'Double Take at Beartice's Boardin' House' - 2008

'Double Take at Beartice's Boardin' House,

or... Things Ain't Always What They Seem' -by Debbie McBeth Christiansen

April 17, 18, 19

Luseland's Pothole Productions performed their 6th annual performance.

This year, the 8 person cast and crew performed Debbie McBeth Christiansen's 'Double Take at Beartice's Boardin' House, or... Things Ain't Always What They Seem'.

The two act play had awide range of characters; from a cranky deaf border Beaulah May Forbush (Gerri Olfert), to the ugliest girl to ever appear in drama productions throughout the nation, Augusta Worth (Harvey Roszlein). Her 'addle-brained' twin Adelaide (Jackie Wankel) didn't say a word all night but remained entertaining, and Mortimer Taylor (Gary Frick) reminded the others every time he spoke that he was mainly a mortician, but mostly a the mild mannered man.

The play centers around Beatrice Goodale (Donna Fowler), a young woman distressed with the possibility of losing her Boarding House due to a lack of business. Consequently, she fears that she and her friends will end up living on the street.

A possible solution to her problem arose when Luther Swett (director Max Magnus) asked for her hand in marriage. Swett inherited Beatrice's late-father's money, which would benefit Beatrice by giving her access to the funds to keep her business. However, the dreaded thought of marrying Swett prompts her friends to put their heads together, and come up with an idea to save the business.

Thus, the Boarding House became 'Broadway and Brunch.' The local talent acts performed as part of the 'Broadway and Brunch' theme were Max Magnus (Major Miner) recited an engaging poem of Sam McGee, Travis Obrigewitch , 'The Trickster' performed his juggling act on Thursday and Friday night and on Saturday night , Jerry Walz (Jerry and His Pacemaker) gave a performance with his omnichord. Shirley Knorr, Laurie Body, and Diane De Witt (Slough Dance) demonstrated their tap dancing skills, later joined by Alan Olfert, who did his Michael Flately imitation. Dan Olfert and Murray Wankel (The Harmonizers) entertained the audience with their harmonic, yet comedic duet of the song 'Sweet Violets'. Jackie Wankel & Harvey Roszlein (The Worthy Sisters) did a musical number with Harvey playing is ukulele and Jackie Wankel hitting the tambourine when given the nod from Harvey (Beaulah Mae tried to get into their act by dancing a jig, but was soon motioned to get off the stage. Joan Weidenhammer (Dame Florence) performed her hilarious opera performance (her rendition of 'The laughing Song' by Florence Foster Jenkins) .

However, the fictional characters were less amused, and the 'Broadway and Brunch' idea became a failure, leaving Beatrice no choice but to walk down the isle and wed Swett. Of course, the jocular, yet predictable play ended on a happy note. The ugly woman turned out to be 'Justice', the heroic investigator that saved the day. Justice stopped the wedding, revealing that he found Beatrice's father's real will which provided Beatrice the funds to save her business.

Oh, and like any amusing play without any sense of enlightenment or educational purpose, you can't forget the cheesy pun that accompanied the ending, 'No Swett, Justice prevailed'.

D.K Molar, the Devious Dentist

By Billy St. John

March 8, 9, 10, 2007

Photo courtesy of Gary Frick

Cast & Crew: L to R Diane Hurford, Harvey Roszlein, Vern Gevers, Leslie Frick, Shirley Knorr, Laurie Body, Cheryl Bergen

