Boundary Waters Connect’s Tuesday Group saw a sneak peek of Northern Lakes Arts Association ensemble performance of Oklahoma, which will debut June 18-28.
“This is our 40th anniversary season, I call it the people’s season…it’s all shows that were most requested in our surveys from the past year,” said Ian Francis Lah, executive artistic art director of NLAA.
Lah introduced Tuesday Group to most of the summer season’s company, 15 young actors and actresses from around the U.S. Folks from Missouri, Maryland, even New York City have made the trek to spend their summer in Ely, and they are all eager to get into the outdoor recreation the Boundary Waters offers.
Many cast members stated the reason for coming to Ely is the draw of the Boundary Waters.
Savannah DeCrow of Dallas, TX, said, “Part of what I love about theater is that it takes you to places like this, that I probably never would have gone to otherwise…I think theater is really great about bringing communities together and showing you cultures and landscapes and climates you might have never encountered before.”
The musical theater world, it turns out, is rather small as well. Lah shared a story of how one of this season’s performers’ mother was a student of Lah’s father back in the day.
Austin Anderson, playing Judas Isacariot in Jesus Christ: Superstar, met another cast member at his very first theater job in Montana.
“That was a really big selling point of wanting to come back here…when you can all come back together and create something bigger than yourself, it’s so special,” said Anderson.
Performer Truman Griffin, shared why he got into musical theater.
“I was an athlete growing up, I played baseball…I was very shy and I really struggled with self-confidence. I had never spoken in front of a group of people and got burnt out on baseball...I sort of thought if I could get into theater and get on stage, then maybe I would be more confident in my personal life…I really just wanted more confidence to talk to girls…but I fell in love with being on stage, and that’s why I got into theater.”
After the performance, the discussion turned into a “guide to Ely,” from the local perspective. A few suggestions from the audience include Semer’s Park, the North American Bear Center, the International Wolf Center, the Kawishiwi Falls hike, Ely Steam Bath, the Soudan Mine Tour, and the Secret/Blackstone Loop hike.
Please visit https://www. northernlakesarts.org/season to view NLAA’s summer schedule and to purchase tickets for upcoming shows.
