The Mississippi Bend Players, Augustana College’s professional regional theatre, is beginning their second summer season with the opening of Big River on June 22. Based on the classic 1884 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the original Broadway musical won seven Tony awards, and is being performed June 22-24 and June 29-July 1 at the Brunner Theatre Center on the Augustana College Campus.
Their second summer production is The Glass Menagerie, which opens on July 13. A Tennessee Williams play with strong autobiographical elements, a family faces financial hardship and the older sister of the protagonist finds refuge in her collection of glass figurines. Beginner’s Luck, opening August 3, completes the season and is an original work written by P.J. Lasker, of The Golden Girls and Barney Miller fame. In this comedy, a previous child actor deals with the loss of fame as he ages.
Listen to the conversation here with Mike Schultz, the Producing Artistic Director for the Mississippi Bend Players, about the formation of this regional professional theatre group, the behind the scenes work that goes into staging three summer productions, and their summer internship programs offered to qualifying students and young professionals.
A day camp for budding thespians in the Quad Cities is also being held June 25-29 this summer, organized by the Old Creamery Theatre Company. To learn more, click here.
Can’t get enough of local theater? Following the Friday and Saturday evening performances on the last weekend of each production, catch the “Show After the Show”, which continues to showcase the talents of the Mississippi Bend Players cast.
Friday and Saturday night performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday productions are at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online, at the Augustana College Box Office, or by calling (309) 794-7611. All performances are held at the Brunner Theatre Center.