Luseland area residents taking in the production of D.K. Molar,The Devious Dentist: spent most of the play in hysterics thanks to the funny antics of its cast last weekend.
The Luseland Pothole Production's two act comedy, a melodrama set in 1915 written by Billy St. John, was nothing short of hilarious as each character took a turn in keeping the audience laughing throughout the performance.
The play was based on depraved dentist D.K. Molar (played by Harvey Roszlein) and his noxious assistant Nova Caine (played by Shirley Knorr) who remove gold fillings from their patients' teeth and replace them with a mixture of fool's gold and metal.
When the metal reacts with the acid in patient Polly Dent's (played by Cheryl Bergen) food, it acts as a radio receiver causing her to hear voices and music in her head Dent kept the audience in side-splitting laughter while she danced and twirled about the stage.
Patient Iva Paine (played by Laurie Body) revealed similar behavior when she, too, was affected by the metal, and the nitrous oxide.
The scheming Dr. Molar and his assistant didn't fool. Molar's new receptionist ,Flossy Daily (played by Leslie Frick) and upstairs dentist Phil de Tooth (played by Vern Gevers).
Daily and Dr. de Tooth work together to solve the mystery of why the work room is kept locked, and the unusual behavior of Dr. Molar's patients.
During this time Daily has captured the eye of Dr. Molar while his assistant puts the moves on upstairs dentist Dr. do Tooth.
While Caine is all prim and proper. with her tight bun and crisp nurse's outfit, Knorr reveals through her keen acting skills that looks can be deceiving.
Most convincing of all is first-timer Roszlein, who has a wonderfully natural talent at acting. Roszlein plays the perfect villain as Dr. Molar with convincing facial expressions and body language as he tries to woo the lovely Daily
while keeping secret his scheme to get rich, Frick has a tough role to play as Daily, with timing a key factor in many parts of the play. At one point she had to use her charm to pick Dr. Molar's pocket for his work room key, make an impression of the key using dental putty and make a copy using the silver material used to fill the patients' teeth, and performs the task perfectly.
Having gained access into the work room, Daily discovers that the dentist and his assistant removed gold fillings from their patients' teeth and melted it into gold bars. When the two reveal what they have learned about Dr. Molar and nurse Caine, Dr. Molar pulls out a gun and Caine fills the room with nitrous oxide, leaving all characters in hysterics as Dr. de Tooth and Daily tie up the two villains - ending the production with the humorous tone it began with.

Parlor Games

March 16, 17 18

Photo courtesy of Jim Fowler

Cast & crew: Back row L-R: Max Magnus, Gary Frick, Tracy Olfert, Alan Olfert, Donna Fowler, Gerri Olfert, Shannon Burgess, Allan Doel, Leslie Frick (Lights & Sound)
Front row L-R: Jackie Wankel, Irene Body, Joyce Heintz, Victoria Knorr, (makeup) Diane Hurford, (prompter) Cheryl Bergen, Zelly Boyce, Cathy Fischer
Missing: Diana Frick

