Our Team
Our History
Our History
Our amazing team of regulars and part-time volunteers are committed to bringing classic theater to audiences at a price they can afford. We take our convictions and turn them into entertainment. Think you'd be a good fit? We know you will. Get in touch for more information!
Our History
Our History
Our History
Seeing a need for great theater in the Corcoran neighborhood, Corcoran Park Players was established and staged productions from 1982-2016. After our tenure at Corcoran Park, we played in assorted other venues. After 35 years, in 2017, we renamed our organization, Classics Lost 'n' Found Theater Company to continue providing great theater
Seeing a need for great theater in the Corcoran neighborhood, Corcoran Park Players was established and staged productions from 1982-2016. After our tenure at Corcoran Park, we played in assorted other venues. 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
Our History
Our Mission
Our mission has always been on producing great productions, be they popular recent works; plays to be rediscovered by classic playwrights 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 dedicated to the entertainment aspect of the production!
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Current Theater News
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The theater is gearing up for its summer production of Miss Robin Hood and Her Merry Band of Thieves" (yes, Robin Hood and her merry "men" are women!) We’ll be performing “Miss Robin Hood” outdoors at Lake Nokomis Community Center, 2401 E Minnehaha Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55417 June 17-18 and June 24-25. Admission to this production is Free!.
Did you know....
There’s a delightful 1952 film titled Miss Robin Hood? It stars Margaret Rutherford and Richard Hearne, and tells the story of an illustrator who creates a comic strip character who retells the Robin Hood legend in which she robs banks and redistributes the money. The director of an orphans home recruits the writer to carry out a little light safecracking.
It sounds a bit like The Belles of St. Trinian’s, but anything with Margaret Rutherford is nothing short of enjoyable!
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Noreen's Corner
Each week, Noreen chooses someone to talk about and their work with CLFTC.
Featured Director: Greg Bastien. Greg is the director for our current production, Miss Robin Hood an
Featured Director: Greg Bastien. Greg is the director for our current production, Miss Robin Hood and Her Merry Band of Thieves, playing this Friday and Saturday at 7pm at Lake Nokomis Park in south Minneapolis. A long-time member of Corcoran Park Players and Classics Lost ‘n’ Found Theater Company, he’s appeared in many shows, including Romeo and Juliet, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and Ghosts of the Emerald Isle. He has directed Twelfth Night, A Woman of No Importance and two FastFest video productions.
Past Featured Members
FEATURED MEMBER Maureen Trepp: This will be the last featured performer from our fall production of "The Hound of the Baskervilles.” In a few short weeks, our spring production, honoring the 400th anniversary of Moliere’s birth, "The Miser" will be cast, and Classics Lost N Found Theater will start doing Featured Performers from that show. Just a reminder: Auditions are March 7th and 8th! But back to Maureen, who I worked with back with our previous theater group, Corcoran Park Players, when she performed in "The Women", "Don’t Drink the Water", and "The Man Who Came to Dinner". (I performed in the first show, and directed the last two). Maureen also performed in "Ghosts of the Emerald Isle" , which was one of my original scripts done by Classics Lost N Found. It was a pleasure to work with Maureen again in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" - she portrayed the quite dotty Mrs. Mortimer
This week our Featured Performer from last fall's production of "THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES" is Alex Renshaw, in his second role for our theater group. Alex ended up being a replacement actor last summer in "TWELFTH NIGHT" when another performer had to drop off, and he did an excellent job as the goofy and quite giddy Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In "BASKERVILLES", the Sherlock Holmes' mystery, he portrayed quite a different character - the seemingly harmless and nerdy Jack Stapleton - who turns out to be the murderous mastermind! We love working with Alex, who is unassuming, hard-working, and extremely talented!
ENI OGUNDIPE. This week's featured performer for my theater group's 2021 fall production of "THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES" was a newbie to us - but we hope Eni will continue to be part of our theater! She performed as Beryl, the love interest to Sir Henry Baskerville (and sister to the villainous Jack Stapleton). In addition to being a very talented performer, she also did ALL the calligraphy (letters/brochures/etc) for the show. AND she was a dream to costume! (She ended up with more costumes than I expected because she looked so good in everything!) Below: Eni in one of her "ingenue" costumes.
DON LARSSON. Don's been a great addition to Classics Lost N Found Theater Company - performing in three ZOOM productions for 2020 Virtual FASTFEST (including the Narrator in one of my scripts - "Bad Science Ficiton Theater; acting as Feste the fool in our 2021 outdoor summer production of Shakespeare's "12th Night", and also appearing as Doctor Mortimer in our 2021 fall production of "Hound of the Baskervilles ". I love working with Don!! I'm quite sure we will see him on our stage in 2022!!!
