Jon Hassler Theater

Date Modified: 06/18/2008 11:11 AM

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The Jon Hassler Theater is an affiliate of the Rural America Arts Partnership, not-for-profit professional theater in the small rural Minnesota town of Plainview, Minnesota. The theater group performs four plays during their season.

The JHT itself is housed in the Rural America Arts Center, a former International Harvester implements dealership. The building is one of a few thousand of similar design that populated the rural American landscape beginning in the late 1940s. The Jon Hassler Theater has 225 permanent seats and lobby exhibition space of approximately 3,000 square feet. The theater is fully equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems, dressing rooms and handicapped accessible restroom facilities.

It is the only theater space to which the renowned Minnesota author Jon Hassler has allowed the use of his name. Hassler spent his middle school and high school years in Plainview in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Hassler’s popular novel Grand Opening is based on his Plainview experience.

Upcoming Shows:

The Good Doctor - June 14-July 13, 2008
by Neil Simon

In the late 1800s, Anton Chekhov - the man who was to become one of Russia’s greatest playwrights and storytellers - wrote a number of humorous newspaper articles which helped pay his way through medical school.  In The Good Doctor, Neil Simon, Broadway’s master of comedy, deftly weaves together eight of these early Chekhov plums into a comedic masterpiece replete with conniving con-artists, sly seducers, hapless government toadies, and a haranguing harridan of a peasant who knows how to get her way, especially when money is at stake.  It’s laugh-out-loud comedy as only Neil Simon can create!

The Hassler Summer Sampler - August weekends

The Rochester Radio Theater Guild

Yes, Virginia, there really was entertainment before TV, Video, and the Internet! The RRTG returns to the Hassler with their wacky and witty recreations of classic gems from the golden age of radio. Come and be a part of the “studio audience”!

Women Who Drink, written and performed by Lesley Orr

Toasted by audiences at theaters in the Midwest for over 18 years, Women Who Drink is a happy hour of intoxicating comedy spiked with razor sharp wit and sobering observations. Playing sixteen loopy ladies, each named after their drink of choice, outrageous Leslye Orr conjures up a great menu of barflies, each as distinct as their hair-dos and hats. Meet stout “Beer,” wild “Margarita,” bubbly “Coke,” crazy “Coffee” and many more!

An Elephant Up a Tree!
Storytime/Playtime with Leslye Orr for children ages 3+

Children, bring your favorite stuffed animal with you and join Leslye Orr for a morning of interactive fun! Leslye will begin with a storytelling performance of Dr. Seuss' Horton Hatches the Egg, told with a symphony of funny voices and characterizations. She will also play entertaining interactive theater games and share her vocal skills with you --- and you and your stuffed animal can share your talents too! Learn how to talk like an elephant, cry like a baby, and make all kinds of sounds without using a single battery! 45 minutes. Ages 3+.

Enchanted April - September 20-October 19
by Matthew Barber

This romantic comedy is the next best thing to taking your own vacation!  In 1920s London, two middle-aged women from the same church find that they are both seeking relief from the endless rain and their unsatisfying marriages.  Pooling their resources, they rent a villa in Italy and set about finding two other women to travel with them and share expenses.  Accompanied by a young socialite and a snooty dowager, the ladies find rejuvenation under sunny Italian skies.  When their husbands unexpectedly arrive on the tranquil scene, chaos and comedy ensue!

The O'Connor Girls - November 22-December 21
by Phil Olson

Don't Hug Me is an award-winning musical comedy that takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota. It’s the coldest day of the year and cantankerous bar owner, Gunner Johnson, wants to sell the business and move to Florida. Clara, his wife and former Winter Carnival Bunyan Queen, wants to stay. Bernice Lundstrom, the pretty waitress, wants to pursue a singing career. Her fiance, Kanute Gunderson, wants her to stay home. It’s a battle of wills, and when a fast-talking salesman, Aarvid Gisselsen, promises to bring romance into their lives through the ‘magic’ of karaoke, all heck breaks loose! Featuring 16 original songs including, I’m a Walleye Woman in a Crappie Town, My Smorgasbord of Love, I Wanna Go to the Mall of America, The Bunyan Yodel, Upside Down in my Pickup Truck, and more.

For show times and more information visit www.jonhasslertheater.org.