May 30, June 5, 6, 12, 13, 1965
The Mouse That Roared, a whimsical comedy adapted by Christopher Sergel in 1963 from the book by Leonard Wibberly, was directed by Dan Stroberger. The play was based upon a novel from 1955 about the effects of the Marshall Plan after World War II. It was adpated to the screen in 1958 and stared Peter Sellers in an early comedic role. The plot is about the feudal Kingdom of Fenwick (pop. 10,000) existing in the 20th century. Suddenly the wine exports which supported the country lost their market and Grand Fenwick was about to starve. The ingenious solution—attack the United States, be defeated, and then be supported by American beneficence! But then they won!
The script called for an "infernal machine." Morris Moen built this device out of surplus airplane parts and colored lights. The challenge was to make sure the blinking lights would be visible in daylight, even rain, from the back of the Theatre.
The official count showed 4,492 paid admissions to the five performances. It didn't hurt that they didn't have a drop of rain in all five performances.