Parlor Games' was loaded with bits of physical comedy including everything from spit-takes to slapstick humor.
Luseland Pothole Productions, under the direction of Max Magnus with help behind the scenes from Diana Frick, Leslie Frick,Diane Hurford (prompter) and Victoria Knorr (makeup) pulled off the presentation of "Parlor Games" beautifully last week at the march 16, 17 & 18 performances.
Enthusiastic crowds were on hand all three nights, despite the weather, and their laughter made it obvious that the players had accomplished their job of making the play laugh-out-loud funny.
The cast was comprised of a perfect mix of show biz veterans and talented newcomers.
Mort McNulty (Allan Doel) had the challenge of playing most of his role while lying in a coffin. As a practical joker, he has come up with the perfect prank. He fakes his own death, puts an obituary in the paper, and rents out the viewing room at the funeral parlor in order to play a joke on his buddy Dave (Alan Olfert). He also wants to hear what people will say about him after he's dead, before he's dead! Allan drew big laughs every time he popped up from the coffin to make wisecracks. The scenes that involved moving Allan's "body" around amounted to hilarious.
His wife Tricia (Shannon Burgess) handled her demanding role as a good-natured scold superbly. She arrives straight from the family sporting goods store wearing a team jersey and shorts. Mort explains his prank, saying there is no way Dave can top this one. She refuses to go along with the gag, and tells everyone who shows up that it is a joke. Unfortunately for her, no one believes her.
Roberta Kluzinski (Gerri Olfert) appears looking for her recently deceased Aunt Wanda's lawyer. She is the Director of Living Sky School Division, and believes Tricia is in denial about her husband's death, especially when Tricia tries hitting her up for a substitute-teaching job in the middle of the wake. Dave Collins, a lawyer, comes to comfort Tricia and mourn the loss of his best friend. Nobody got bigger laughs than Max Magnus, (who played judge John Fahey) who is on his way to a costume party dressed as Carmen Miranda when he experiences car trouble. He stops in at the funeral parlor to call a tow truck and look for help. Kay Ingalls (Tracy Olfert) of the Luseland Police Department charges onto the stage, attempting to arrest Dave for breach of promise. We discover that he has just left her at the altar. We then meet Harley Allenbrand (Gary Frick) an employee at Thompson & Sons Funeral Parlor who ran away from the Shady Rest Home. He likes to take naps in the coffins, and invented the funeral home's drive through video (where there is some problem with the wiring). He is the "lawyer" that Roberta has been looking for. The action really heats up with the arrival of Grace McNulty (Donna Fowler) Mort's bossy mother. She is appalled to see Mort lying in a reclining easy chair, and quickly organizes the others into searching the funeral parlor for all the proper funeral accessories. This results in three coffins being wheeled onstage, one of which contains Roberta's Aunt Wanda (a taxidermist).
Various others show up for the wake, having seen the notice in the paper, including the Grandma (Joyce Heintz), Ma (Irene Body) and Daughter (Jackie Wankel) the professional wake goers who wonder when the lunch will be served. Grandma spends her time scouring the newspapers and scheduling their time to hit as many wakes as possible. We also meet Diane Kukelski (an old girlfriend of Mort's who has now joined the convent of the Sisters of the Divine Word) played by Zelly Boyce; Fiona Belanger, the block club representative from the block club, who got stuck with doing the wakes elegantly played by Cathy Fischer, and Alice Hochenbeck who coached the McNulty Maulers Pee Wee Team (Mort's losing team) to their first win played by Cheryl Bergen.
The action is brisk and very entertaining, with several misunderstandings happening. Harley has trouble finding room for all the coffins since there is some renovations going on at the funeral home, so decides to store one of them in the oven. Thankfully, it's Aunt Wanda and not Mort who is cremated, although Roberta doesn't see it this way when she discovers a codicil in Aunt Wanda's will demanding that she be stuffed in order for Roberta to get her inheritance. Kay is still trying to figure out a punishment for Dave for running away from their wedding, the Judge is begging everyone in sight for a ride to the party or he forfeits on a bet, the only one who believes Tricia that Mort is still alive is Harley, and Dave decides to propose to Tricia.
Tricia figures out a way to get Dave and Kay together by telling the Judge she wants to renew her vows with Mort via a proxy, Dave. She then gets Kay to be her proxy as she conveniently leaves the room, leaving Dave and Kay to say the vows and legally get married. Tricia also helps Roberta figure out another way to honour her aunt's memory by suggesting she supply the girl's sports teams with new uniforms and equipment - ordered through McNulty's Sporting Goods Store of course. Mort reveals he is still alive, Roberta gives the Judge a ride to his party, and all ends well.
Max, Carla, Alex, Adam Magnus, Louis Obrigewitch and Scott Frick added the right touch with their added recorded off-stage voices.

'You Can't Be Too Careful'

Photo courtesy of Gary Frick

Cast & crew : Back: L-R- Donna Fowler, Gerri Olfert, Leslie Frick, Diane Hurford, Max Magnus, Teri Scheidt - Front: L-R : Jackie Wankel, Shannon Burgess, Shirley Knorr, Laurie Body

