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Hello and Welcome. The McManus Comedies consist of five G-rated, one-man stage comedies that bring to life more than 40 zany denizens of Blight, Idaho, the fictional home town of nationally renowned humor writer Patrick F. McManus. Pat wrote the scripts and I, Tim Behrens, Pat’s indentured actor, performed them. Pat and I also collaborated on a sixth show, “McManus and Me.” And together, we created twelve half-hour radio shows entitled “The McManus Radio Hour…. a half hour because of the economy!”
I retired in the fall of 2019, after touring the stage shows for 1600 performances in 23 states and two provinces, before more than ½ million audience members over a 26 year period.
The experience created incredible memories of working and traveling with Pat, and also of you: the caring and responsive audience members who welcomed me with love and lots of laughter in each city and each venue. Thank you. It can get lonely on a stage during a one-man show, but the audience was always there for me. Often, the laughter in the theater was so loud it hurt my ears...and yours!
The kind of collaboration I had with Pat, while not unheard of in theatre, is exceptional...especially in comedy. And I thank Pat for his generosity and his kindness. His death left a hole in my heart. Thank goodness his books and his plays (and the DVDs we made of them) will be there to help heal with the power of unmitigated laughter.
You can see a mess of reviews of all the shows HERE.
Hopefully, the DVDs of the first five shows will continue to be available HERE (through Amazon).
Finally, I would like to thank the key people without whose help and patience and talent there would be no shows! To my Partner and co-producer, the love of my life, Leslie Ann Grove, thanks for all the “You can do this” support. To my director, Jack Delehanty, your creative weaving of story and stage always amazed me. To Darlene McManus: thanks for putting up with me while I instigated your husband through one crazy ordeal after another. A special Shout Out to Derrick King, the creator of most of the McManus Comedies iconography: cards, posters, photos, programs, websites, and all kinds of advertising.
And to our great supporters along the way: Jean Kavanagh, Red Wing Shoe Company, Peter Yocum, Teggy Boss, Dawn and Rick Ehrenstresser, Jason and Swan Laws, Michael Smith, Lea Smith, and a nod for great tech work by Jaye Nordling and Dave Nygren.
Our biggest marketing supporters: Ed Clark and Nancy DeStefano-Glines. And thanks to all the theatre owners, managers and directors who hired, housed and fed us along the way.
I’m still going to be here, maybe writing a little something myself (I had a great teacher!) and who knows??? You can always get in touch if you have questions or just to say hello. My email is tim@mcmanusplays.com or you can call me at 509-993-7121.
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