BEMIDJI, Minn. (October 20, 2009) — Eleven Bemidji State University students and faculty members who participated in the University’s theater production of “The Crucible” forty years ago will be returning this weekend for the Saturday, Sept. 24 performance of the play. The group, which includes seven members of the 17-person cast, the director, the technical director and the lighting chief, helped the theater department stage the famed play in a performance which opened on in March 19, 1960.

The seven returning cast members are Ozzie Tollefson, who played John Proctor; Jim Rude, who played Danforth; Mark Paulson, who played Giles Corey; Paul Rynders, who played Reverend Parris; Ev Marshall, who played Reverend Hale; Gretchen Heath, who played Mary Warren; and Francis Schramm, who played Thomas Putnam.

They are joined by director Bill Machand, technical director Louie Marchand and his wife Mary Lou, and lighting chief Will Marwitz.

A short, private reception will be held for the alumni following Saturday’s performance, where the alumni will get to meet the current BSU students playing their parts four decades after their own performances and talk about their experiences with the productions.

Bemidji State’s 2009 production of “The Crucible” opens Friday, Oct. 23, with a 7:30 p.m. opening curtain. It will also be performed Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31, with 7:30 p.m. opening curtains. The production will close Sunday, Nov. 1, with a 2 p.m. matinee performance.

Admission is $12 for adults and $6 for students, children and senior citizens. BSU students are admitted free with a valid student ID. “The Crucible” is intended for audiences of high-school age and above.

Tickets are available in the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex box office, located in Bangsberg 101 on the BSU campus. The box office is open from 1-4:30 p.m. weekdays; call (218) 755-3935 for more information.

For more information on the alumni reunion, please contact Ellen Jones at the Bemidji State University Department of Humanities at (218) 755-4126.

For more information on the production, please contact Patrick Carriere at the Bemidji State University Department of Humanities at (218) 755-3901.