Morgan Community Players to present “Last Gasp at the Last Gulp” Feb. 28, 29, March 1

MORGAN — Step back in time to a rustic setting in a saloon hall full of dance hall girls to solve a murder while enjoying a sarsaparilla? Welcome to “Last Gasp at the Last Gulp,” a two act wildwest whodunit melodrama by the Morgan Community Players.

There’s murder, mystery, and lots of shady characters with motive. The production will be at the Morgan High School on Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, Feb. 29 with 7 p.m. performances, Sunday, March 1 at 1:30 p.m.

Reserved tickets are available at the F&M Bank of Morgan and will also be sold at the door before each performance. Adults are only $7 and 12 and under are $4. Funds from the play go directly back to Morgan area organizations that will benefit from their receipt. This will be the Morgan Community Players 32nd year of performing. The cast is made up of 17 members, with three new actors this year. Julia Garms and Char Carlson are the directors.

Doc Robbins (Doug Daub), a dentist with a heart of stone, rules the town of Last Gulp with an iron fist. Though folks treat Doc with due respect as their mayor and the only “medical” man in the territory, there’s no shortage of suspects when he dies following a swig of rat-poisoned sarsaparilla. Everybody, it seems, had it in for Doc.

Bonnie Vivant (Becca Krogstad) wanted to turn her old saloon into a fancy restaurant, but Doc wouldn’t let her. Three old prospectors Crusty (Alex Hulinsky), Dusty (Ken Johnson), and Musty (Galen Engholm), all resented the fact that Doc had jumped their claims and wondered if he ever struck it rich. After all, Doc always had a roll of bills on him. And what about Minerva (Kristin Rossow) and Luella (Char Carlson), two axe-carrying reformers out to demolish the Last Gulp Saloon? Why do they happen to show up the very day Doc meets his maker?

Then, out of the blue, who should drop by for a visit but Count Stroganoff (Doug Kopischke), a Russian tourist who has to be hiding something. It’s up to Sheriff Daisy Haynes (Amanda Johnson) and Deputy Pablo Schwartz (Lowell Krogstad) to solve the crime using their step-by-step guide, “Sheriffing for Dummies.”

Fortunately, they’re assisted by old Mrs. Culpepper (Julia Garms) who knits up a storm and manages to tie all the loose ends together.

Other cast members not mentioned above are Vashti Sperl, Beke Krenz, and Amanda Mathiowetz. New to the crew are Michelle Stelzer, Chelsey Carlson, and Miranda Trebesch.

Brown County Parks Department Meeting March 2

NEW ULM — The next Brown County Park Commission Meeting will be held at Brown County Courthouse Second Floor Commissioners Room #204 on March 2nd , at 7 p.m.