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DON'T HUG ME Musical Comedy
Winner of 4 Artistic Director Achievement Awards Best Original Musical Best Author Original Play Best Director Best Ensemble Cast
Received top honors in The Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence, the McLaren Memorial Comedy Playwriting Competition and was selected top 5% in The Chesterfield Writer's Film Project out of 2,600 scripts. Don't Hug Me is available for licensing through Samuel French Publishers.
Please visit www.donthugme.com for more info. Synopsis: The setting is a small bar in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota, up near Canada. It’s the coldest day of the year and Gunner Johnson wants to sell his bar called, "The Bunyan," and move to Florida. Clara, his wife, wants to stay. The waitress, Bernice Lundstrom, wants to pursue a singing career. Her fiancé, Chanute Gunderson, wants her to stay home. When a fast talking salesman, Aarvid Gisselsen, promises to bring more romance into their lives through the magic of karaoke, the lutefisk hits the fan.
Featuring 17 original songs including:
"Clever...Eclectic...More than the typical hotdish
musical review!" - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"The Olson brothers have done for karaoke what
Christopher Guest did for folk music in "A Mighty Wind!"
- Sherman Oaks Sun
A DON'T HUG ME CHRISTMAS CAROL Musical Comedy Wrote the book and lyrics for A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, including 17 original songs. A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, the sequel to Don't Hug Me, opened and played in 5 cities simultaneously in 2006, extraordinary for live theatre.
Please visit www.adonthugmechristmascarol.com for more information.
A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol is now available for licensing through Samuel French Publishers.
Synopsis:
It's Christmas Eve and cantankerous Gunner gets in an
argument with his wife, Clara. He declares that he doesn't
want to have Christmas this year, storms out of the bar and
goes snowmobiling across the lake. On the lake, he hits a
soft spot, falls through the ice on his skidoo and goes into
a coma. Gunner then comes back to the bar in his dream and
witnesses what goes on when he's not there. He's visited by
world famous folk legend, Sven Yorgensen, who plays the
ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Sven takes
Gunner (Scrooge) on a journey similar to that in "A
Christmas Carol" only very different. Will Gunner come out
of his coma and find redemption at The Bunyan? Find out. - I'm So Hosed - What Would Barbra Streisand Do?
"Best Musical of 2006!"
-Reviewplays.com "If you're looking for something to put you in the holiday spirit, be sure to catch A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol!" -Kane County Chronicle
Click to view
Tolucan Times Review
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A DON'T HUG ME COUNTY FAIR
Musical Comedy
Please visit www.ADontHugMeCountyFair.com for more information.
A Don't Hug Me County Fair is now available for licensing through Samuel French Publishers.
WINNER! Best Author Original Play Artistic Director Achievement Award
Synopsis: It’s county fair time in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota,
the biggest thing that’s happened since the winter carnival
snowplow parade. This year the Bunyan County Fair means two
things to Gunner and
"It's wonderful!" - Dick Clark, TV Icon
______________________________________________________________________________ POLYESTER THE MUSICAL Musical Comedy Wrote the book and lyrics for Polyester The Musical. Polyester The Musical first opened at Actors Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California in November, 2009, to rave reviews and sold out houses.
Please visit
www.PolyesterTheMusical.com for more information. It's "Mamma Mia" meets "Spinal Tap"
POLYESTER THE MUSICAL is the story of THE SYNCHRONISTICS, an
over-the-hill ABBA wannabe group that reunites after 20
years to perform at a public access tv telethon, put their
differences aside, and try to save the station from going
under. The year was 1979 and The Synchronistics were big.
