DEAL! THE MUSICAL Premieres at the Ritz Theater, 4/20-5/6

Tyrol Hills Music is presenting the world premiere of the original production of Deal! The Musical, which will debut April 20 and run through May 6 at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis.

Written by Minnesotans Tom Broadbent and Jerry Seifert, and directed by Joshua James Campbell, the musical tells the true story of growing up in Minnesota in the 1950s and 1960s. The show features original music, along with a strong cast of new local talent combined with several seasoned professionals, including real-life husband and wife duo Jon and Laurie Hegge.

Deal! follows the weekly poker games of Broadbent’s grandparents Art and Elsie Swenson, a poor farming family from Stacey, Minn. Spanning over a generation, the two struggle to buy a farm and raise their two daughters while a cast of colorful friends and relatives join them around their dining room poker table. Each generation’s dreams and ambitions collide with the realities of a small town in this spirited, yet touching story of how a close knit group hold on to their love for one another despite the hardships life deals them. Written and composed by Broadbent, a resident of Two Harbors, Minn., Deal! The Musical brings a brand new set of stories and songs, all with Minnesota roots, to the stage.  

“As a child, falling asleep to the banter of familiar voices, the sounds of change sliding across the dining room table, the shuffling of cards and the clinking of beer bottles were as reassuring to me as a lullaby,” Broadbent said. “I know now this weekly poker game was my family’s small town version of group therapy, bible study, family reunion and the 10 o’clock news all rolled into one.”

Broadbent, who also wrote Henrietta: A Children’s Musical, composed all of the songs and co-wrote the play with Seifert, a Minneapolis director and playwright. The Hegges star in the lead roles of Art and Elsie, which is the first time the acting husband and wife have portrayed a married couple onstage. The production also features Catherine Battocletti as “Pearl,” Kim Kivens as “Millie,” David Roberts as “Oscar,” Lizzie Schwarzrock as “Audrey,” Aly Westberg as “Julie” and Max Wojtanowicz as “Clint”.

Tickets are $29 and available at the Ritz Box Office by calling 612-436-1129 or online at http://www.dealthemusical.com.