DEAN HADLAND. In keeping with tradition, I’m continuing to post featured performers of past productions. Dean Hadland portrayed Sir Henry Baskerville in our 2021 fall production of The Hound of the Baskervilles and not only was this Dean's first performance with our theater group, but this was also his theatrical debut! (And yes, he nailed his "Canadian" accent!) We loved working with Dean, and hope that he’ll make many more appearances on our stage!
STEPHEN GREENHALGH. This week's Featured Performer for my theater group (Classics Lost N Found Theater) is none other than Sherlock Holmes himself! We performed "The Hound of the Baskervilles" October 2021, and - as always - Stephen was wonderful to work with! This marked his fifth production with us - other roles were Sir Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night", Pemberton the butler in our 2021 FASTFest Zoom production of "Bad Mystery Suspense Theater", an inept King in "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus", and a (somewhat) terrifying Ghost who tried to intimidate Queen Victoria in "Ghosts of the Emerald Isles". Here's looking forward to working with Stephen (and all his bad puns) again in 2022!
Corey Allerd: I meet Corey last spring when he was cast as Malvolio in Classics Lost N Found Theater's production of "Twelfth Night". Alas! Alack! The plague then struck, and theaters everywhere were shuttered and fell into darkness and despair! Oh, woe is me! But...Hark! Yea, verily, MN FASTFest saved the day when they went "virtual" for the first time in their history!! And Corey, Mister Versatile Actor Extraordinaire, appeared in 3 productions: A short preview scene from "Twelfth Night", opposite Don Larsson as Feste; two different roles in "In a Time of Masks" (produced by Pargeter Players, written and directed by Greg Bastien) and my original production of "Bad Science Fiction Theater" as the Evil Galactic Space Emperor!!! Corey is continuing to work with us on Zoom plays - first as Sherlock Holmes in a short preview scene of "Hound of the Baskervilles,” adapted by Steven LaVigne, directed by Daniel L. Dyke, and as Rodney in "Tobey", another original script by Greg Bastien. Please continue to check our Facebook page and new website - we hope to be posting shows there to view in the future!
Selma Petterson was cast as Olivia, the fickle ingenue in love with love, in Classics Lost N Found Theater's 2020 spring production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" - which of course was cancelled due to Covid. We WILL be performing it in 2021 - dates to be announced. Meanwhile, Selma reprised the role in a short scene (opposite Helen Collins as Viola) for last summer's virtual FASTFest (which will shortly be available to view on both our Facebook page and website). Selma also appeared in THREE roles in two other original scripts for FASTFest - "In a Time of Masks" by Greg Bastien, and one of my own scripts, "Bad Mystery Suspense Theater". I love working with Selma! She also appeared as Mabel, the flighty ingenue in Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" which I directed. Below she is appearing as Allyson in "Tobey", a show we are currently filming. I am looking forward to working with Selma in "Twelfth Night" when we finally end up performing it!
12/19: NOREEN K. BRANDT (Ooh, I love it when I get to write about myself!) Seriously, I’m very pleased and proud to be involved with such a talented group of community theater actors! As a director, it’s always wonderful to have actors who are creative and responsive, and as a playwright, it’s immensely gratifying to see my words come to life!! Back when we were Corcoran Park Players, I was lucky enough to have my original scripts performed at MACTFests, FASTFests, and Fringe Festivals. CLFTC has staged two of my full-length scripts "Home Not So Sweet Homeless" in 2018, and "Ghosts of the Emerald Isles" in 2019. We are currently filming "Cats: A Non-Musical" (yes, you read that right) as a Zoom production, which hopefully will be available to view in 2021!
12/12: CONNOR BURRELL. Connor is featured as the lead role in "Tobey", a very snarky cat in British society that knows way too many secrets for his own good! "Tobey", an original short script written and directed by Greg Bastien, is currently being filmed, and we hope to have it available for viewing in 2021. Connor first became involved with us when he was cast as Sebastian in our postponed production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." Connor also appeared in "In a Time of Masks" (another original script by Greg Bastien) which was shown this summer at Minnesota FASTFest's "virtual" short play festival.
12/5: KATIE HOLMES. Katie first became involved with us when she appeared in "Ghosts of the Emerald Isle", most notably as Thor the Viking, and Molly, a Victorian era prostitute. We’re immensely grateful to Katie for doing our camera work for last summer's FASTFest productions of "Bad Mystery Suspense/Science Fiction Theater" and two short scenes from "Twelfth Night". Katie also appeared as Zena, Evil Galactic Space Princess, in "Bad Science Fiction Theater." ' She’s currently filming and editing three of our short films - "Tobey"(an original script by Greg Bastien), "Cats: A Non-Musical,” and a review scene from "Hound of the Baskervilles." We hope to have ALL of our short films available for viewing in 2021. Stay tuned!
