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MUST-SEE THEATER

“Starkweather” by Doug Marr, March 8-11, Florence City Hall

The Florence Community Theater proudly presents: The FCT Studio Series production of “Starkweather”

“Starkweather” is based on the shoclomg real-life events of December 1957 thrpugh early January 1958 when 19-year-old Charles Raymond Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, engaged in a killing spree which ended with 11 people murdered in Nebraska and Wyoming. This was the first serial massacre to capture the nation’s attention. It happened some years before the Boston Strangler, Richard “Dick” Hickock-Perry Smith, Richard Benjamin Speck and Charles Manson murder sprees. After the initial killings. a massive manhunt ensued in pursuit of the suspects, neither of whom had shown any obvious signs of such depravity. Until Starkweather and Fugate were apprehended by authorities, much of the American Midwest and West was on high alert because of the seeming randomness of the killings and the fact that they happened over a several hundred mile span. The fear was intensified by the pack media coverage of the killings and the sheer size of the manhunt. There was also the uneasy feeling that something unhinged had been released in the placid late 1950s. No one could understand how two teenagers could seemingly just snap and act with such unadulterated evil. Residents of rural communities armed themselves to the teeth. Written by Omaha playwright Doug Marr (of Diner Theater fame), “Starkweather” is a riveting dramatic evocation of the fear Heartland residents felt and of the surreal and sensational trial that followed of the two teenagers accused and found guilty of these heinous crimes. Orignally staged at the Omaha Community Playhouse to great acclaim, this work has rarely been mounted in recent decades and is now being revived in the 60th anniversay year of Starkweather’s capture.

Disclaimer: This show contains adult language or situations. Children under 17 will not be admitted.

Show Dates and times: March 8 – 11, 2018; Thursday – Saturday 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m.

Tickets: Reservations can be made by calling (402) 455-6341 or online at http://florencetheater.org/tickets/. Single General Admission tickets are $10; TAG Members $8; Patrons Aged 60+ $8; Or Groups of 8 or more $8.