BRAINERD — For Brainerd playwright Mary Aalgaard, bringing a local writer’s book to the stage was an exciting challenge.
On a recent Area Voices conversation on the KAXE Morning Show, she said she’s been working on It’s Murder Dontcha Know since 2022.
Performances of "It's Murder, Dontcha Know" are 7 p.m. Feb. 27-28 and 2 p.m. March 1-2.
“So happy that it’s here in Brainerd. Then I could be part of that and then I could grow too as a writer, to see where it needed work, what was working and have a cast and crew like I do to develop it. It's been a dream come true, honestly, and I'm very grateful for everyone that said, yes to this project.”
From book to stage
The play It’s Murder, Dontcha Know is adapted from Jeanie Cooney’s book of the same name. Aalgaard met Cooney through a writers' group and was chosen to bring the story to life on stage when Cooney sought a playwright for the adaptation.
The play follows Dorris Connor, who Aalgaard is also playing in this production, a woman who moves from a tough life on the farm to the quiet community of Hallock, MN. Her retirement plans are put on hold as a series of crimes involving her children occur in her new hometown and she sets out to solve them.
Adapting a book into a two-hour play is no small feat.
“I have new respect for people who write adaptations. A big part of it is deciding what to leave out and what is the most important to bring out and what is the most dramatic... Making those characters even more dynamic. Making them a true character that an actor would like to play.”
This is not Aalgaard’s first venture into playwriting. She wrote a play years ago called Coffee Shop Confessions, performed at local coffee shops and directed by Guy Kelm. When Aalgaard found out Brainerd Community Theater would perform It’s Murder, Dontcha Know, she thought Kelm would be perfect to direct it.
Kelm said, “With this one, the gift was that we got to create this together. We were kind of enhancing it for the stage saying what about this and what if we add this to this scene? Would that be a better way to share it?”
Fine tuning can be a challenge with a brand-new play.
“Every time you look at it being performed or recreated, it's like you see other nuances that you want to bring out in the story,” said Helm.
Aalgaard said stage readings of the play early in the process gave her a good idea of how the audience was going to respond.
“That really made a difference in how I was perceiving what we had developed and what needed to be enhanced a little more.”
Kelm also thinks having the author of the play in the show makes it easier to tweak little things. He found it an exciting creative exercise to bounce ideas on character choices and word choice during rehearsals.
Author and star
The original plan was not to have playwright Aalgaard play the lead character, Dorris Connor. During auditions, Aalgaard read with the other actors when the idea came to Kelm.
“She’s Dorris. What am I doing?” Kelm asked.
It made sense. After all, Aalgaard knew the role inside and out as the writer.
Small-town feel
The show will feature lots of different small-town characters. Aalgaard compares it to something like Golden Girls meets Gillmore Girls with a little bit of Fargo mixed in. The cast of It’s Murder, Dontcha Know has created its own little community as well. Kelm described it as like a family.
“It's not just the director or the playwright. It's like every one of them has come with just a passion and say we want to make this work and that's our gift.
It’s also not lost on Kelm and Aalgaard that it is a play set in Minnesota, based on a book by a Minnesota author, written by a Minnesota playwright and debuting in Minnesota.
“We could just as well serve tater tot hot dish and some bars.” said Aalgaard, in her best Minnesota accent.
Tickets are available at the Central Lakes College box office and online. Performances are 7 p.m. Feb. 27-28 and 2 p.m. March 1-2.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
