“Zombie Prom” cast pictured are (from left to right) Lucas Hanson, Nessa Kane, Audrey Ruff, Taylor Vick, Mikayla Hiner, Lorenzo Fernandez, Caleb Johnson and Eva Stadtlander. Cast not pictured are includes- Gwen Thompson, Ezra Vorvik, Jillian Volz, and Oliver Brummel, Gabe Hiner and Julia Severtson. (Photo by Roz Weis)
New Minowa Players is excited to announce its 2024-2025 season, which starts in August with the Young People’s Production.
“Zombie Prom” written by John Dempsey will be the young people’s production and will be directed by Libby Phillips and Jensen Korsness.
This girl-loves-ghoul rock ‘n’ roll off-Broadway musical is set in the atomic 1950s at Enrico Fermi High, where the law is laid down by a zany, tyrannical principal. Pretty senior Toffee has fallen for the class bad boy. Family pressure forces her to end the romance, and he charges off on his motorcycle to the nuclear waste dump. He returns glowing and determined to reclaim Toffee’s heart. He still wants to graduate, but most of all he wants to take Toffee to the prom. The principal orders him to drop dead while a scandal reporter seizes on him as the freak du jour. History comes to his rescue while a tuneful selection of original songs in the style of ‘50s hits keeps the action rocking across the stage. Zombie Prom will be performed Aug. 8-11 at the New Minowa Players Theatre.
Phillips and Korsness described themselves as lovers of all things theater, saying they were confident directing a show was within their abilities.
“There was no shortage of creativity between the two of us, both having practically grown up on the stage,” the directors said in a joint statement. “There was no shortage of ideas with choreography, blocking, set and costume design — but, those are the fun parts of directing. With the fun came having to figure out how to schedule our one, very short and extremely valuable month of rehearsal around 13 people’s already packed full schedules.”
The directors said their cast and crew overcame difficulties, such as the late arrival of scripts as they prepared for dress rehearsals.
“Thankfully, our cast and crew blew us away with their ability to learn materials and adapt to whatever crazy roadblock ended up in our way during a particular week of rehearsal,” the directors said. “When we first read the synapsis and listened to the soundtrack of this show, we knew that this was an adventure we were more than willing to take on, and we thank the cast, crew and audience for being a part of the adventure with us.”
New Minowa Players announce upcoming season
The second show of the season, the Children’s Show, features actors in first through eighth grade. “How the Camel Got Its Hump” is a one-hour musical based on one of Kipling’s “Just So Stories.” The musical was written by Rick and Sheryl Scheffert, who will also serve as director and music director. In the beginning, when most animals began to work, the camel was idle and refused. The dog, the horse, and the ox all told him he should join in the work, but the camel only answered, “Humph!” Auditions for “How the Camel Got Its Hump” will be Aug. 23. The show will be performed Oct. 24-27.
November brings the play “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose, directed by Alex Rosenow. A 19-year-old man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” mutters the guard as the 12 jurors are taken into the bleak jury room. It looks like an open-and-shut case — until one of the jurors begins opening the others’ eyes to the facts. “This is a remarkable thing about democracy,” says a foreign-born juror, “that we are notified by mail to come down to this place—and decide on the guilt or innocence of a person; of a man or woman we have not known before.” “Twelve Angry Men” will be performed Nov. 7-10 at the New Minowa Players Theatre.
“Doctor Dolittle” by Leslie Bricuse will be the January show, directed by Sheryl Scheffert. The musical tells the classic tale of a wacky but kind doctor who can talk to animals. The show takes the audience on a journey from the small English village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh to the far corners of the world. Doctor Dolittle is wrongly accused of murder and, once pronounced innocent, continues with his search for the Great Pink Sea Snail – the oldest and wisest of the creatures on earth. Doctor Dolittle will be performed Jan. 16-19 and 24-25, 2025, at the New Minowa Players Theatre.
The Spring Show will be Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by David Mendez. A group of four Athenians run away to the forest only to have Puck the fairy make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen. In the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two couples reconcile and marry. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be performed at the New Minowa Players Theatre April 10-13, 2025.
The 2025 Summer Musical will be Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance,” directed by Sheryl Scheffert. Frederic, in his youth, was accidentally indentured to a band of pirates. Now celebrating his 21st birthday, he feels ready to leave piracy forever and find a suitable wife. He soon learns, however, that he was born on Feb. 29, and since his indenture specifies that he remain a pirate until his “21st birthday,” he must serve for another 63 years. Performances of “The Pirates of Penzance” will be performed June 23-26, 2025, at the Decorah High School Auditorium.
Tickets for all performances are available at newminowaplayers.org/tickets.
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