We're Back!
The cast of A Schreck in the Night or Yes! We have Nosferatu are thrilled to entertain you in the first melodrama of the 2021 summer season.
Left to right, Carl Benson, Doreen Coleman, Seth Petersen, Nan Strauss, Brian Bedard, Brian Rohrs, Hannah Olson, Dane Holmes and Stephanie Neher.
Season Opens with "Free" Admission for First Melodrama
Live theatre in Mantorville is back! To celebrate and welcome you back, the June show will be free will offering! First come, first serve. To make reservations call 507-635-5420.
June 11-27, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Lifeless for more than a year, Mantorville Theatre Company comes back to life with the undead featured in the first melodrama of the 2021 season. The historic Opera House has been dark. But now the lights are on, the cast is LIVE (well, almost) and resident ghosts are stirring in anticipation of its first summer melodrama, “A Schreck in the Night” or “Yes! We Have Nosferatu.”
The show opens Friday, June 11 and runs to Sunday, June 27, Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:00. It is open seating but you may make a reservation by phone if you wish, 507-635-5420, leave a message. Masks are welcome/encouraged but not required if you have been vaccinated.
Excited to be open and anxious to welcome audiences back to the theatre, the MTC board decided admission is to be by freewill donation for this show. We hope folks will be generous but we want ensure all the area theatre buffs can join us for the reopening.
“A Schreck in the Night” or “Yes! We Have Nosferatu” was written by Greg Miller and is directed by Nan Strauss. An archaeologist’s sweet daughter must decide what to do with her deceased father’s precious collection of relics when, unbeknownst to her, a pair of scoundrels have their minds set on robbing her blind. Throw into the mix a fumbling friend, an oddball hero, and a crazy old Gypsy woman searching through the collection for the remains of her long-lost husband (who happens to be a vampire) and mayhem ensues! Will the villains get away with it? Will good prevail? Will that bloodsucker stay dead?
The cast members include Hannah Olson as Sonia Smithson, Stephanie Neher as Armanda Legg, Brian Bedard as Philonius A. Sault, Carl Benson as Count Schreck, Seth Petersen as Willy and Doreen Coleman as Maria the gypsy.
If you have never been to a melodrama you need to know that you too can get into the act. Because audience participation is encouraged… “Hurray”, “sigh”, “boo”, “hiss” away – Count Schreck may even hiss back at you! You can also offer encouragement or warnings to the characters, such as “Look out! He’s behind you!”
The second melodrama will be “A Curse Comes Home” or “Professor Pembroke’s Predicament” running July 9-25. The third is “A. Sault on the Senses” or “A Medium at Large”, running August 6-22.
Live theatre in Mantorville is back! To celebrate and welcome you back, the June show will be free will offering! First come, first serve. To make reservations call 507-635-5420.
June 11-27, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Lifeless for more than a year, Mantorville Theatre Company comes back to life with the undead featured in the first melodrama of the 2021 season. The historic Opera House has been dark. But now the lights are on, the cast is LIVE (well, almost) and resident ghosts are stirring in anticipation of its first summer melodrama, “A Schreck in the Night” or “Yes! We Have Nosferatu.”
The show opens Friday, June 11 and runs to Sunday, June 27, Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:00. It is open seating but you may make a reservation by phone if you wish, 507-635-5420, leave a message. Masks are welcome/encouraged but not required if you have been vaccinated.
Excited to be open and anxious to welcome audiences back to the theatre, the MTC board decided admission is to be by freewill donation for this show. We hope folks will be generous but we want ensure all the area theatre buffs can join us for the reopening.
“A Schreck in the Night” or “Yes! We Have Nosferatu” was written by Greg Miller and is directed by Nan Strauss. An archaeologist’s sweet daughter must decide what to do with her deceased father’s precious collection of relics when, unbeknownst to her, a pair of scoundrels have their minds set on robbing her blind. Throw into the mix a fumbling friend, an oddball hero, and a crazy old Gypsy woman searching through the collection for the remains of her long-lost husband (who happens to be a vampire) and mayhem ensues! Will the villains get away with it? Will good prevail? Will that bloodsucker stay dead?
The cast members include Hannah Olson as Sonia Smithson, Stephanie Neher as Armanda Legg, Brian Bedard as Philonius A. Sault, Carl Benson as Count Schreck, Seth Petersen as Willy and Doreen Coleman as Maria the gypsy.
If you have never been to a melodrama you need to know that you too can get into the act. Because audience participation is encouraged… “Hurray”, “sigh”, “boo”, “hiss” away – Count Schreck may even hiss back at you! You can also offer encouragement or warnings to the characters, such as “Look out! He’s behind you!”
The second melodrama will be “A Curse Comes Home” or “Professor Pembroke’s Predicament” running July 9-25. The third is “A. Sault on the Senses” or “A Medium at Large”, running August 6-22.
Willy (Seth Petersen) and Philonius A. Sault (Brian Bedard) run from Maria (Doreen Coleman) and Count Schreck (Carl Benson) who are out for blood.
Ulysses Hall (Dane Holmes) shows Sonia Smithson (Hannah Olson) and Armanda Legg (Stephanie Neher) where he hid the Gutenberg Bible. (... not “Good News” for Count Schreck!). Photos by Melanie Dobson
About the Cast of Schreck in the Night
Hannah Olson (as Sonia Smithson) is going into 11th grade at Kasson Mantorville. She has been doing school theater since 5th grade and has been doing summer melodramas since 7th grade. She would like to thank all her friends and family for always supporting her.
Stephanie Neher (as Armanda Legg): Stephanie Neher is a TN native, a wife and a mom of two teenagers. She's an avid reader and animal lover. The current fluffy head count in their house is four dogs and six chickens. This will be her third time on the Mantorville stage and she is beyond thrilled to be back with the theater crowd once again.
