Broadway Rose Theatre Company continues its 2022 Season of Live Musicals with Don’t Hug Me, a Minnesota musical comedy. Preview performance is Thursday, April 14, with opening night on Friday, April 15, and performances continuing through May 8. Evening performances are Thursday through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sundays (no performance on Easter). Performances are held at The Broadway Rose New Stage located at 12850 SW Grant Avenue in Tigard. Tickets are priced from $30 to $50 for adults (depending on date). Tickets in the upper section for ages 6-18 are $20 and ages 19-35 are $25. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. $5 tickets are available for Oregon Trail Card holders through the Arts for All program. For a full listing of show performances or to order tickets visit www.broadwayrose.org, call 503.620.5262, or visit the box office at 12850 SW Grant Avenue, Tigard.
Oh, for cryin’ in yer snow shoes! It’s the coldest day of the year in Bunyan Bay when a slick karaoke salesman arrives at the town bar and turns the locals’ lives upside down in this “terrifically silly” (LA Weekly) romantic comedy. With over-the-top songs like “My Smorgasbord of Love,” “Upside Down in My Pickup Truck,” and “He Wore a Purple Tux,” you’ll be laughing ‘til the spring thaw!
Don’t Hug Me takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota. Cantankerous bar owner Gunner Johnson wants to sell the business and move to Florida. Clara, his wife and former Winter Carnival Bunyan Queen, wants to stay. Bernice Lundstrom, the waitress, wants to pursue a singing career. Her fiancé, Kanute Gunderson, wants her to stay home. It’s a battle of wills, and when a fast-talking salesman, Aarvid Gisselsen, promises to bring romance into their lives through the ‘magic’ of karaoke, all heck breaks loose! It’s Fargo meets The Music Man (without the blood or the trombones).
“Don’t Hug Me is part of a season of belly laughs,” says Artistic Director Sharon Maroney. “It’s wacky and kitschy and different than anything we’ve done before. I’m looking forward to our audiences laughing together this spring.”
Music by Paul Olson with book by Phil Olson. The Broadway Rose production will be directed and choreographed by Dan Murphy with music direction from Jennifer Ackerman. The creative team includes Bryan Boyd (Set Designer), Larry Larsen (Lighting Designer), Annie Kaiser (Costume Designer), Emily Wilken (Prop Designer), Brian Karl Moen (Sound Designer), and Jessica Junor (Production Stage Manager).
The cast comprises Matthew H. Curl, Clara-Liis Hillier, Peter Liptak, Kevin-Michael Moore, and Elizabeth Young.
For more information on Broadway Rose’s Covid Policy, please visit www.broadwayrose.org/company-updates.
Broadway Rose’s 2022 season is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the City of Tigard. The Title Sponsor is Pearson Financial Group and Neil Kelly is the production sponsor.
