By neighbors, for neighbors!
By neighbors, for neighbors!
Our amazing team of dedicated artists brings classic theater to audiences at a price they can afford. We turn our convictions into entertainment. Think you'd be a good fit? We know you will be. Actors, designers, techies, front of house staff! Get in touch for more information and plan to join us!
IN 1982, a group of theater people saw a need for great theater productions in the Corcoran neighborhood, so Corcoran Park Players was established and staged productions from 1982-2016. Following our tenure at Corcoran Park, we played in assorted other venues in the Twin Cities. After 35 years, in 2017, we renamed our organization, Classi
IN 1982, a group of theater people saw a need for great theater productions in the Corcoran neighborhood, so Corcoran Park Players was established and staged productions from 1982-2016. Following our tenure at Corcoran Park, we played in assorted other venues in the Twin Cities. After 35 years, in 2017, we renamed our organization, Classics Lost 'n' Found Theater Company to continue providing great theater to local audiences. We've still producing while other theaters are long gone. When you see a CLFTC production, you see what we're all about.
Our mission has always been producing great productions, either popular recent works; plays by classic playwrights to be rediscovered or area/world premieres of new works. We've always been open to diverse casting and inventive staging, being flexible with sets, costumes and lighting while being focused on entertaining our audiences.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dear friend Gerry Gulbranson. Gerry was a major player with Corcoran Park Players for decades, playing such roles as Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit; Aunt Ev in The Miracle Worker, Josie Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten, Miss Marple in A Murder is Announced and Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful. She also worked with such theaters as Atlantis, Out on the Town and the Minneapolis Community College Theater. Her last appearance was at the FASTFEST in Cloquet last August in a play by Jon Skallen. (She’sl eaning her head on Dan Dyke’s shoulder in the photo here)
Gerry was also a dear friend to us all. She will be missed.
CLFTC is hoping to have a memorial gathering for her this Spring.
People often think that whatever Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) wrote was instant gold for the playwright. This isn’t the case. His first two plays, Vera, or The Nihilists and The Duchess of Padua were failures, and his notorious adaptation of Salome had yet to find a producer willing to take a chance on the material. He decided to write a comedy while summering in the Lake District, where he met Robert Ross, who became his literary executor. Inspired by the landscape, he write Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman which opened on 20 February 1892 at the St. James Theater in London.
A sophisticated comedy about marriage, several of the characters are named for locations in the area: Lake Windermere and the towns of Berwick-upon-Tweed and Darlington. When actor-manager George Alexander, who would create the role of Lord Windermere, agreed to present the play, he and Wilde focusing on important details and continually improving the script even after its premiere. Along with Alexander as Lord Windermere, the cast included Ben Webster, Lily Hanbury and Marion Terry, whose sister was the renowned Ellen Terry.
Wilde’s theater career was short-lived (only 4 years), the success of Lady Windermere's Fan led to A Woman of No Importance (produced by CLFTC in 2019), An Ideal Husband (produced by CLFTC in 2017) and The Importance of Being Earnest (produced by Corcoran Park Players in 1988). In 1895, after the Marquess of Queensberry charged Wilde with gross indecency, disgusted over Wilde’s relationship with his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, Wilde was sentenced to two years in prison,but upon release, he was a broken man. He documented his experience in the poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
Following his release from prison, Robert Ross convinced Wilde to relocate to France. His health weakened by prison conditions, he developed meningitis, from which he passed away on 30 November 1900. Originally buried at Cemetery de Bagneux outside Paris, sculptor Jacob Einstein created an art deco Egyptian angel, commissioned by Robert Ross and his remains were transferred to Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. When his remains were exhumed, it was found that his hair and fingernails had grown. In 1950, Ross’s ashes were interred with Wilde’s.
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We host a variety of events throughout the year, including fundraisers, community outreach events, and educational seminars. Check out our calendar to see what's coming up.
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.COMING IN SPRING 2025
Lady Windermere’s Fan By Oscar Wilde
Auditions: February 10-11.
Performances: April 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, May 2 and 3, 7 PM. Matinee 27th at 2pm.
COMING IN SUMMER 2025
PIRATES IN THE PARK: Part Deux By Noreen K. Brandt
Outside at Lake Nokomis Community Center
Auditions: April 28-29;,
Performances June 20-21 and 27-28, 7pm. Matinee, 2pm on the 21st and 28th
COMING IN AUTUMN 2025
MARY ROSE A Ghost Story by Sir J. M. Barrie
Auditions August 25-26.
Performances October 10, 11 October Matinee: 12; October 17-18. October 24-25.
COMING IN WINTER 2025
FOR LOVE OR MONEY 3 short plays by Anton Chekhov
The Bear, The Power of Hypnotism
The Celebration
Auditions: Sept 29, 30.
Performance: Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13. Matinee: 14.
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