LUVERNE — The latest Green Earth Players production promises an hour and a half of laughter and fast-paced action on the stage of the historic Palace Theatre in downtown Luverne, as the cast and crew present “Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner.”
Directed by Sue Sandbulte, the play brings together three perennial GEP actresses — DJ Luethje as Maggie, Terri Ebert as Dora and Shannon Baack as Lydia — as sisters with very different personalities sharing the same big, old house on the corner.
“You get all three together and it’s a lot of craziness,” Sandbulte said. “It will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
The sisters — each in her late 70s or early 80s — have stirred up a bit of concern for the local doctor, who thinks it’s time they consider moving to a retirement home.
Doc Lomax, portrayed by Jim Harsma, develops a scheme to have his nurse Jean (Colette Hansen) move in with the elderly women as a boarder.
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“She can keep an eye on what’s going on in that house,” Sandbulte said. “He’s concerned at their age, can they take care of themselves.”
Doc Lomax did not anticipate Nurse Jean spicing up the women’s lives, however. She gets them to go jogging, pull Halloween pranks and host parties in that big old house on the corner.
As the women are having all sorts of fun thanks to the energy of their boarder and her grand ideas, Lydia’s son, Phillip (Dean Luethje), schemes to sell the house and convert it into a bed and breakfast — making lots of money for himself.
“He has the women all upset,” Sandbulte said. “There’s nothing wrong with the house and they’re perfectly fine living there.”
Just when the women don’t know what to do, Nurse Jean’s mother, Jessie (portrayed by Denise Deitchman) comes to town. She’s a cousin to Phillip and has no qualms about straightening out his perspective.
Add in five ratty squirrels that Lydia feeds, Nurse Jean’s boyfriend, Calvin (Gordie Hansen), trying to convince her to move out of the house, and the grocery delivery boy, Blue (Tyler Johnson) and there is always something happening, Sandbulte said.
“In Act 2, the sisters throw a party,” she added. “All I can say about that is they love eggnog — so you can imagine what happens.”
Sandbulte said the family show is open to people of all ages.
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Tyler Johnson and Denise Deitchman are new to the Green Earth Players with this production, and Dean Luethje, who has typically been behind the scenes in past productions, is joining the cast on stage this time around.
Tickets for "Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner" can be purchased through the Palace Theatre box office at (507) 283-4339 or online at palacetheatre.us.
Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., as well as April 7-9 at 7:30 p.m., and wrapping up with a 2 p.m. matinee on April 10.
