Church Basement Ladies return to Mantorville for ‘Last Supper’
Mantorville Theatre Company is pleased to announce that the “ladies” are back! All interested parties are encouraged to “signup” soon for the “potluck” to guarantee a seat at “the table” in the historic Opera House! (Not an actual dinner, so please leave your favorite hotdish at home.)
The musical The Church Basement Ladies in “The Last (Potluck) Supper” is inspired by the books of Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, including the best seller Growing Up Lutheran; written by Greta Grosch with music and lyrics by Drew Jansen opens Friday, April 5, at the Mantorville Opera House.
It’s 1979 and the church is celebrating its centennial with a reunion on the lawn and Pastor returns for the celebration. Karin, now the president of the church council, makes the difficult decision they must close the church. Beverly now has four children. There are many flashbacks of the Ladies’ past and even their heritage dating back to Grandma Nokleby in 1897. There’s a flashback to Arlene’s Hotdish in 1957 and the 1978 Cookbook with musical numbers like On The Eighth Day (God Created the Church Basement Lady) and The 24-hour Mom-bo! Audience members will find lots to laugh about and will relate to the heartache of letting go and saying goodbye to a place with its familiar friends and traditions. The musical is directed by Cheryl Frarck who also plays Vivian Snustad; Kathryn Heroff is Mavis Gilmerson, and Karen Masbruch plays Karin Engelson. All three have played these roles before; new to the Mantorville “basement” cast are Annie Johnson as Beverly Signe Engelson Hauge and Tim Heroff as Pastor E.L. Gunderson. Levi Livingood will accompany the cast on their journey on the piano and as musical director.
The Last (Potluck) Supper will be on stage Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., April 5-21. Tickets have been on sale for a few weeks and seats (Sundays especially) are filling up. Reservations can be made online at www.mantorvilletheatrecompany.com or by calling 507-635-5420.