'Miracle on 34th Street' auditions Aug. 27, 28

Auditions for “Miracle on 34th Street” will be Aug. 27 and 28 in the Green Earth Players community theater building on Edgehill Street in Luverne.
Luverne native Bruce Kurtz is directing the performance, which will require three men, two women and one girl, plus another “dozen men or women and many more extras, including children,” he said.
Kurtz, who lives in Storm Lake, Iowa, said he stepped up to the role because he’s familiar with the stage and with acting.
“It's what I enjoy and I love to teach people the whole craft of acting,” he said, adding that he directed the Green Earth Players 30 years ago in Luverne.
The classic 1947 drama is about the authenticity of Santa Claus in a Macy’s department store. Kurtz worked in Creeger’s and Cook’s clothing stores in the 1970s and ’80s and operated his own store, J.B. Walkers, from 1988 to 1991.
He said the play — especially from the late 1940s era — speaks to him as a retail businessman.
“I owe it to the people who taught me retail and thrived on Main Street Luverne,” he said.
“Those were the guys I learned from. They were all of those post-war men who came back and fueled the most prosperous times our town has ever seen.”
Auditions for “Miracle on 34th Street” are from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, and from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28.
Performances are set for Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 16-19 at the Historic Palace Theatre in Luverne to kick off the local holiday season.
The play script was adapted in its present form by Ben Lomond, Mountain Community Theater.
Kurtz can be reached at 712-229-7616 for inquiries about the production.