About the Production

The Visit was an outdoor, immersive event that was performed in historical town museums in three Greater, MN communities:  East Grand Forks, Blue Earth and Albert Lea. The production was a promenade event in which audience members were lead to areas throughout the museum where they watched scenes unfold and experience the mounting tension in the play from close range.

Locations Performed:

Albert Lea: The Freeborn County Historical Museum

East Grand Forks: The Heritage Village

Blue Earth: Faribault County Fairgrounds

Why this Subject Matter is Important:

The Visit is a dark comedy that explores the values, choices and consequences of a small town struggling to survive. This sometimes shocking play presents themes of exploitation, justice, greed and revenge. The play examines the return of a wealthy woman to her hometown where she was ostracized because of a pregnancy out of wedlock. Her boyfriend denied his responsibility to her and the unborn child and bribed two other young men to confess that they had sexual relations with the young woman painting her as a loose woman. She left her town young, terrified and betrayed. 

Over the next 45 years the town slowly declines and finds themselves in a devastating financial situation. Most members of the town are out of work, losing their homes, living from penny to penny, some are hungry—all are living on the edge of complete destitution.  In the meantime, the main character who becomes extremely wealthy during her lifetime is driven to revenge the father of her child and the town that ostracized her. She returns 40 years later with a shocking proposition. She will give all members of the town and the town itself a million dollars if they agree to kill the man that fathered her child so many years ago. The town residents examine their options, declare her proposition immoral and reject her proposition. But as the concept of ridding themselves of debt and worry is seriously considered, the residents reconsider and take her proposal. 

For Sod House, the play illuminates an essential examination of what it means to be financially destitute. The play’s radical premise and its dark humor interrogate both greed and revenge that resonates with the impoverished families in our current communities. The play provides an opportunity for audiences to contemplate how far they would go to eliminate debt and save themselves.

Cast, Musicians, and Crew

Barbra Berlovitz, Bob Rosen, Darcey Engen, Randy Reyes, Ashton Schneider, Elise Langer, Jason Ballweber, Luverne Seifert, Justin Caron, Jacob Mobley, Susan Hanson, Beverly Cotter, Tiago Ferriera, John Jacobs, Joshua Whalen, Rosalie Truax, Karen Szymanowski, Sklyer Hanson, Tiana Abrego, Savannah Simpson, Cheyenne Severtson, Jessica Williams, Diane Heaney, Mike Hanson, Tyler Egge, Crystal Schatz, Justin Spooner, David Watnemoe, Denny Jacobs, Casey Paradies, Nicole Quam, Amy Discoll, Cheyenee Hewitt, Brady Kjersten, Walter Criswell, Ashlee Watnemoe, Emilee Watnemoe, Hannah McSparron, Luke Hoplin, Carly Flaagan, Leo Thorpe, Mike Ellingsen, Emily Hynes, Johanna Hocker, Brian Roverud, Shelly Greimann, Barb Pearson, Kurt Steinke, Nancy Steinke, Carolyn Oanes, Heather Disbrow, Nick Shure, Zack Shure, Dick Miller, Jan Hartman

Adaptation of Script

Sarah Myers

Composer

Eric Jensen

Production Manager

Nancy Waldoch