February 2025
Made possible in part by Lake Country Power cooperative members through a grant through Operation RoundUp.
Agatha Christie’s
Murder on the Orient Express
Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig
“Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
In Advance: $22 Adult $20 Student/Senior. At the Door: $27 Adult $25 Student/Senior
10% Group Discount for 10+
Summary
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.
Cast List
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HERCULE POIROT- Aaron Prudhomme
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MONSIEUR BOUC- Bryan French
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MARY DEBENHAM- Emily Slaubaugh
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HECTOR MACQUEEN- Joshua Cagle
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MICHEL THE CONDUCTOR- Nathan Bergstedt
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PRINCESS DRAGOMIROFF- Laurie Antonson
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GRETA OHLSSON- Marie Sippola
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COUNTESS ANDRENYI- Chelsey Jo Johnson
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HELEN HUBBARD- Susie Loeffler
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COLONEL ARBUTHNOT- Charlie Butler
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SAMUEL RATCHETT- Gordy Savela
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HEAD WAITER/ADD’L VOICES- Tayler Emerson
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UNDERSTUDY-POIROT – Zach Nichols
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UNDERSTUDY-BOUC – Benjamin Robinson
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UNDERSTUDY-HUBBARD – Holly Durfee
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Crew
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DIRECTOR- John Schroeder
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STAGE MANAGER- Amy Stovall
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ASST SM/ASST DIR- Sammi Benson
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ASST DIR – Zach Nichols
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STAGEHANDS- Rachel Newman, Greg Tuttle
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BOARD OPPERATOR- Amanda Klampe
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COSTUME DIRECTOR- Sharon Marty
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FRONT OF HOUSE- Erin Greniger
Purchase TicketsMarch 2025
Tickets:
If you are part of a Senior/Assisted Living facility and wish to attend as a group, PLEASE CALL to place an order to ensure accommodations can be met (do not purchase tickets online). 218.327.5780 (M-F, 11am to 4pm).
The award winning Grand Rapids HS Jazz Ensemble welcomes you to hear the sounds of the Big Band era. The music will have you tapping your feet, snapping your fingers and if the mood moves you, dancing in the aisles!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
Folksinger/songwriter Kelley Smith is a hopeless romantic who fancies old poetry and grandpa sweaters. All at once whimsical and haunting, Smith delivers deeply affecting lyrics with wry charm and a time traveler’s voice. Prone to melancholy and daydreaming, Kelley spent her childhood roaming the woods of Minnesota and singing to forest animals. To this day, her longing for that landscape runs deep and seems to find its way into her songs in one way or another.
Raised by musicians, Smith always had music in her bones, but it wasn’t until she was 40 and a mother of four that her first record, Moon Child (2022), came to be. As an insomniac, she wrote this first batch of songs by moonlight. They evoke a sense of belonging, juxtaposed with escapism, as she croons about long-term love, grief, and her draw to the night sky. ”Her authentic, rootsy sound, falling somewhere between country, folk, bluegrass and old-time music, is a pitch-perfect vehicle for the themes she explores…” – Adventures in Americana
Since 2022, Kelley has been honored to share stages with folks such as Charlie Parr, Kelly Hunt, Wild Horses, Dave Simonett, Alan Sparhawk, Stephen Wilson Jr., John Louis, and Drew Peterson. Most often performing solo or as a duo, Smith interprets old folk songs on guitar and banjo, in addition to her original music.
”…armed only with her guitar and a spine-tingling voice, you couldn’t tell she’s only been at this a couple years. Smith transported the room into a realm of enchantment both beautiful and sorrowful. With deeply affecting lyrics and haunting melodies, Smith shared stories we could all relate to. Her solo acoustic set created an atmosphere of intimacy and vulnerability, allowing the audience to connect on a deep and personal level..” – Adventures in Americana
The Reif Cozy Concert Series features Minnesota-based singer-songwriters performing their own heartfelt and original compositions. You can expect a diverse range of styles, from folk and indie to blues and Americana. Each show offers a unique opportunity to connect with artists and their music in the intimate Ives Theater at The Reif Center. These poignant, stripped-down performances are sure to capture the raw intensity of the gifted storytellers grown right here in our region.
April 2025
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
Jed LaPlant, known by most as the frontman of Minnesotan western folk rock group Wild Horses, is a singer/songwriter from Grand Rapids, MN. Being born and raised among the long winters has influenced much of Jed’s storytelling, offering an intimate knowledge of both the beauty and the brutality of life in the Northwoods. Jed carries in his music a distinct appeal to dynamics and adheres to the importance of honesty in songwriting.
Opener: Dean Batten is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and motorcycle freak. He’s from Florida.
