1986-87
SEASON
STAFF
Artistic Director – Lynnell Lohr
Playwright in Residence – Lance S. Belville
Office Manager – Wendy Amundson
Logan Township No. 13 (World Premiere)
November 28-December 28, 1986
By Lance Belville
Music by Miriam Gerberg; Lyrics by Miriam Gerberg and Lance Belville
This is a family musical about one-room schoolhouses. The play is set in a Minnesota one-room schoolhouse at the turn of the 20th century. Research assistance was provided by former teachers and students in Itasca County, the Twin Cities and South Dakota who experienced this educational environment first hand.
Cast
Luther Twiss/James Albert/Edwin Larson/Maynard Opsahl/Cecil Glover/Workman #1 – Trevor Vasey
Aagot Warfed/Artemissia Davis/Avis Toenack – Tinia Moulder
Rev. Pensipaugh/Siegfried Serumgard/Alonso Cusator/Auguste T. Seidenspinner – Richard Long
Mrs. Deem/Ardel Flade/Haugen McGinnis/Stella/Mrs. Seidenspinner – Kari M. Holmberg
Louis Deem/Laxton Kelsh/Gen. Domicilius Twiss/Workman #2 – Douglas Steele
Mrs. Warfed/Mrs. Mustacaron/Mary McGinnis/Oleafyeah York/Eunice Huftalen/Mable Bohri – Cynthia Hechter
Standing: Trevor Vasey
Seated, L-R: Richard Long, Cynthia Hechter, Kari Holmberg, Tinia Moulder, Douglas Steele
Production Staff
Director – Lynn Lohr
Musical Numbers Staged by – John Tsafoyannis
General Manager – Thomas H. Berger
Stage Manager – Timothy Wilkins
Assistant Stage Manager – George Norby
Lighting & Properties Designer – George Norby
Original Sets and Costume Designer – Chris Johnson
Costume Coordinator – Lori Hartenhoff
Auditorium Technical Director – Randall E. Seitz
Technical Assistants – Trevor Vasey, William Rennie
This production was presented in the Weyerhaeuser Auditorium
at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul
Comment
I was a year out of college and new to the Twin Cities when I was cast in my first show at the History Theatre. I grew up in Delaware and knew pretty much nothing about the history of Minnesota. Being a part of the History Theatre changed all that very quickly. That summer I learned about logging and lumberjacks, farmers and the Great Depression, Lutheran Swedes and Italian Catholics, and the powerful stories of women who came before me generations ago. All of this resonated deeply within me. With the History Theatre I had the opportunity to travel and perform throughout the Midwest. As an east coaster, I was enthralled with the great expanses of farmland and the small towns we passed through. I loved the beauty of the prairie. I still do. Over the years I’ve been a part of many new works. I’ve felt the responsibility of authentically bringing these stories and women to life. It’s amazing to look back on all these roles and realize how important they have been to my own personal development. From Mary in Let Heaven and Nature Sing to Sweet Land’s Brownie (and the cowgirl, prostitute, gangster moll, one room schoolteacher, Hormel girl and others that came between) I have been grateful and honored to tell your stories.
– Tinia Moulder
Actor & Choreographer
A Servants’ Christmas
November 28-December 28, 1986
By John Fenn
This is a story about the Christmas celebration in a St. Paul mansion at the beginning of the last century, as seen through the eyes of a Jewish servant girl. The play is set in December at the Warner home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul during the early 1900s.
This was the second time in the annals of History Theatre that the organization concurrently offered two different productions in two different locations (A Servants’ Christmas and Logan Township #13). The first time that happened was six months earlier, during the Spring of the previous season (85-86) with two other plays (Speed and Down to Earth).
Cast
Mr. Warner – George Muellner
Eric Horne – John Cleveland
Frieda – Karen Wiese
Monica – Carol Allesee
Miss Pettingill – Gwynn Allen Warner
Anne Warner – LuAnn Adams
Richmond Warner – Jeff Radecki
A Visitor – Susie Cravens
L-R: LuAnn Adams, John Cleveland, Carol Alesee, Karen Wiese
Artistic & Production Staff
Director – Mac Harris
General Manager – Thomas H. Berger
Stage Manager – Wayne Hendricks
Assistant Stage Manager & Properties Designer – Anne Hodgson
Set Designer – Colin Tugwell
Costume Designer – Lori Hartenhoff
Set & Light Coordinator – Thomas H. Berger
Light Board Operator – Petra Hallfin
Technical Assistants – Dale Dobias, Phil Callen
This production was presented at the Women’s Club of Minneapolis
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Some Things That Can Go Wrong At 35,000 Ft. (World Premiere)
February 27-March 29, 1987
By John Orlock
Seven years after Lindbergh’s son is murdered, Europe is on the brink of war with Germany. At their Long Island home, Charles Lindbergh and his wife host a visit from an award-winning French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery (best remembered for having authored the novella, The Little Prince), who was also a pioneering aviator. The three examine Lindbergh’s past, present and future as a public and private figure. The play is set on an August weekend in 1939 and subsequent moments through 1944.
Cast
Antoine de Saint-Exupery – Jay Reilly
Anne Morrow Lindbergh – Elizabeth Bohun
Charles Lindbergh – Clark Sandford
L to R: Clark Sandford, Elizabeth Bohun, Jay Reilly
Production Staff
Director – John Orlock
Stage Manager – Wayne Hendricks
Assistant Stage Manager – Ann Hodgson
Costume Design – Lori Hartenhoff
Scenic & Lighting Design – Chris Johnson
Sound Design – Miriam Gerberg
Properties Design – Dan Smith
Technical Director – Trevor Vasey
Auditorium Technical Director/Electrician – Randall E. Seitz
Script Consultant – Diane McGee
Dogs in the Hot Moon (World Premiere)
April 24-May 24, 1987
By Lance S. Belville
Music composed & directed by Miriam Gerberg with assistance from Mic LaBriola & Ron Leith
The action of the play occurs between August 17th and December 26th, 1862 in the Minnesota River Valley on the western frontier of the United States. The Native American groups involved, the Sisseton, the Mdewakanton and the Wahpeton, all parts of the Dakota nation, were often called Sioux.
Cast
Major Joseph Brown – Jefferson Slinkard
General Henry Hastings Sibley/William Duley/Robinson Patwell/Isaac Heard – John Tsafoyannis
Killing Ghost/Williams Crooks/Soldier #1 – Sean Devitt
Chaska/Runs Against Something While Crawling/Thomas Robertson/Soldier #3 – Tony Frenier
Godfrey (Otakle)/Breaking Up/Soldier #2 – Hassan El-Amin
Chief Little Crow – Ron Leith
Mattie Williams/Little Crow’s Wife – Megan Grundy
Susan Frenier Brown/Priscilla Patwell – Randy Sue Latimer
Rev. Stephen Riggs – James Hoyer
Percussionist – Mic LaBriola
Understudy – Bruce Owen
Foreground, Hassan El-Amin – Background, Tony Frenier
Production Staff
Director – Vern Sutton
General Manager – Thomas H. Berger
Scenic & Lighting Designer – Chris Johnson
Stage Manager – William Arthur Rennie
Assistant Stage Manager & Properties Designer – Daniel H. Smith
Costume Designer – Nayna Rayme
Technical Director – Tervor Vasey
Technical Assistants – Lori Hartenhoff, John Banks, Patrick Moran
Auditorium Technical Director – Randall E. Seitz
This production was presented in the Weyerhaeuser Auditorium
at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul
