Marlene and Darlene return to stage May 11 for dessert

The Luverne comedy duo “Marlene and Darlene” will return to the stage Thursday night, May 11, for a dessert theater fundraiser at the Generations Event Center on South Estey Street.
Actresses Brenda Winter (Marlene) and DJ Luethje (Darlene) will join auctioneer Yvette Vander Brink to raise money for the Generations special events fund.
The event will mark the third stage appearance of the hapless elderly sisters who “travel in their Toyota from Leota, Minnesota” to Luverne to advocate for a cause.
This time, their visit has two primary objectives, according to Winter: to make people laugh and to convince people that Generations is a fun place to be.
“People need to laugh,” Winter said. “It’s been a tough go these past couple years for so many people. We must laugh.”
The dessert auction becomes part of the Marlene-and-Darlene skit when the sisters decide, “We don’t need no auctioneer; we can do this ourselves.”
Marlene makes Darlene promise that they will not call their sister, “Charlene, (Vander Brink), the famous, successful, good-looking auctioneer with a handsome husband.”
But when things get out of hand, Charlene comes to the rescue.
When asked if Winter and Luethje have rehearsed with Vander Brink, Winter said, “You know Yvette, right? I am not writing any lines for her. DJ and I are just going to hold onto our hats. … She’s her own show.”
In addition to George Bonnema’s legendary carrot cake, the dessert auction introduces featured cakes in the program, but two last-minute, unplanned entries show up when Marlene and Darlene add their own cakes to the lineup.
Advance tickets for the Marlene and Darlene dessert auction are $20 in the lobby of Generations from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through May 8 Tickets at the door will be $25 the night of the event.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11, and the show begins at 7.
Raffle tickets for several donated gifts — many valued at more than $100 — are also available in the lobby. See the Generations Facebook page for details.