The Reif Cozy Concert Series features Minnesota-based singer-songwriters performing their own heartfelt and original compositions. You can expect a diverse range of styles, from folk and indie to blues and Americana. Each show offers a unique opportunity to connect with artists and their music in the intimate Ives Theater at The Reif Center. These poignant, stripped-down performances are sure to capture the raw intensity of the gifted storytellers grown right here in our region.
Tickets:
If you are part of a Senior/Assisted Living facility and wish to attend as a group, PLEASE CALL to place an order to ensure accommodations can be met (do not purchase tickets online). 218.327.5780 (M-F, 11am to 4pm).
Vocal Jazz is an auditioned chamber ensemble made of students in grades 11 & 12. This group rehearses and performs standard jazz charts, contemporary tunes, and madrigals during the holiday season. These students are learning about what it means to be a member of an ensemble through consistent collaboration with each other and taking ownership of their own musical ideas.
May 2025
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
Amanda is a Minnesota native and has released music drifting between folk, alt- pop/rock and Americana. With roots as a pianist her writing is thematically varied with an emphasis on melody; with ballads wrapped in warm vocals. In 2016 she received a Front Of The Line Pass from The Voice and her seventh album, “Please Dear Sun,” was nominated for Blues & Roots Radio Album Of The Year. Amanda just released her eighth album called Give Me Away. The songs reflect questions Amanda asks herself regarding the status of her own thoughts and heart, and through her music hopes to convey that the giving of oneself, reinforces goodness in the lives of others. Collaborating with Matt Patrick of The Library Studio of Minneapolis Amanda has created her most stunning recording to date with an insightful blend of rock, pop and folk sounds with an intent to showcase her sultry voice.
“As she hops from one genre to another, she doesn’t try to change, tweak, alter, or reinvent them. She simply owns them. And that is the secret of making yourself stand apart from the pack.” Dave Franklin, The Big Takeover
Her early inspiration came from her family’s loss of her nephew from leukemia and soon after, his father. Her nephew was diagnosed with leukemia and she was moved by his struggle and positive mindset. Bryce asked her to sing to him at the moment he passed away. That was her defining moment in her mind to open herself again to writing and performing. “Rainbow Skies” was written for all the kids at the St Mary’s Hospital who view the outside world through the stained glass rainbow window. Therefore, in 2010 she released a children’s album inspired by his memories called, “Trains, Cars + A Trip To Mars.” Soon after his father also passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm. Amanda wrote some songs from the experience and released, “Embrace” in 2012.
After a successful kickstarter project, she released her first EP called, “Keeping Hearts” in June 2014. That month she appeared at Ed’s No Name bar in Winona with her group Wildflower as the release event.
“Better Life” EP was released in December of 2017 with full length alternative “Rayne Angel” released in November of 2018. Rayne Angel is a flavorful and diverse full length alternative based album, and a truly Minnesota made album; all of the album captured in her own home. Recorded & produced by Fletch Archerd & Amanda Grace.
Her seventh album, “Please Dear Sun” was released in July of 2021 and is her most distinctly dissimilar album yet. The album focuses on humanity’s struggle with real and imagined, physical and mental confinement, as a result of the pandemic in 2020. The album was recorded in her home with Fletch Archerd (bassist/bandmate) and tracks mastered by Mike Milchener.
Amanda loves performing for all ages and on all sized stages. She joined The Mid West Music Festival at its inception. In 2015 and in 2018, she performed on the first day of the Wisconsin music and art festival, Ashley for the Arts. Wildflower joined the Boats & Bluegrass Festival in 2017 and her band played for Big Turn Festival. In 2019, her band performed at Big River Theater, Red Wing Arts Festival, and She Rocks Festival. With the great changes in the live music industry with Covid-19, she worked to move her music services online for a time and joined forces with Land Of 10,000 Streams Festival in 2020. Since then, her band has performed at the Mile Of Music Festival, Historic Paramount Theatre, Hopkins Center For The Arts, the Historic Chateau Theatre of Rochester, The Park Theater, The Landmark Center in St Paul, and the Minnesota State Fair.
Amanda is supported onstage with many outstanding midwest musicians including: Jim Trouten, Amber Fletcher, Peter Boysen, Fletch Archerd, Jake Allen, Jeff Perry, Bob Johnston, John Della-Selva, Dave Casey, Matt Patrick and more.
The Reif Cozy Concert Series features Minnesota-based singer-songwriters performing their own heartfelt and original compositions. You can expect a diverse range of styles, from folk and indie to blues and Americana. Each show offers a unique opportunity to connect with artists and their music in the intimate Ives Theater at The Reif Center. These poignant, stripped-down performances are sure to capture the raw intensity of the gifted storytellers grown right here in our region.