TAMMY ROLLIE of The Citizen

Nine local actors put on an unforgettable performance during the Luseland Pothole Production's dinner theatre performance last weekend.
Characters ranging from a dimwitted criminal accomplice to soap-opera fanatics captured the attention of hundreds of spectators and kept them laughing throughout the performance of "You Can't .Be Too Careful" during the sold out Friday and Saturday night dinner theatres, and the Sunday afternoon performance at the Luseland Community Hall.
The story line itself proved to be an attention grabber when four women playing bridge receive an unexpected visit from two bank robbers looking for a place to hide out. The characters didn't fail to keep the audience laughing with their unique quirks and references to local residents and situations - always a hit in the Luseland performances.
Each character offered his or her own humorous antics to the two-act play written by Carolyn Lane with actor Max Magnus as the most memorable playing the dim-witted bank-robbing sidekick.
Without thinking, Jonesy, played by Magnus, reveals not only the details of the robbery committed at the Royal Bank, but removes his disguise and keeps the humor going with such comments as, "Well soak me in rum and call me a fruitcake".
The unsuspecting ladies, Edna, played by Laurie Body, Madge, played by Shirley Knorr, Alice, played by Jackie Wankel, and hostess Harriet, played by Leslie Frick, are your stereotypical bridge-playing, soap opera watching small town ladies.
Wankel plays suspicious no-nonsense Alice perfectly portraying the not-so-taken-so easily skeptic who serves as the brains of the operation while Frick plays Harriet, who, takes much pride and care in her plants and can best be described as the drama queen of the group.
Harriet is anything but suspicious when two strange bearded men show up at her door claiming they work for Communities in Bloom magazine and have come to take pictures of her yard. Sensible Alice tries to warn Harriet that these men could be dangerous, soap opera addict Edna, who can't seem to separate her favorite soap opera from real life
and Harriet, will not hear of it and is convinced it was her gorgeous yard that attracted the photographer and his partner.
When the crooks reveal themselves as just that, the women become frantic but it doesn't take long for them to warm up to - Jonesy - who to crook-in charge Charlie Smith's annoyance can't keep quiet.
Teri Scheidt plays the head crook, a demanding and serious gun-waving man who takes his job seriously.
The play takes a turn when Harriet receives a number of visitors requiring the crooks to either hide or disguise them. The first to visit is Avon lady Francine played by Shannon Burgess.
Francine takes advantage of the situation to sell some of her products while being forced to "act natural" with the other ladies as the home receives another visit - this time from the local meter reader, played by Donna Fowler.
Despite several failed attempts to inform the meter reader of their desperate situation, it is Alice who saves the day coming up with the idea to spell out their situation in a game of Scrabble, which is read by their next visitor - the television repairwoman they had been expecting from the start, played by Gerri Olfert.
While the ladies await their rescue, the lovable Jonesy not only takes an interest in some of the Avon products but joins in a couple of games of cards losing almost $50 to Alice. The charade comes to an end with policewoman Gerri Olfert saving the day. The women, and audience, soon learn that the crooks were anything but experienced. But as Magnus' character says at the end of the performance "You can't be too careful.

'The Family Man'

March 5,6,7, 2004

Photo courtesy of Travis & Dawn Kennedy

Cast & crew - Back L-R: Jerry Walz, Conrad Gartner, Betty Lavertu, Max Magnus, Gerri Olfert, Jackie Wankel, Donna Fowler, Leslie Frick, Brenna Walz- Front: L-R: Seana Binns, Shirley Knorr, Amanda Knorr, Brenda Briggs, Allan Doel, Robin Anderson

