Heart-A-Rama celebrates a half-century of laughs and fundraising for the American Heart Association when it begins a six-night run Thursday at the J.E. Hamilton Community House in Two Rivers.
The theme is Heart-A-Rama ‘Strikes Gold’ with favorite comedy skits from the past.
Longtime emcee, Biff Hansen, told Seehafer News that it all began with a group of friends wanting to raise money for the heart association.
“The first year they put a show together, they went out to bars and sold tickets and raised about $1,000 for an organization,” he said. “From there, it went on for 50 years and right now we’re at $2.9 million, hoping to raise $100,000 this year to give Heart-A-Rama $3 million on its 50th anniversary.”
Doors open each night at 6:30 with shows beginning at 7:30 on April 28th, 29th, and 30th and again on May 5th, 6th, and 7th.
Karen Schweitzer-Olson first got involved in what can be described as a local version of Saturday Night Live in 1995.
She said that “every night between the cast and the crew we have 125 people volunteering. It’s on stage, it’s selling food, (or) items we have for sale and there’s just people everywhere.”
Tickets are available at Piggly Wiggly Stores in Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