Dane Holmes (as Ulysses Hall): Dane Holmes is a sophomore at Iowa State University who’s ready to put on an epic show tonight. He’s only home for the summer so enjoy it (“or not – I won’t judge”) while you can. He’s been in too many shows in high school to bother listing, but the notable ones include his role as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, and Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. His time is mostly spent not knowing what to do with his future and doing calculus like a nerd. Now, with all that stuff that only his mother is going to read being said, Dane really hopes you enjoy the show.
Brian Bedard (as Philonius A. Sault): This is Brian’s third time on stage in Mantorville. Previously he was in Love, Sex and the I.R.S. and The Dastardly Diamond of Destiny. He also worked backstage for the eerie musical Nevermore. He is very active in local community theater and has been a part of over 20 productions all around SE Minnesota. He is a Web Developer for the University of Minnesota. He is an aspiring voice actor and writer.
Carl Benson (as Count Schreck, the nosferatu, the “wampire”): Carl Benson is thrilled to be back on stage at the Mantorville Opera House. He thanks Nan Strauss for the opportunity to appear in such a witty and entertaining melodrama.
Seth Petersen (as Willy): This budding young, comic actor is 16 years old. He lives in Hayfield and enjoys spending time with his family, playing games, reading, and acting.
Doreen Coleman (as Maria, the gypsy): Doreen, of Kasson, is tickled magenta to return to the Mantorville stage and reprise the role she was born to play: That Woman Who Makes Too Much Noise. In order to prepare for this mildly iconic role, Ms. Coleman has spent her pandemic year binge-watching British mysteries and WWE highlights videos. In her spare time, she has also managed to organize Minnesota’s only competitive Jell-o carving team. Watch for us in the 2024 Olympics!
Nan Strauss (director): Nan has been enjoying Mantorville melodramas since 1976 - acting, directing and even writing a few. She is delighted the theater is open again; giving her another chance to work with old friends and with new friends, and with the funky, historic building.
Brian Rohrs (as the talented pianist): This is Brian’s fourth Melodrama with MTC. The last time he tickled the ivories in 2019, he composed an original overture, “Aboard the Isadora Bell” for The Dastardly Diamond of Destiny or Curses Ahoy! In his thespian past, Brian performed with a community theater troupe when he lived in California.
Hannah Olson (as Sonia Smithson) is going into 11th grade at Kasson Mantorville. She has been doing school theater since 5th grade and has been doing summer melodramas since 7th grade. She would like to thank all her friends and family for always supporting her.
Stephanie Neher (as Armanda Legg): Stephanie Neher is a TN native, a wife and a mom of two teenagers. She's an avid reader and animal lover. The current fluffy head count in their house is four dogs and six chickens. This will be her third time on the Mantorville stage and she is beyond thrilled to be back with the theater crowd once again.
Dane Holmes (as Ulysses Hall): Dane Holmes is a sophomore at Iowa State University who’s ready to put on an epic show tonight. He’s only home for the summer so enjoy it (“or not – I won’t judge”) while you can. He’s been in too many shows in high school to bother listing, but the notable ones include his role as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, and Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. His time is mostly spent not knowing what to do with his future and doing calculus like a nerd. Now, with all that stuff that only his mother is going to read being said, Dane really hopes you enjoy the show.
Brian Bedard (as Philonius A. Sault): This is Brian’s third time on stage in Mantorville. Previously he was in Love, Sex and the I.R.S. and The Dastardly Diamond of Destiny. He also worked backstage for the eerie musical Nevermore. He is very active in local community theater and has been a part of over 20 productions all around SE Minnesota. He is a Web Developer for the University of Minnesota. He is an aspiring voice actor and writer.
Carl Benson (as Count Schreck, the nosferatu, the “wampire”): Carl Benson is thrilled to be back on stage at the Mantorville Opera House. He thanks Nan Strauss for the opportunity to appear in such a witty and entertaining melodrama.
Seth Petersen (as Willy): This budding young, comic actor is 16 years old. He lives in Hayfield and enjoys spending time with his family, playing games, reading, and acting.
Doreen Coleman (as Maria, the gypsy): Doreen, of Kasson, is tickled magenta to return to the Mantorville stage and reprise the role she was born to play: That Woman Who Makes Too Much Noise. In order to prepare for this mildly iconic role, Ms. Coleman has spent her pandemic year binge-watching British mysteries and WWE highlights videos. In her spare time, she has also managed to organize Minnesota’s only competitive Jell-o carving team. Watch for us in the 2024 Olympics!
Nan Strauss (director): Nan has been enjoying Mantorville melodramas since 1976 - acting, directing and even writing a few. She is delighted the theater is open again; giving her another chance to work with old friends and with new friends, and with the funky, historic building.
Brian Rohrs (as the talented pianist): This is Brian’s fourth Melodrama with MTC. The last time he tickled the ivories in 2019, he composed an original overture, “Aboard the Isadora Bell” for The Dastardly Diamond of Destiny or Curses Ahoy! In his thespian past, Brian performed with a community theater troupe when he lived in California.
Our 2021 schedule is subject to change, depending on health and safety standards set by state and federal government.
A few snapshots from past shows
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There are many ways to get involved and support Mantorville Theatre Company.
We appreciate every bit of support no matter how big or small.
We appreciate every bit of support no matter how big or small.
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CONNECT WITH USThe Mantorville Theatre Company is a non-profit community theater that produces eight, yes, EIGHT, shows every year! While the MTC is famous for its four Summer Melodrama Shows, we also produce four additional full-length comedies, dramas, and musicals the rest of the year. Want to keep up to date on shows, auditions and special events?
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