Come and See A fun Play in an Intimate Dinner Theater Setting!

Backstage in Bancroft presents “Arsenic and old Lace”
By Nathan Countryman, Assistant Editor


BANCROFT—The classic play “Arsenic and Old Lace” will be presented on Thursday, August 18, Friday, August 19 and Sunday, August 21 at Main Street Pub and Grill.

“This play isn’t about sex or love,” said director Rev. Glenn Wilson. “It’s about murder.”

Recently, members of the cast took a chance to introduce their characters to those in attendance of the Party in the Park.

Rev. Robert Wolfert is playing the character of Teddy Brewster. He is convinced he is the president of the United States, Teddy Roosevelt, and is digging the locks of the Panama Canal in the basement of the Brewster house.

Rev. Dr. Glenn Wilson portrays Jonathan Brewster, who has received a bad plastic surgery job. The role was originally played by Boris Karloff, the actor made famous for playing Frankenstein and the Mummy.

Aunt Abby is played by Kate Thompson.

“My favorite line is ‘there is one gentleman in the basement that isn’t ours. The other 12 are our gentlemen,” Thompson said.

Victoria Koestler, co-president of Backstage in Bancroft, plays Dr. Witherspoon, the superintendent of the Happy Dale Sanitarium.

“All conventional households have secrets,” Koestler said.

Rev. Wayne Garman is portraying Mortimer Brewster, the titular character of the Mortimer household. He is a drama critic.

“Playwrights have no imagination and are killing theater,” Garman said was one of his favorite lines from the play.

Aunt Martha is played by Diane Wilson, a woman who loves to cook and mix up great things like elderberry wine.

“I take one gallon of elderberry wine and mix one teaspoon of arsenic, a half teaspoon of strychnine and a pinch of arsenic,” Diane said.

Director Glenn Wilson has had fun with working on the new theater start-up in Bancroft.

“Everything is new and takes building from the ground up many things that other theater groups have already done,” Glenn said. “We have a great cast, many of which have been acting for the first time.”


Glenn also praised Joseph Kesserling’s script as a drama that even new audiences could enjoy.

“Kesserling’s script holds up really well,” Glenn said. “He pokes fun at newspaper drama critics, and the script is a lot of fun.”

Tickets are currently on sale for the dinner theater of “Arsenic and Old Lace” to be shown on Thursday, August 18, Friday, August 19 and Sunday, August 21. Thursday and Friday’s shows begin at 6 p.m., and Sunday’s show begins at 4 p.m. A social time begins at %;30 before the dinner on Thursday and Friday, ON Sunday the meal follows the show.

The cost of the tickets is $30, with $20 going towards the four star meal meal.

“The staff of Main Street Pub and Grill will be serving chicken cordon bleu, salad, potatoes and dessert,” Glenn said.

The other $10 goes to helping the new not for profit theater company starting up.

Advance tickets for the chicken cordon bleu meal need to be purchased by Friday, August 12.

The show has drawn talent from across Kossuth County for the production, including five different pastors in the roles of cast and crew.

“We’ve drawn talent from Algona, Burt, Titonka, Bancroft and Woden,” Glenn said.

Glenn also said that without Koestler and Charlie Kennedy’s work and vision, the creation of Backstage in Bancroft wouldn’t have been possible. Special thanks is also due John and Jan Hellman, owners of the host restaurant, the Main Street Pub and Grill in Bancroft.

A Great Tree Has Fallen

A wonderful man, the patriarch of a proud family, the kindly grandfather and great grandfather to many children has left us. Joseph DiPietro died this week, and the world is less because of his leaving. He was a man of principle and integrity, a leader in his career, a supportive member of his church, and he was active in service to his community. He was also my father-in-law. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

In Southeastern Alaska, where my wife Diane and I once ministered, the Tlingit leaders had a saying for when a leader had passed on the glory. "A great tree has fallen, and the forest is crying." Joseph DiPietro was a great tree in our midst. He touched the hearts of his family and he made a strong, positive mark in this world.

Joe, as friends called him, served his country honorably as a soldier in World War II, and then continued to serve the nation and fellow soldiers in a distinguished career as an administrator of Veteran's Administration hospitals. He supervised the start-up of a number of key hospital facilities and had a key role in shaping the agency that has helped millions of veterans with their health concerns. He helped this nation keep its commitment to its troops, and the nation is better because of his careful leadership.

Joe was a no-nonsense leader -- he could cut through situations like a knife through butter to get to the root of a problem. Then he worked with his team to find the solution to the problem and implement that solution. The country could us more of his problem solving, pragmatic leadership today.

Joe lived a remarkable, abundant life. He was 95 years old when he died, but it still came as somewhat of a surprise. He had been so strong, so vibrant, so active for so long, that many in his family suspected he might outlive us all. But the time came for even Joe to go home to be with the Lord, and in his typical way, Joe exited the stage with little fanfare. He became ill and in a short time he was gone. But he lives here in the hearts of a large great family, his dear wife Elizabeth, and the dear memories of them and his many friends.

Joe would not want us to focus on his death, which for such a committed Christian as he was and is, is just a transition, a spiritual passage to a better realm. No, his legacy is how lived -- how he did live his life to its fullness.