Jon Hassler’s 11th Season

The Jon Hassler Theater is already well into its 11th season of bringing professional theater to the small town of Plainview, Minnesota. This week is the final week for Old Man Brunner Country.

Old Man Brunner Country

Old Man Brunner Country is an adaptation of Minnesota Poet Leo Dangel’s poems that sketched the rural world surrounding "Old Man Brunner." The poems are narrated by a younger man who relates the tales of the curmudgingly daring Brunner. The poems are matter of fact, letting the exploits and unconventional bravado of the Old Man speak for itself.

I first came across Dangel’s poems in the mid 1980s as a young volunteer working for the regional magazine The North Country Anvil. Dangel’s book Old Man Brunner Country (Spoon River Poetry Press, 1987) had just come out, and the Anvil reprinted several of the poems. Dangel’s humorous, story-telling style was my first indication that poetry might have some allure for me.

This will be the third production of Old Man Brunner in Plainview, the first performance predates the Jon Hassler. Sally Childs adapted the work for the stage.

Old Man Brunner plays at the Jon Hassler through June 27.
Visit the Jon Hassler Theater online for schedules and tickets: www.jonhasslertheater.org
Phone the Jon Hassler Theater at 507-534-2900.