2021 season
This summer, the Mississippi Bend Players return to the Brunner Theatre Center!
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15-20.
Red, June 17-20
By John Logan
Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio on the Bowery.
But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. Raw and provocative, RED is a searing portrait of an artist’s ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work.
Winner of the 2010 Tony Award.
Mary and Ethel: How I Learned to Sing, June 24-27
Conceived and performed by Shelley Cooper
Musical arrangements by Mason Moss
Shelley Cooper, Augustana assistant professor of theatre, pays homage to two of the great muses of the Golden Age of musicals. Cooper belts out favorite tunes from hit shows as she entertains with stories about the lives of Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, their material, and how they influenced her own career as a performer.
Featuring songs from "Anything Goes!," "Hello, Dolly!," "The Sound of Music," "South Pacific," "Annie Get Your Gun," Peter Pan" and more.
No Child... July 8-11
By Nilaja Sun
"No Child…" follows the story of Miss Sun, a visiting teacher who uses theatre as a means of connecting with students in the New York City public school system. This one-person play, based on the playwright’s own experiences, is a tour-de-force as the actor plays 16 different characters in rapid succession, including Miss Sun, her students, other teachers and administrators, and even the school’s 80 year-old janitor.
An insightful, hilarious, and touching master class not to be missed by anyone concerned about the state of the education system and how it might be improved.
