Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre and the First Nighters Club will present the Medieval Dinner Theatre. This immersive and interactive event will transport patrons back to the 14th century. It is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Masonic Building in Marquette.
“Dinner theatres are huge within the community and entertainment world so we wanted to try one here at NMU and give our students the experience of working on one,” FRT director Bill Digneit says.
U.P.-based performance artist Jamie Weeder wrote the script for the show, a play titled “The Maniac King,” and directs the production as well. Cast members say it has been enjoyable experience, most notably for its improvisational sections and extensive character development.
There’s a lot of improv incorporated into the show and I really enjoy doing that,” sophomore theatre major Jacob Laitinen says. “It’s not something you get to do a lot in regular theatre.”
Freshman biology major Madeline McDonald says, “It’s been a really fun and interesting experience. I’ve never done character development like this before. Jamie really makes us get inside the head of our character and work to really figure out why our character says this or does that.”
There will also be live music and dancing throughout dinner provided by Joel and the Good Boys, the Borealis dancers, and a madrigal choir directed by Erin Colwitz of the NMU Music Department.
Tickets are on sale now at NMU EZ ticket outlets and are $50 for the general public and $25 for students. Doors and cash bar will open at 6 p.m., with a buffet-style dinner beginning at 6:30.
For more information, contact Bill Digneit at 227-2044 or wdigneit@nmu.edu.