Bemidji Community Theater stages The Sunshine Boys this weekend

Bemidji Community Theater opened The Sunshine Boys on Friday, bringing a story of old partners, old wounds and late-life reconciliation to a stage that has been updated with more comfortable seats. The production runs June 6-7 and returns June 12-14, giving local audiences several chances to see Neil Simon’s tale of two former vaudeville partners forced back into each other’s orbit after years apart.

The show centers on Willie Clark and Al Lewis, played by Bemidji actors Paul Conklin and Cole Flaat. Their characters reunite for one last performance, only to find that the friction that drove them apart never fully disappeared. That tension gives the play a sharp local resonance in a town where community theater audiences include plenty of people who understand long memories, family strains and the awkward work of making peace later in life.

Flaat’s path back to the stage gives the production an added layer of realism. He studied theater at Minnesota State University Moorhead, stepped away from acting after struggling to find work, spent years building a career in bars and restaurants, then returned to Minnesota and found his way back into theater through Bemidji Community Theater. Conklin came to acting from backstage work after his daughter was cast in Peter Pan, and he has performed at least one show every year since. Both actors bring lived experience to a play about people trying to revive an old partnership that was never as easy as it looked from the outside.

Theater leaders say that mix of talent and community support is what keeps the organization going. Flaat said the theater frequently sells out, while Conklin said the group is always looking for help with acting, backstage work and costumes. That matters in Bemidji, where local arts depend on volunteers as much as ticket buyers. The modest pricing, $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for children 13 and under, keeps the show within reach for families and older residents who want to see familiar faces on stage.

Tickets are available through McKenzie Place and Ken K Thompson Jewelry. For a production built around aging, reconciliation and the hard edge of old conflict, Bemidji Community Theater’s latest show fits both the script and the city around it.