Caldwell Fine Arts Past Performances

A Savory Stew of Stories from All of the Pat McManus Comedies
By Patrick F. McManus and Starring Tim Behrens

Tickets at Select-a-Seat, Door, or call 454-1376 or 459-3405. Adults $10-14 Students $2 off

Fulfilling requests from theatre producers and audiences across the country, Pat and Tim created this wonderful medley of excerpts from all the McManus books. Selected stories include the First Deer, the Night the Bear Ate Goombaw, the First Date, the Mummy, the Grasshopper Trap, the Last Camping Trip and others.

The show is a tribute to humor and to the concept of story. It is structured to appeal to diehard fans and to those who are stepping into the wonderful, wacky world of McManus for the first time.

Behrens concocts a feast for the audience’s imagination with the simplest of ingredients. The usual McManus characters all make an appearance: Rancid Crabtree, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Mrs. Swisher, Melba Peachbottom and Goombaw to name a few. Each contributes his or her (or its!) own idea about the nature of story itself, and how it feels to be a McManus character, much to their creator’s consternation.

A Spokesman-Review writer remarked: “The people were laughing so hard, and for so long, I was afraid paramedics would need to be called in. I thought people might hurt themselves, pull tendons, bust guts….Behrens’ comic timing was flawless. Once, by the use of well-timed pauses, he was able to squeeze four separate laughs out of a single sentence.”

Two previous McManus shows here have been very well attended. As a convenience and service to the public, all seats are reserved this year.

Tim Behrens, the voice of McManus, come from an acting family. His dad was an actor and also wrote material for several comedians, including Tony Randall and Don Knotts. His mother, Amzie Strickland, guest starred on more than 500 TV series, 35 TV movies, and 17 feature films. Tim avoided acting like the plague until age 32 when a friend suggested he audition for a local stage play. He got the lead and has been acting or working in theatres ever since! He has recorded with the audiobook company, Books in Motion. His favorites include the works of Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ray Carver and H.G. Wells. His wife, Leslie, a retired attorney, is now a stage manager and booking agent.

Scrambled McManus