Madhatters bring new production to life in Wadena
News | Published on January 9, 2024 at 4:02pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0By Chad Koenen
Publisher
The Wadena Madhatters are putting the finishing touches on their latest production centered around a small town in the heart of Northern Minnesota.
“Don’t Hug Me” will drop the curtain for the first time on Friday night for the first of three shows this weekend. The production will host a show next Saturday and Sunday as well.
The comedy centers around the small town of Bunyan Bay, Minnesota where a grumpy bar owner, Gunner Johnson, wants to sell his business and move to Florida. His wife Clara, who is a former Winter Carnival Bunyan Queen, wants to stay in her hometown.
Bernice Lundstrom, who is a pretty waitress, wants to pursue a singing career, while her fiance, Kanute Gunderson, wants her to stay home.
It’s a battle of wills and when a fast-talking salesman, Aarvid Gisselsen, promises to bring romance into their lives through the “magic” of karaoke, all kinds of craziness ensues.
Director Michelle Curtis said the show is essentially “Fargo meets the Music Man.” The show is set in northern Minnesota in a bar and features a cast of five people from the Wadena area, as well as the director and lights/sound person.
The production is the first of six plays as part of the “Don’t Hug Me” series. Curtis said the hope is to perform several of the shows locally in future years.
“There’s six in the whole series and we’ve got two more in the books for sure,” she said. “We knew that we wanted to do a couple of the others in the series so we’re going to start with the first one and go from there.”
Show times for “Don’t Hug Me” include Jan. 12, Jan. 13 and Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 14 and Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. There will be a dinner one hour prior to the show at all five shows at the Wadena VFW.
The cost for the dinner and show is $30 for adults, senior and military is $28 and students are $25. There are also show-only tickets that are available as well.
Tickets are available at www.madhattersinc.org, or by calling the Wadena VFW at (218) 632-6591. Curtis asks that people purchase tickets ahead of time, if possible, to help with the meal planning.