11/28: STEVEN LAVIGNE. Steve has been involved with our theater company way back when we were Corcoran Park Players, and was one of the founders of CLFTC. He’s directed numerous productions over the years, including "Moon for the Misbegotten" and "Anna Christie" for CPP, "Pygmalion" for Powderhorn Arts Theater, and "Romeo and Juliet" for CLFTC. He also directed our second show, Blithe Spirit, in 1982 and has the distinction of directing our very LAST show for CPP, "The Rivals", and the very FIRST show for CLFTC, "Miss Lulu Bett". But Steve is first and foremost a writer! He’s a regular contributor to articles for Minnesota Playlist, as well as adapting such scripts as "Dick Whittington and His Cat", "Snow White", and "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." Steve's latest work is a new adaption of the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery, "The Hound of the Baskervilles". Adapted from the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, we’re very pleased to be able to perform this piece as our 2021 fall season! "The game's afoot!"
11/22: STEPHEN GREENHALGH. "It's elementary, my dear Watson".
We are pleased to have Stephen as part of our theater family! He has performed on CLFTC stage as the befuddled Dublin Castle Ghost in "Ghosts of the Emerald Isle", and as the not-so-evil King of the Awgwas in "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus", as well as portraying Pemberton the butler in last summer's FastFest production of "Bad Mystery Suspense Theater". We look forward to working with Stephen again next spring when he appears as Fabian, one of the comic relief characters in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"!
11/14: OLLIE BASTIEN. Ollie Bastien (or "Sir Oliver" to everyone beneath him , which is - well, everyone) poses quite reluctantly with Coral, one of his (Oh,dear! The word is SO plebian!) "owners". As if! This is the only way we could get Ollie to pose, although he generally despises sharing the stage, screen, or his catnip toys with anyone. It should be noted that he’s STILL miffed that his quite shy and demure roommate, Izzie, managed to stroll into a filming shoot for a scene in "Twelfth Night" last summer, while His Lordship (you may refer to him as that also) was upstairs napping. Ollie started his career as a stand-in (or more aptly, a stroll-in) at numerous rehearsals before he made the leap to the Director's chair (or really, ANY chair that looked comfy). He is now starring in "Tobey", a short original script written and directed by Greg Bastien, one of his designated lap pillows. Ollie's adoring public should be able to view this in 2021. Please - NO autographs! (Cat treats and fan letters still accepted)
11/8: DANIEL L. DYKE. Although we acknowledge that there were many newsworthy events this week, we also want to take the time to feature Dan as one of our featured directors. Dan just finished directing a short "preview" scene of the Sherlock Holmes mystery, which will shortly be able to be viewed on our Facebook page. Dan has been involved with Classics Lost N Found since its inception, and for many years prior to that when we were Corcoran Park Players. Dan directed "Picnic", "God’s Favorite" and "Done to Death" for CPP., He’s appeared on stage as Lord Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet", Sir Robert Chiltern in "An Ideal Husband", and most recently as the bumbling Inspector Gidget in this summer's FASTfest entry, "Bad Mystery Suspense Theater".
10/31: Helen Collins. It seems fitting that our featured actress on Halloween should be a black cat! Helen appeared this summer in a short scene from "Twelfth Night" (opposite Selma Petterson as Olivia) for Minnesota FASTFest. Helen also performed in this virtual festival as the intrepid Space Inspector Terry in "Bad Science Fiction Theater", battling space monsters and the Evil Galatic Space Emperor (Corey Allred)! Helen will portray Viola in our 2021 spring production of "Twelfth Night"!
10/24: DON LARSSON. We are very pleased to have Don as our Featured Actor. Don appeared in all three of our FASTfest shows this summer - as the Narrator for both "Bad Science Fiction Theater" and "In the Time of Masks.” He appeared as Feste in our scene from "Twelfth Night", a role he will repeat in 2021. After portraying an "English Professor" at Minnesota State University for 34 years, Don returned to his love of acting outside a classroom in 2016. Past productions include "12 Angry Men", "Black Comedy", and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ".
