Today in History, 1965: Fargo North stages first play in new theater

By Kate Almquist Today at 12:01 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article Behind the story Behind the story Clarifies why and how a story was reported. The Trust Project What is this? On this day in 1965, Fargo North High School prepared to stage its first play, “The Great Sebastians,” in its new 312-seat Little Theater. Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day: ADVERTISEMENT North High Slates First Play New Theater, Actors and Director A new theater, a new director, a band of new thespians and, to local audiences, probably even a new play. That's the bill at North High School in Fargo at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, when the school's drama and speech department presents "The Great Sebastians," a three-act comedy. The play will be the first produced in North High's Little Theater, a pleasant, well-equipped auditorium that seats 312. The theater has a number of features that make it ideal for intimate dramatic productions, according to Lois Forrest, director. See more history at Newspapers.com Nov 11, 1965 The Forum (Fargo, North Dakota) Newspapers.com Although the stage can be opened in back for exposure to a large group classroom on the opposite side, the theater is not expected to double for activities that do not require an auditorium setting. As a matter of fact the lighting, acoustics and theatrical atmosphere are quite special, and Miss Forrest awaits this weekend's performances to see what the public response will be. The lighting for the stage affords many patterns of treatment. There are 86 lights from the front and 35 from the stage that are manipulated from a control room at the rear of the auditorium. ADVERTISEMENT The stage, built in the proscenium arch tradition, measures 28 feet wide and can be extended 40 feet in depth. A versatile arrangement of curtains and backdrops makes enlarging or reducing the playing area readily workable. Miss Forrest said that the North High production of "The Great Sebastians" is probably the first one in Fargo. The play has a timely communism - versus - capitalism theme and deals with a husband and wife who have a mind-reading act and who become involved in a coup d'etat in Czechoslovakia in 1948. Written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, the play was an attraction on Broadway, opening in 1958 with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in the title roles. Miss Forrest, who was drama and speech instructor at Dickinson High School prior to joining the North High staff, discussed the play with Howard Lindsay, when he and his wife, actress Dorothy Stickney, were in Dickinson. He called "The Great Sebastians" a play that was enjoyable to write and entertaining to work with. "This was the fun play that I did," he told Miss Forrest. 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Others in the cast are Bruce Overdahl, Eileen Ellis, Philip Ogle, Mark Melby, Janice Rorvig, Rae Paulson, Jan Byhoffer, Kathy Parks, Steve Sola, Ron Lyseng, Eric DuBois, Brian Swor, Stuart Dogger, Jeff Hove, Steve Carlson, Fred Rapp, Steve Welton, Ritchie Jacobson and Lynn Engel. Although dramatics is an extracurricular project, Miss Forrest is making the production a classroom lesson for students enrolled in speech courses. Much of the planning has been done by second-year speech students. Floor plans and stage settings were created by Ron Lyseng, Tom Rockne and Eric DuBois. In launching their first production the Spartan Thespians are getting by in some areas only with the bare essentials. The makeup and costumes rooms and the construction area beneath the stage are short of furnishings and equipment. The students hope they will earn enough money on their play to make some purchases. Tickets are 75 cents. Comments Share Share this article Behind the story Behind the story Clarifies why and how a story was reported. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags FROM THE ARCHIVES TODAY IN HISTORY By Kate Almquist Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at [email protected]. Listen to this article Conversation ADVERTISEMENT What To Read Next Arts and Entertainment Jim Gaffigan will return to Fargo for 2027 show 8h ago · By Staff reports Community The Archives Live — Digging through decades of headlines with you 13h ago · By Kate Almquist Community Your memories. Our archives. 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