Members of the Serendipity Circus are performed by local actors (left to right) Sharon Hunter, Diane Marsh, Margaret Hunter, Mary Leonard, Mary Ellen Anderson, Elisa Teodori, and Lori Roberts. Photo/Angela Denning

The Mitkoff Mummers will be performing the melodrama “Saved by the Serendipity Circus: or She was Trapped with Ease” on stage for this year’s Little Norway Festival. As Angela Denning reports, it’s a short play about orphans, a circus, and a villain.

It’s Monday night at the Wright Auditorium in Petersburg. Actors are taking their places on the stage getting ready for a dress rehearsal.

“We just can hardly wait,” says Irene Littleton, the play’s director. “They’re all amped up and ready to go.”

It’s just a few more nights until the opening show. Tonight, they are working out the finer details of the production, how the lighting will be, the costume details, and how the music will flow.

Orin Pierson is helping Littleton as a finishing director giving a second pair of eyes to the final details.

The plot is easy to follow. It has good-guy characters like Priscilla Purity and Hugh Dono. And, of course, there are bad guys too like the villain, Victoria Vornado.

The show is for all ages. It will be performed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Wright Auditorium. Doors will open for the show at 6:30 p.m. each night. Tickets can only be purchased at the door. It’s $10 for adults; $5 for kids and senior citizens.