The Grand Marais Playhouse will present two plays in repertory weekends July 18 through August 11. The annual Summer Theater Festival will include a hilarious farce and a comic thriller. 

Curtain Up! by Peter Quilter is the hilarious story of five women who inherit equal shares in a dilapidated theater and their plans to bring it back to life again. It deals with their ambitious scheme to hold a concert featuring local talent and a world-famous singing star.

This fast paced, very funny comedy highlights the conflicts and bonds between the women as their scheme of bringing the theatre back to its former glory descends into chaos and madness with lots of laughs along the way.

Performing in Curtain Up! is a cast of mostly newcomers to the Playhouse stage!
Sandra Lucille Smith, Katie Paige, Angelina Elido, and Alexys Hillman all begin their Playhouse adventure in this hilarious romp with veteran actor Beth Faraone who most recently appeared in last summer’s hilarious production of Four Old Broads! These five women play a diverse group of characters who will make you laugh! You don’t want to miss it. Performances of Curtain Up! are July 18, 20, 26; Aug, 1, 3, 9 at 7 PM and July 28 & Aug. 11 at 2 PM. Sunday, July 28 is donation at the Door Day ( Make a donation of any amount for your ticket at the door, Advance tickets are regular price.)

The second play is a comic thriller that will make you laugh and scream!
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley is a story of Jan, (played by Payton Quaife), who has recently had a nervous breakdown, and her husband Greg (played by Aiden Ritchey), an archeologist, who has rented an old farmhouse in the country where Jan can recover. The old farmhouse is near an archeological dig where he can continue his studies. When George (played by Kevin Kager), the hilarious farmer they rent the house from, tells stories about a terrible murder that once took place in the farmhouse and the ghost that reputedly stalks the night, Jan's imagination gets fired up. The situation gets even worse when Laura (played by Kylie Viren), Greg's beautiful but manipulative sister arrives.  Soon Jan finds herself tormented by strange sounds in the night, and visions of the vengeful ghost.  Is she having another breakdown? Is someone trying to drive her mad?  When she tries to defend herself from this apparition, events take an unexpected turn in a night of unimaginable suspense. This thriller contains startling moments, loud sounds, and choreographed violence. Performances for I’ll Be Back Before Midnight are July 19, 25,27, August 2,8,10 at 7 PM; July 21 at 2 PM; August 4 at 3 PM ( after Fish Pic Parade). Sunday, July 21 is Donation at the Door