Audience favorites “I Am Betty” and “The Root Beer Lady” are returning to St. Paul’s History Theatre for its newly announced 2024-25 season.
“As we look ahead to the new season, I hope there is something in each production audiences connect to and leave inspired to continue learning more about our shared history,” said artistic director Richard D. Thompson in a news release. “The expansive look back covers many aspects of human society including social, industrial, military, economics, religion, community and more.”
Season subscriptions are $292 (five shows), $248 (four shows) and $197 (three shows), with discounts available for seniors. Current subscribers can renew now, with sales opening to new subscribers on May 7. Single tickets go on sale July 9. See historytheatre.com for details.
The lineup includes:
“Behind the Sun” (Sept. 21-Oct. 13): Stanley Kipper and Laura Drake wrote this play about a Black man who finds the house of his dreams. The problem is that it’s 1956 and the home lies inside a redlined district in an all-white neighborhood. He comes up with a plan to purchase the house that will either land him in jail or help change the future for his family and for all of Minneapolis. It’s based on Kipper’s own experiences.
“I Am Betty” (Nov. 23-Dec. 29): Created by an ad agency for General Mills in 1921, the fictional character of Betty Crocker became a radio and television personality, a letter-writing confidante and a relatable icon for multiple generations. Cristina Luzarraga (book, lyrics) and Denise Prosek (music, lyrics) use the persona to examine the lives of women and society throughout the past 100 years. The History Theatre debuted the show in November. In a Pioneer Press review, Rob Hubbard called it “a tremendously entertaining whirlwind tour of American women’s changing roles over the course of Betty Crocker’s first 100 years, 1921 to 2021.”
“The Root Beer Lady” (Jan. 25-Feb. 23): Written and performed by Kim Schultz, this one-woman show tells the story of Dorothy Molter, the last legal non-indigenous resident of the Boundary Waters who was called the “Loneliest Woman in America” by the Saturday Evening Post in 1952. In his Pioneer Press review, Hubbard wrote that “it’s something like a memoir in monologue that chronicles how a nurse from Chicago heard the call of the loon and left civilization behind, paring her life down to essentials and cultivating a profound connection with nature.”
“Secret Warriors” (March 29-April 19): Inspired by the story of the Japanese Americans who served as translators and interrogators for the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, Rick Shiomi’s play tells the story of two men whose stories people don’t know. It’s set at two Minnesota training camps located at Fort Snelling and Fort Savage.
“Whoa Nellie: The Outlaw King of the Wild Middle West” (May 17-June 8): Josef Evans’ new musical is the tale of a fake detective (and former child performer) whose countless criminal exploits and penchant for male attire made her a Minnesota media sensation. Along the way, her story examines historical realities around gender, addiction, mental health and celebrity.
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