10/18: CANDY DYKE. Candy recently played Hastings, Percival, AND Mrs. Oodlesbottom in "Bad Mystery Suspense Theater", one of our 2020 Fastfest entries. Favorite past roles include: Flo in "Picnic", Doris in “Same Time Next Year", Soot in “The Marriage of Bette and Boo", and Mrs. Swettingham in "A Murder is Announced." Please watch for Candy in our 2021 spring production of "Twelfth Night" as both Valentine and the Priest!
10/11: TONY GILLEN. Tony has been a mainstay of our theater group, and we always look forward to working with him! Among other roles, he has portrayed Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet", Benny the cop in "Home-Not So Sweet- Homeless", and the Technician in "Ghosts of the Emerald Isle". Tony will also be seen spring 2021 as Andrew Aguecheek in our upcoming production of "Twelfth Night".
10/3: CORAL BASTIEN. Coral has been involved with CLFTC since its inception, and with Corcoran Park Players prior to that. Coral appeared in all three of our 2019 productions - "A Woman of No Importance", "Ghosts of the Emerald Isles", and "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus", as well as "In the Time of Masks", a 2020 Fastfest entry. Other previous productions for Coral were: "The Rivals", "Snow White", "Romeo and Juliet", and "An Ideal Husband".
What steve has to say
And speaking of playwrights...
Most produced Playwrights
Many of you may know I’m an historian and at one time was able to tell you who won the Oscar from 1927 on. I can’t do it anymore. However, I’ve been with CPP/CLFTC off and on since 1982, and am very proud of the work we’ve done. I think the way we’ve come together and produced so many different types of plays over the years, from musicals to original works, has created an astounding repertory.. While revising the groups’ production history, I was curious who the most produced playwrights are. After compiling the list here it is.
The most produced playwright in our history is Noreen K. Brandt. We’ve presented sixteen plays by NKB!. Many of them are short works, but several are full-length plays and we’ve even produced her Winn-Dixie trilogy. I must admit that my favorite of her works will always be The Comedy Murder Mystery Spoof Radio Show. I was at the first read through, and remember laughing from the first stage direction. I’ve seen several productions of this play and I think it's genuinely funny!
Here is the list of plays we’ve done that are written by Noreen: Alien Potluck, Altered Egos, Bad Mystery Suspense/Science Fiction Theater; Cats: A Non-Musical; Ghosts of the Emerald Isle; Home-Not So Sweet-Homeless; Auditions 101; The Belles of Win-Dixie; The Comedy Murder Mystery Spoof Radio Show; Death by Anchovy; Ghoulies and Ghosties: Tales of Horror and Suspense; Meet the Taylors; Ole Olson: Norwegian Boy Wonder; The Presbyterian Blues; Send my Regrets to Winn-Dixie; Tour Bus From Hell. Preparing this list, I realized that I directed the original productions of Altered Egos, Auditions 101, Death by Anchovy and Meet the Taylors. That’s quite an accomplishment, Noreen!
The second most produced playwright, with six titles is Agatha Christie. The work of the world’s most successful mystery writer of all time has graced our stage with productions of A Murder is Announced; And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians); Appointment with Death; The Hollow; The Mousetrap and Witness for the Prosecution.
With five titles produced on our stage, George S. Kaufman is next. His play are all collaborations. Edna Ferber, Marc Connolly, Howard Teichmann and Moss Hart wrote with him on these titles: Merton of the Movies (Connolly), The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can’t Take it With You (Hart); The Royal Family (with Edna Ferber) and The Solid Gold Cadillac (Teichmann).
Two playwrights share the next spots. The most commercially successful playwright of the 20th Century was Neil Simon, and we presented Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Good Doctor, God’s Favorite and the female version of The Odd Couple.
The other playwright is yours truly. We’ve staged my scripts for two pantos: Dick Whittington and His Cat and Snow White, my script for The Hound of the Baskervilles and my adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s unknown, but delightful novel, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.
Two of Britain’s most renowned playwrights round out this list with three plays each. Our second production was Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. It was popular and enticed us to present Hay Fever and for MACT, Still Life, the beautiful play that became famous for its classic film version, Brief Encounter. One of the greatest playwrights in the modern theater, Oscar Wilde wrote three scripts we’ve staged: The Importance of Being Earnest was first, staged at Corcoran Park, and CLFTC has presented An Ideal Husband and A Woman of No Importance.
We add two new playwrights to our growing list in 2022: Moliere, whose comedy, The Miser will be presented this Spring and Lisa Woodruff Phelps’ new holiday play, A Christmas Carol Krampus or It’s a Pretty Good Life. We look forward to adding these to our repertory!
