A killer MVL production
High School presents 'Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!'
From left to right, Maddie Meitner, Judah Guenther, Bella Parsons, Savannah Sweely and Ezra Spike act out a scene in "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
The cast of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" as presented by Minnesota Valley Lutheran. Back row (l-r): Will Kerkow, Lucy Heins, Olive Clemons, Oliver Nelson, Wyatt Wolf, Ezra Spike, Madison Krier, Savanna Sweely, Maddie Meitner, Abe Selvey. Front row (left to right): Jake Bruegger, Lucia Kohls, Neveya Swanson, Bella Parsons, Taylor LaGrow, Judah Guenther. Photo by Ari Selvey
Oliver Nelson (far left) and Ezra Spike (yellow shirt) act out a scene of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" as members of the cast look on. Photo by Ari Selvey
From left to right, Olive Clemons, Maddy Meitner, Lucia Kohls, Ezra Spike, Savanna Sweely and Neveya Swanson gather at a kitchen table during a rehearsal of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
Wyatt Wolf (right) and Madison Krier (left) act out a scene of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
Abe Selvey narrates a scene of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
From left to right, Maddie Meitner, Judah Guenther, Bella Parsons, Savannah Sweely and Ezra Spike act out a scene in "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
The cast of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" as presented by Minnesota Valley Lutheran. Back row (l-r): Will Kerkow, Lucy Heins, Olive Clemons, Oliver Nelson, Wyatt Wolf, Ezra Spike, Madison Krier, Savanna Sweely, Maddie Meitner, Abe Selvey. Front row (left to right): Jake Bruegger, Lucia Kohls, Neveya Swanson, Bella Parsons, Taylor LaGrow, Judah Guenther. Photo by Ari Selvey
Oliver Nelson (far left) and Ezra Spike (yellow shirt) act out a scene of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" as members of the cast look on. Photo by Ari Selvey
From left to right, Olive Clemons, Maddy Meitner, Lucia Kohls, Ezra Spike, Savanna Sweely and Neveya Swanson gather at a kitchen table during a rehearsal of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
Wyatt Wolf (right) and Madison Krier (left) act out a scene of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
Abe Selvey narrates a scene of "Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!" Photo by Ari Selvey
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NEW ULM – Minnesota Valley Lutheran is throwing it back to the 50s with its theatrical presentation of “Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!”
A comedic take on '50s and '60s era sci-fi B movies, “Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!” follows a group of eccentric characters that must step up to save the planet. The story is a self-referential parody that offers plenty of laughs for the audience.
MVL will be presenting the play on Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. at MVL High School. Tickets are available at the door.
“I really tried to find something different,” director Jennifer Uher said. “We’ve done a lot of murder mysteries, and I didn’t want to do something similar to what we’re doing for spring, so I fell upon this play and went with it. It is out of our comfort zone.”
“Attack! Of the Killer Man from the Sun!” is a unique script for MVL Drama to tackle, with some finding the quirky writing style a challenge to act through.
“The way that the writer of the show has some of the things set, they don’t make sense,” senior Savanna Sweely, who is in her seventh MVL production, said. “I have this line where I say the same words three times in the same sentence and it means the same thing. A lot of us have lines like that, and that’s been a challenge. But it’s really funny when it works.”
Abe Selvey plays the “Announcer,” who jumps back and forth along the fourth wall throughout the play.
“As the Announcer, it’s really weird to go between breaking the fourth wall with the characters and not breaking the fourth wall with the characters,” Selvey said. “I think that’s something that’s weird for me, personally. The play as a whole, some of the lines are directed at the audience, and it’s hard to play into that character that you’re trying to play.”
To help with this, the cast and crew had a Zoom meeting with the writer, David Andrew Laws, to help work through the script.
“It gave us the vibe of the whole show. He just said to trust the script, that it’s funny, Uher said. “He gave us the background, because they didn’t know what a 1950s B movie was, they thought it was B-E-E. The B movie was under budget, so there are little inconsistencies throughout the play, funny wordings, just random costume changes, things that are hidden in there.”
“The lines are very crazy,” Uher said. “He just said trust the script, go with it, don’t over act, just be serious in your roll, even though it’s silly.”
Laws also provided specific insight into individual characters and shared his inspirations for writing the play with the cast.
Senior Ezra Spike, who is in his fourth play at MVL, plays Lou Ion, an ordinary scientist trying to save the world.
“The whole thing is meta and weird. It’s super self-referential and it’s self aware … It’s got the quirky, awful sci-fi movie vibes,” Spike said. “I’ve been trying to be a stereotypical hero, but I’m supposed to be really smart and at the same time completely an idiot. My character is very clever, but sometimes not very aware of anything that’s happening.”
Spike added that the play had a different comedic element than other plays he’s been in at MVL.
“It’s really silly,” he said. “Clue was funny, but this is funny in a whole different way. It’s something that we haven’t done at MVL as far as I remember. It’s really cool.”
With such a unique script, Uher and the cast had to learn how to make it work for MVL Drama.
“The whole vibe of it was very different from anything I’ve directed before. I kept saying to myself, ‘Is this truly funny? Are people going to get this silly humor?’ That made me nervous initially, people have come to expect a certain thing,” Uher said. “I’m convinced now it’s going to be funny and the audience is going to love it. The kids are just having a great time with it, so it’s been worth it.”
But with it being so different, the cast has been able to explore new acting methods.
“It’s way different than anything I’ve ever done before,” Sweely, who plays Anne Ion, Lou’s wife, said. “That’s been really fun to experience, because it’s totally goofy. We get to have a lot of fun and come up with our own things for it, and I enjoy that a lot.”
For those considering attending, Uher said its an opportunity to remember the days of those old sci-fi movies.
“[The audience] can relive their sci-fi genre that was so prevalent in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and was rebooted in the 80s,” Uher said. “Bring your family, it’s a family-friendly show, the kids and adults will love it. It’s just something totally different.”
“Please come to this show, it’s going to be different and you’re going to have so many laughs,” Sweely said. “I would highly recommend it.”