Guest column by Rosalie Truax

Albert Lea Community Theatre celebrates its 50th year of continuous operation the weekend of Sept. 18 to 19 with a Golden Gala event. From its first organizational meeting called by Dr. John Campbell in the fall of 1965, the Albert Lea Tribune has been involved in its promotion and growth.

Campbell cajoled then-editor Ken Allen into writing an editorial piece extolling the virtues of community theater. Droll and not-easily-impressed Allen commented, “John Campbell has issued a call for a public meeting next Wednesday at Southwest Junior High auditorium and he hinted he’d like me to make appropriate editorial noises about this meet — which I am doing.” Forty people attended that meeting, passed the hat and selected the play “A Man Who Came to Dinner” for their first production. With that event, ACT was born.

Love Cruikshank, society editor for the Tribune, attended the first meeting and was subsequently cast in that play. She became the faithful reporter covering every theatrical event with her cumbersome camera. For years she followed the press protocol of the time by referring to women by their married name, as in Mrs. John Campbell, rather than Nancy Campbell.

In coming years, a number of Tribune personnel were involved in theater events, including Editor Jim Oliver; reporters Kevin Sweeney, Mary Newgard and Michael Dapper; and before her untimely death, Geri McShane attended dress rehearsals and could be counted on for fair and accurate reviews of the current show. ACT could not have grown into the community theater it is today without the support of the Albert Lea Tribune and other local media coverage.

The ACT Golden Gala event at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center will include a stage production on Sept. 18, honoring ACT’s history and the role of volunteers. Saturday night will feature “ACT on Stage,” with musical numbers from past shows. Refreshments will be served after each show and the theater will be open for public touring at 5:30 p.m. each day. On Sept. 20, the Freeborn County Historical Society will feature at its Autumn in the Village special displays of ACT memorabilia, supported in part by a grant from the Minnesota Legacy funds.

Tickets for the evening shows may be purchased online at www.actonbroadway.com or at the box office, 147 N. Broadway, 377-4371.

 

Rosalie Truax is a member of Albert Lea Community Theatre.