Les Belles-Soeurs at St. Olaf

St. Olaf Theater department will perform Les Belles-Soeurs April 9-12 at 7:30 PM, with another show on April 12 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are required and are $8. Call 507-786-8987 for tickets.

1968 Montreal. Middle-aged and worn out by her domestic circumstances, Germaine Lauzon's fortunes take a gigantic upswing when she wins a sweepstakes entitling her to 1,000,000 trading stamps. The only catch: she must paste them all into redemption books in order to trade them in for the sea of prizes she imagines. Her plan to invite every sister, daughter, cousin, friend and neighbor she knows to help her with this task backfires when jealousy and greed set in. This comedy, in equal measures hilarious and dark, uses a cast of sixteen women as it explores longing set against greed, and love set against jealousy.

Regarded by many as Canada's greatest playwright, Michel Tremblay's Les Belles Soeurs (The Beautiful Sisters) put him on the international theatrical map early in his career. Written in 1965 and first produced in Montreal in 1968, Les Belles Soeurs has now enjoyed productions around the world. The play is a wildly funny "kitchen sink" comedy, balancing comedic realism with moments of highly theatrical flair.