Big enough to be on Johnny Carson. Their hit single, "Better
Together" rose to number two on the Billboard Charts. Then
something terrible happened that drove the group apart. And
now, 20 years later, they're back together in Maple Valley,
their home town, to perform at the 1999 WKLN public access
TV Telethon. Will they overcome their differences from 20
years ago, act professionally and help save WKLN from going
under? Probably not. But you never know what to expect when
this dysfunctional group gets together...one last time. A
farcical 70's time warp. "Be sure to check out this toe-tapping, hilarious journey back to your Dancing Queen days!" - Actors Entertainment
“A rollicking good time!" – The Tolucan Times
"Polyester The Musical is by far the most successful and
well accepted shows in the 10 year history of the Garden
Guest Dinner Theatre. The audiences absolutely adored it. I
was asked several times by audience members, "How are you
going to top this one?" ____________________________________________________________________________ A NICE FAMILY GATHERING Family Comedy A TWO-ACT PLAY A Nice Family Gathering, won the Rochester Playwright Festival, was a finalist in the The Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence, and The Phoenix Theatre’s Festival of Emerging American Theatre, and a semi-finalist in the Ukiah Players New Comedy Festival as well as the Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project. The play was produced in Los Angeles at the Groundlings Theatre and at The Group Repertory Theatre, receiving LA WEEKLY Pick of the Week. The play was also produced in Rochester, Minnesota as part of the national playwright competition, and at the Scandinavian Festival in Thousand Oaks, California. Please visit www.anicefamilygathering.com for more information. A Nice Family Gathering is now available for licensing through Samuel French Publishers. Synopsis: A Nice Family Gathering is a story about a man who loved his wife so much, he almost told her. It’s Thanksgiving Day and the first family gathering at the Lundeen household since the Patriarch died. At the gathering, Dad comes back as a ghost with a mission; to tell his wife he loved her, something he neglected to tell her while he was alive. After all, they were only married for 41 years. The problem is, she can’t hear or see him. The trouble begins when Mom invites a date for dinner. "…hilarious and touching…" LA WEEKLY Pick of the Week "…exquisite sense of humor…memorable characters…" Daily Variety "…a good heart is behind all this family silliness…" Los Angeles Times "…Garrison Keillor meets "Topper" by way of "Fargo"…" NPR "…a surefire, laugh-a-minute hit…" The Tolucan Times "…hilarious…superbly directed…" American Eagle News "…uniformly superb performances…" NoHo News "It’s packed with mishaps that translates into fun…" Encino News Click to view _____________________________________________________________________________ CRÄPPIE TALK a.k.a. KOLD RADIO, WHITEFISH BAY Comedy TWO-ACT PLAY Cräppie Talk won the Gilmore Creek Playwright Competition and was a semi-finalist in the Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project. The play was produced at The Group Repertory Theatre in North Hollywood, receiving LA WEEKLY Pick of the Week, and at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota as part of the national playwright competition. Cräppie Talk was also produced at the Scandinavian Festival in Thousand Oaks, California, and at the Hostfest; the national Scandinavian Festival in Minot, North Dakota. Please visit www.koldradio.com for more information. Cräppie Talk is available for licensing through Eldridge Publishing under the title, KOLD Radio, Whitefish Bay. Please visit www.histage.com for info about licensing. Synopsis: The setting is Whitefish Bay, Minnesota, up near the Canadian border. Lars Knudsen is the host of a radio show called, "Crappie Talk," devoted entirely to ice fishing for Crappies. Lars has no listeners, so he loses his only advertiser, Ole’s Bait Mart and Deer Petting Farm. Martha Bjorklund, Lars’ love interest, hosts "Book Beat." She has all the listeners, and all the advertisers. Lars has issues with this. The issues multiply when a Brooklyn Italian comes to Whitefish Bay, buys the radio station, promotes Martha and fires Lars. "Olson has actually come up with a two act pilot for a TV series. In high conseptese, it’s Cheers, meets WKRP in Cincinnati, meets Newhart…and throw in Fargo, too…" LA Times "Combine superb comic writing with solid direction and a smart cast with great timing, and you’re headed for a comedy hit." LA WEEKLY Pick of the Week "…hilarious…side-splitting pace…A real audience pleaser, this comedy is totally silly, entertaining and refreshingly unique." The Tolucan Times "A heart-warming tale in cold Minnesota where you’ll find love, laughter and a wonderful time." Irish News "Set in the American Heartland of Whitefish Bay, it is the plain spoken Minnesotan story of Lars Knudsen’s need to find love…" American Eagle News "…a pleasant romantic comedy…very entertaining." Gardena Valley News "This one really reels in the laughs." Arthur Cantor - Tony Award Winning Producer Click to view _________________________________________________________________________ Produced One-Acts: THE SECURITY GUARD a.k.a THE NAM THE FOLKSINGER HURRICANE GRAMMA Three people are evacuated to a high school gymnasium during a hurricane; the work-a-holic advertising executive, the woman of his nightmares, and the most lovable, interfering old woman are all "ruled" by an over-zealous security guard. Hurricane Gramma is available for licensing through JAC Publishing at www.jacneed.com. TODD and BECKY THE FOREST RANGER THE TOUR GUIDE A tour guide at the Gene Autry Museum makes things up to sound impressive.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT Two women meet a man in a bar and discover his disturbing secret. Girls Night Out is available for licensing through Heuer Publishing at www.hitplays.com. Produced Sketch Comedy: APOLLO CREED vs. MOTHRA NO WAXY BUILD-UP PUBLIC DOMAIN
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