Our history: Corcoran Park Players Timeline
1982-2016
CORCORAN PARK PLAYERS TIMELINE
Our previous theater company, Corcoran Park Players, was in existence from 1982 to 2016. Here is a listing of CPP shows: (*denotes premiere)
1982 – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis;
Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
1983 - The Miracle Worker by William Gibson;
Cold Storage by Ronald Ribman;
Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin;
Grumblemuch, an original children’s show;
All My Sons by Arthur Miller;
Tap Dancing Across the Universe by William Borden (Area Premiere)
1984 - A Thousand Clowns by Herb Gardner;
You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown by Clark Gesner;
The Bad Children/The Patchwork Quilt;
The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash;
A Thurber Carnival by James Thurber.
1985 - A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neill (Full production and an excerpt for the MACT Festival);
Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley;
Winterthing by Joan Aiken;
On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson;
Working, a musical.
1986 - The Dresser by Ronald Harwood;
Merton of the Movies by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly;
The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie;
A Cocktail at Porter’s, a musical
1987 - The Good Doctor by Neil Simon;
Laundry and Bourbon by James McLure (MACT Festival entry);
Play It Again, Sam by Woody Allen;
Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams;
Hay Fever by Noel Coward
1988 – Anna Christie by Eugene O’Neill;
Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon;
Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie;
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
1989 - Greater Tuna by Jaston Williams and Joe Sears (Full production and excerpt for the MACT Festival);
Macbeth (The Scots Tragedy) by William Shakespeare;
You Can’t Take it With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
1990 – The Hot l Baltimore by Lanford Wilson,
Vanities by Jack Heifner;
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
1992 - Auntie Mame by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee;
Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson
1993 - The Hollow by Agatha Christie;
And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little by Paul Zindel
1994 – The Odd Couple by Neil Simon (female version);
The Solid Gold Cadillac by George S. Kaufman and Howard Tiechmann
1995 - Dear Ruth by Norman Krasna;
And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians) by Agatha Christie
1996 - The Autumn Garden by Lillian Hellman;
Out of Sight Out of Murder by Fred Carmichael
1997 - The Whole Shebang by Richard Orloff (MACT Festival entry - Winner: Third place; Winner: Pam Kaufman, Outstanding Achievement in Acting),
The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote;
The Man Who Came to Dinner by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
1998 - The Women by Clare Boothe Luce;
Picnic by William Inge
1999 - The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco (MACT Festival entry - Winner: Greg Toltzman, Outstanding Achievement in Directing),
Don’t Drink the Water by Woody Allen;
Done to Death by Fred Carmichael
2000: Nuts by Tom Toper;
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
2001 - Chamber Music by Arthur Kopit (MACT Festival entry - Winner: Joanne Voves, Outstanding Achievement in Acting);
God’s Favorite by Neil Simon
2002 - The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux;
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
2003 - The American Dream by Edward Albee (MACT Festival entry - Winner: Joanne Voves, Outstanding Achievement in Acting),
Tour Bus From Hell * by Noreen K. Brandt (MN Fringe Festival production);
The Marriage of Bette and Boo by Christopher Durang (co-produced as a fundraiser with Sweet Charities Theatre Company)
2004 – Alien Potluck * by Noreen K. Brandt (MN Fringe Festival)
2005 – The Comedy Murder Mystery Spoof Radio Show (MACT Festival entry);
Morning’s at Seven by Paul Osborn
2006 - Death by Anchovy * by Noreen K. Brandt;
The Presbyterian Blues * by Noreen K. Brandt (FASTFest entries)
2007 – Send My Regrets to Winn-Dixie * by Noreen K. Brandt (MACT Festival entry)
2008 – Meet the Taylors * by Noreen K. Brandt (FASTFest entry, also performed at a Fundraiser for Heritage Community Theater)
2009 – Still Life (MACTFest entry)
2010 - No show
2011 – The Belles of Winn-Dixie * by Noreen K. Brandt (MACTFest entry)
2012 - No show
2013 – Ole Olson: Norwegian Boy Wonder * by Noreen K. Brandt (MN Fringe Festival)
2014 – Audition 101 * by Noreen K. Brandt (FASTFest entry)
2015 – Ghoulies and Ghosties: Tales of Horror and Suspense * by Noreen K Brandt (MACTFest entry)
2016 - The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Please note: Those of you with a discerning eye will say "Oh, no!vYou missed a show!" However, we did not list shows that were produced solely by other theater companies, even if they involved
our actors. For example, we had six actors perform in three scripts for the 2014 FASTfest - but two of the scripts were produced by other theaters. We’d like to thank our fellow theater companies - NKBProductions, Sweet Charities Theater Company, Pargeter Players and Powderhorn Arts Theater - for supporting us.