The HISTORIC CHIEF THEATER
Home of the Paul Bunyan Playhouse & Bemidji Community Theater​

The 69th Summer Season

Smokey Joe's Café - 
The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
June 7th - 9th and 12th - 15th
 Virtually the inventors of rock ‘n’ roll, Leiber and Stoller and their songs provide the basis for this electrifying production that highlights the golden age of America in the 1950’s. The classic themes of love won, lost and imagined, blend with slice-of-life emotions in this idealized 50’s environment. Featuring nearly 40 songs, SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ isn’t just great pop music – it’s compelling
musical theater. 

Words and music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and presented through special arrangement with R & H Theatricals: www.rnh.com.

Deathtrap 
Written by Ira Levin
June 21st - 23rd and 26th - 29th
Sidney Bruhl, a successful mystery writer, is struggling to overcome writer’s block when he receives a script from a student in one of his writing seminars-a thriller which Sidney instantly recognizes as a potential Broadway hit. Sidney devises a plan to collaborate with the student, and it is here the plot begins to twist and turn with devilish consequences. If you like thrillers, this one is a classic that will leave you delighted and on the edge of your seat.

Deathtrap is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. New York.

*Please Note: The Bemidji Sculpture Walk celebration will be a street fair which will close Beltrami Ave on the evening of June 22nd. A wheelchair escort will be made available for individuals with mobility limitations.

Little Shop of Horrors 
Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman, 
Music by Alan Menken
July 5th - 7th and 10th - 13th
Seymour Krelborn, a nerdy florist working at Mushnik’s flower shop, harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey. Mysteriously, after a total eclipse of the sun, Seymour finds a strange unidentified plant which he quickly names Audrey II. He encourages the plant’s growth by pricking his fingertips and feeding it his own blood; but as the plant grows, so does its desire for life giving sustenance. One night, when meager drops of blood aren’t enough, the plant grows bold and says “FEED ME!” How will Seymour keep it fed? Will Audrey leave her sadistic dentist boyfriend and finally learn of Seymour’s hidden love for her? Will Mr. Mushnik support them? All your questions will be answered soon enough.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORs is presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, www.MTIShows.com

Driving Miss Daisy 
Written by Alfred Uhry
July 19th - 21st and 24th - 27th
The Place: the Deep South. The Time: 1948. Having recently destroyed her car,
not the first one either, Miss Daisy Werthan, a wealthy sharp-tongued retired school teacher of 72, is informed by her son Boolie that she will need to be chauffeured from now on. Enter Hoke Colborn, an unemployed black man whom Miss Daisy immediately dislikes. He in turn is not impressed with her patronizing tone and what he believes to be prejudicial overtones. Over the span of 25 years though, the two grow ever closer and more dependent on each other. They soon come to realize that they have more in common than they thought possible, especially as the times and circumstances would ever allow.

Driving Miss Daisy is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. New York.

Footloose

July 31st - Aug 4th and Aug 7th - 10th
When Ren and his mom move from Chicago to a small farming town in the South, Ren experiences culture shock up close and personal. First he finds himself at odds with most of the town, but especially Reverend Bomont who has convinced the town to ban dancing. The Prom just won’t be the same, so with the help of Ariel (the Reverend’s daughter) and Wieland, the three concoct a plan to convince the town to let the teenagers dance. Will they succeed and in the process help the town heal? Filled with rockin rhythms that will knock your socks off, FOOTLOOSE celebrates the exuberance of young people and their ideas.

Stage Adaptation by DEAN PITCHFORD and WALTER BOBBIE • Based on the Original Screenplay by Dean Pitchford • Music by TOM SNOW Lyrics by DEAN PITCHFORD • Additional Music by ERIC CARMEN, SAMMY HAGAR, KENNY LOGGINS and JIM STEINMAN • FOOTLOOSE is presented through special arrangement with R & H Theatricals: www.rnh.com.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
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We are located in scenic downtown Bemidji, 
just around the corner from the lakefront with the 
famous   statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

The Chief Theater is owned and operated by the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, a 501(c) 3 tax exempt, fiscally responsible not-for-profit organization.  All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowable by law.

This activity is made possible, in part, by a grant provided by  the Region 2 Arts Council through funding from the Minnesota State Legislature.
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 Contact Us 
Facility Rentals, Advertising, Underwriting, 2018 Season Information,
​Business Manager and Other General Information:
info@paulbunyanplayhouse.org

​Location:  314 Beltrami Ave. / Bemidji, MN 56601 
Phone:   218-751-7270
Email:   info@paulbunyanplayhouse.org

The Chief Theater is owned and operated by the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, a 501(c) 3 tax exempt, fiscally responsible not-for-profit organization, managed by a volunteer Board of Directors and a professional staff. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowable by law.