The Commonweal Theatre Company announces performance dates for its 2018 County Free Night Program. Theatre lovers living and/or working in Fillmore or Houston Counties are invited to attend — free of charge — Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky, a “luminously beautiful” play that will change the way you view the heaven and earth, on April 12; a charming musical tale about friendship and valuable lessons in fair play in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on May 10; the side-splitting comedy about a cleaning lady who’d rather perfect her stand-up routine in The Clean House on July 5; a new take on the classic seductive fiend in Dracula: Prince of Blood on September 6; and a holiday favorite as you’ve never seen—or heard—before in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play on November 29.
As a non-profit, the Commonweal relies on generous donations from audiences and corporations to sustain its programming; in turn, the theatre extends that generosity to the community five nights a year with the offer of free tickets. The intention is to remove any cost barrier for Commonweal’s closest neighbors to attend their local professional, live theatre. Currently celebrating its 30th season producing professional, live theatre, the Commonweal will again encourage patrons to “pay it forward” with the beneficiary being the theatre company itself through a suggested monetary donation for each free performance. The opportunity to donate will be available for the entire run of each production in honor of the 30th season, but primarily focuses on those patrons attending the complimentary performances.
Although the company will not be taking donations for community charities as in past years, the popular Art for Kids donation effort will return for the holiday season. During the production run of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, patrons are encouraged to donate new art supplies for patients at the Mayo Clinic Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital. All donation items will then be delivered to patients in time for Christmas morning.
All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and while admission is free of charge to residents and employees of Fillmore and Houston Counties, seating is limited and reservations are strongly recommended to be made at least two weeks in advance. There is a limit of four tickets per household. County Free Nights at the Commonweal Theatre are made possible with support from Merchants Bank of Lanesboro, Thrivent Financial in Lanesboro and Winona, AcenTek, POET Biorefining, Rushford Community Foundation and Nethercut Schieber Attorneys PLLP.
Funding for the Commonweal Theatre’s programming is provided in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the McKnight Foundation and other private funders. For more information about the 2018 season, visit www.CommonwealTheatre.org. To check availability and to reserve tickets, contact the box office at (800) 657-7025.
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