Northern Concert Showcase brings mystery train to Havre

The local concert association is bringing a train full of mystery from Bozeman to Havre for its third offering in the 2012-13 season.

Northern Showcase Concert Association is presenting Vigilante Theatre Co. 's "History Mystery Train 2: On the Edge" at the Havre High School Theatre Tuesday evening.

Vigilante Theatre, which is based out of Bozeman, touts the production of the troupe's original play as a laugh-filled ride with "a new adventure that may lead to the destruction of the entire train. "

The story takes place on a train ride in Montana about 1910, with passengers including a Russian countess who is a collector of rare artifacts, a patent-medicine salesman and Lizzy Borden's maid.

"What will happen to their valuable cargo? What is their valuable cargo? " the promotional material says.

Two of the actors in the play, Rhonda Smith and John Hosking, are the founders of the Vigilante Theatre Co. The duo started the troupe in Western Montana College in Dillon, after seeing what they believed was a lack of opportunity for people to see live theater in the Northwest, tailored to the Northwest.

At the invitation of the Department of Media and Theatre Arts at Montana State University, The Vigilante Players moved to Bozeman in 1983. The troupe is well-known for its dinner theater productions, as well as producing other original plays throughout the region.

The play is the half-way mark for Northern Showcase Concert Association's season, with songwriter and singer James Lee Stanley performing at the Northern Student Union Building Oct. 9 and pianist and composer Mike Strickland performing at Havre High School Oct. 23.

The season picks up after Christmas with the John Wort Hannam Duo, featuring Canadian folk and root songwriter and guitarist John Wort Hannam accompanied by fiddler Scott Duncan Feb. 28 at Havre High.

Next on the schedule is folk-music duo Men of Worth, comprising Irishman James Keigher and Scotsman Donnie Macdonald, at the Northern SUB March 16, and the a capella renditions of '50s and '60s songs by The Alley Cats at Havre High April 9.

Northern Showcase Concert Association is a melding of two concert associations that had brought entertainment to the Hi-Line for decades.

The Hi-Line Concert Association and Northern Showcase merged in 2008, offering six concerts plus a Montana Actors' Theatre production as part of its 2012-13 season, as well as offering a reciprocity agreement with other Montana companies.

Companies in Great Falls, Fort Benton, Gardiner, Conrad, Helena, Chinook, Malta, Glasgow, Lewistown and White Sulphur Springs as well as Northern Showcase Concert Association offer additional entertainment to their members. Individual concerts at the other towns are available at a cost of $5 per show to Northern Showcase Concert Association members.

The Vigilante Theatre production is scheduled to start at 7:30 p. m. Tuesday at the Havre High School Auditorium. For people who do not have a concert association season pass, tickets will be available at the door for $15 for adults and $10 for students. MSU-Northern students are admitted free of charge.