Katrina Sargent

Prairie Repertory Theater (PRT) had another successful summer.

Their four plays were “Dames at Sea,” “Escanaba in da Moonlight,” “Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” and “The King and I.”

A total of 13,000 people attended performances in Brookings and Brandon throughout the summer.

“There were about 370 patrons each night. That is the largest number we have seen since back in the 2001 summer,” said Ray Peterson, Director of Theatre at SDSU.

“The King and I” was a community effort, with a cast of 60 including 15 area children and dancers from the Expanding Harmony Dance Company in Brookings.

Nick Castillo is a senior communication and theater major, and has been involved with PRT for 3 years. He played the king in “The King and I.” “Everybody has moments when they pretend to be someone else.

Theater makes it come true,” said Castillo.

“[This summer] was wonderfully successful artistically and financially,” JD Ackman, Administrative Head of PRT, said.

“Escanaba in da Moonlight,” a play written by Jeff Daniels of “Dumb and Dumber,” is the production chosen to run again during the first week of school.

“Escanaba in da Moonlight” was chosen because it was “Popular with patrons, and should appeal to students,” Ackman said.

The play is about the hilarious escapades of a group of hunters in their lodge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

It will be performed September 6 and 7 in the Doner Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. It is free for students with their student ID cards.

#1.883348:69992399.jpg:PRT-cbttfadjd.jpg:Actors perform a scene from “Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean” during Prairie Repertory Theater’s summer showcase.:PRT