyond The Blue Horizon.” In addition, she performed a song that she co-wrote with the playwright, Mr. Belville. The title of that original song was “The Ballad Of Nina Clifford.”
Lynn Lohr as Nina Clifford
Artistic Staff
Executive Producer – Lynn Lohr
Producer, Stage Manager – Kate Houston
Director – Carolyn Levy
Set Design, Technical Director – Glen Bjornson
Costumer – Lynn Farrington
Crew – Sheila McGinley
Publicity – D’Arlyn Marks
Research Historian – Steven Trimble
Executive Director, COMPAS – Molly LaBerge
This production, one of four in History Theatre’s second season, was presented in cooperation with COMPAS
(Community Programs in the Arts) at the Landmark Center in St. Paul (February 15-17) and at the
Minnesota Museum of Art in Minneapolis (February 29-March 2).
Those Who Favor Fire (World Premiere)
April 18-26, 1980
By Marisha Chamberlain
Young women seminarians rebel against the late-Victorian view of womanhood and the place of women in the world. The action of the play transpires at Stryker Seminary and various other locales in St. Anthony Park at the turn of the 20th century.
Act I: Fall
Act II: Spring
Act III: Winter
Cast
Julia – Julie Libera
Josephine – Anne Libera
Sadie – Amy Bell
Ruth – Michelle King
Eloise Shryock – Lois Baron
Reverend Peter Stryker – Marty Walsh
Jim – Mike Doyle
Julia’s Ghost – Roxann Christian
Charlemagne Lumbo – Garvin Davenport
Seminarians – Sara Leitzke, Carla Baron, Patty Bulger, Kara Waelti, Amy Schneider, Betsy Warnken, Trina Smith, Vicki Feirtag
Hooligans – Paul Benning, Steve Ward, Mike Brahmey
Artistic Staff
Producer – Kate Houston
Director – Don St. Pierre
Stage Manager – Barb Rose
Assistant Stage Manager – Nicole Lynskey
Lighting & Stage Crew – Rhonda Vik, Genevieve McJilton, Jenny Auld
Lighting Designer – Glen S. Bjornson
Lighting Assistant – Charlie Novak
Mime & Dance Consultant – Steven Budas
Executive Producer, SPHT – Lynn Lohr
Executive Director, COMPAS – Molly LaBerge
This show was presented in cooperation with
COMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts) at
Murray Junior High School
Four Hearts and the Lords of the North (World Premiere)
June 13-July 13, 1980
By Lance S. Belville
This play depicts the everyday challenges of officers and soldiers at Fort Snelling in 1826 and 1827, including their interactions with Ojibway and Dakota natives in the territory at that time. The events in the play are true. The nearest settlement was over 300 miles away, in Northern Illinois. To the west and south of Fort Snelling were the Dakota, mounted warriors of the plains. To the north and east were the Chippewa, rulers of the great northern forest. Between those two nations, beyond the American frontier, stood Fort Snelling and its Indian Agent, known as Four Hearts: one for the Dakota, one for the Chippewa, one for soldiers and one for civilian settlers.
The set, constructed with period tools on the grounds of Fort Snelling, was built by History Theatre personnel without the use of modern tools and without electricity. All performances were staged outdoors during daylight hours, just as would have been done by traveling troupes of actors during the early 19th-century era.
Backstage at the Fort Snelling site
Cast
Jean Baptiste Gosselin – Woody Leafer
Col. Josiah Snelling – Raymond Walsh
Abigail Snelling – Karla VanDrunen
Lawrence Taliaferro – Gordon Cronce
Alexis Bailley/Dr. McMahon/Lt. Low/Soldiers – Jim Baron
Too Pun Kah ZeZe – Bruce Murray
Strong Earth/Split Lip: Bo Michael Roberts
Lt. Johnston/Lt. Baxley/Soldier – Jeffry S. Nordin
Lt. Denny/Soldier/Musician – Tom Gravelin
Artistic Staff
Executive Producer – Lynn Lohr
Producer (COMPAS) – Kate Houston
Director – Gary Parker
Designer/Tech Director – Glen S. Bjornson
Costume Coordinator – Rose Shetka
Musical Advisor – Tom Gravelin
Publicity – D’Arlyn Marks
Executive Director (COMPAS) – Molly LaBerge
Research Historian – David Wiggins
This production was presented in cooperation with COMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts)
and, for the first time, in cooperation with the Minnesota Historical Society