Tammy Rollie of the Kerrobert Citizen

Luseland actors had no problem keeping their audience in hysterics in its recent production The Family Man.
With a unique story to tell and a hall full of eager spectators, Luseland's . Pothole Productions proved a resounding success with the March 5 and 6 dinner theatres which sold out and another 119 onlookers for the Sunday dessert theatre. Not only did the ironic story line-captivate the audience, the actors and actresses did a fantastic job bringing their characters to life and putting themselves in a light many audience members had never seen them in before.
Each character presented a unique personality to the play, which told the ironic tale of a couple switching roles due to unfortunate circumstances. The play Pothole Production's second annual production was written by Benjamin Bernard Zavin and Carl Leo and directed by Leslie Frick.
Accident-prone accountant Bill Cahill (Max Magnus), a former all-star athlete, breaks his leg forcing wife, Ellen(Gerri Olfert) to enter the workforce unraveling a twisted and humorous tale as the unwilling Cahill eventually succumbs to home life and within six months masters skills in baking, hosting, and even gets caught up in soap operas. All the while, Ellen starts to climb the corporate letter of the Canadian Copper Corporation.
Introduced to the story was an interesting cast of characters including the Cahill's nosey yet well-meaning neighbor, Gladys Beeman (Donna Fowler) who has a unique taste in wardrobe, laid-back yet successful businessman and brother-in-law Vincent (Allan Doel) whose comments weren't welcomed by Cahill, the mind-bending foreigner Dr. Hartnett (Jackie Wankel) whose mental diagnosis drove Cahill up the wall, gossipy PTA members Stella (Amanda Knorr), Gertie (Brenda Briggs) and Myrtle (Shirley Knorr) who adored "the new" Cahill, and Ellen's, boss C.V. (Robin Anderson) who didn't know what to think of the unwilling host.
As the audience watched Cahill's transformation they enjoyed many local references to residents, communities and even the weather.
As the play progressed, the friction between husband and wife intensified despite their switched roles. Secretly, both husband and wife enjoyed their new roles but everything turned upside down when Cahill and his wife learn that he's won the Homemaker of the Year Award with his entry of Scotch Fancies and essay 'A Home Is a Growing Concern'. Of course, he had entered wife Ellen's name who is unwilling to take the credit for his success.
Within minutes their home is filled with persistent Crossroads reporter (Conrad Gartner), the PTA, Gladys, Vincent and representatives from a national women's daytime television program Jerry Trevor (Jerry Walz) and Lucille Ford (Seana Binns) eager to give out the award and prized to Ellen.
When the truth comes out the media sees a new angle to the story and happily present Mr. Cahill with a: large sum of money, kitchen appliances, a vacation to Bermuda and his own 13 week home show to broadcast.
To the relief of many, this story, too, had a happy ending.

"My Son is Crazy----but promising"

March 28, 29, 30, 2003

Photo courtesy of Gary Frick

Cast & Crew: L-R: Donna Fowler, Kathy Balion, Allan Doel, Alan Olfert, Jackie Wankel, Adeline Gottfried, Laurie Body, Shirley Knorr, Robin Anderson, Jared Fischer, VIctoria Knorr, Gerri Olfert, Max Magnus, Jerry Walz- Missing in picture, stage crew, Leslie Frick, Brenna Walz, Betty Lavertu

The Ritz-Apache Lodge was the perfect setting for 14 crazy characters to meet in the unusual and hilarious performance My Son is Crazy.. But Promising, written by Tim Kelly and directed by Luseland's Leslie Frick.
The most unusual was Cora Ames (Victoria Knorr) who was convinced she had been abducted by aliens and was awaiting their return.
Each of the 14 characters added their humor to the play with (Allan Doel) as the inept foreign spy Dimitri Jones who was working with undercover FBI agent Susan Claypool (Shirley Knorr) in an attempt to make Dimitri appear dangerous so no one would question his reason for being there, the southern/country speaking Sheriff Bates (Jackie Wankel) who wasn't too keen on college students digging for dinosaur bones near the lodge, Gert Witherspoon (Adeline Gottfried) who was a crusty old lodge employee with her hair in rollers, screenwriter Bud Granger (Max Magnus) who was determined to gain his fortune from digging in a nearby mine rather than writing scripts, honeymooners Arthur and, June Whitney, (Jared Fischer and Robin Anderson) whose honeymoon turned to a disaster when Arthur got " gold fever" and high-maintenance June was not impressed with the "Ritz" lodge and almost left her husband, and Bud's mother, a former actress Tilly Granger (Gerri Olfert) who wallowed in self pity because her show was replaced by Rocky the Flying Squirrel.
The play started to take a turn when Bud and Tilly found the body, of mobster Oysters Rockerfeller (Alan Olfert) and were determined to hide it so they wouldn't be accused of killing him, while his girlfriend ChiChi Vazoom (Donna Fowler), an aspiring starlet, was determined to find her Oysters. The situation got even more crazy when investigative reporter Fay Armstrong (Laurie Body) showed up to do an expose on Oysters, followed by the appearance of sleazy Hollywood producer Larry Lime (Jerry Walz) begging Granger for a script and lottery official Karen Russell (Kathy Balion) who provided Cora with $5 million for her winning lottery ticket