Meet the cast of "Winter Wonderettes"

DPRCA's "Winter Wonderettes" opens Thursday. Meet the four young women whose talents will be on full display in this holiday hit.

New Rockford's own Tessa Hartl leads the pack as Missy, the neurotic leader of the Marvelous Wonderettes.

A December 2020 graduate of NDSU, Hartl has made quite an impression on DPRCA patrons. Most known for her roles as the Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Almira Gulch in "The Wizard of Oz" (2017), and Ado Annie in "Oklahoma" (2019), Hartl is back to entertain on the DPRCA stage.

Hartl's big voice landed her a spot with Fargo Moorhead Opera in 2019, performing outdoors from the back of a pickup box during the pandemic. "It was an attempt to bring opera to the public," Hartl said. The performances were also recorded and posted on social media.

Most recently, she's been traveling across Minnesota playing accordion in a Klezmer, or Jewish dance band.

"I like to tell people that my accordion paid my rent last month," Hartl quipped. She's played in the band for three years. She also performs for weddings, choir recitals and even displayed her vocal prowess for a dinner party at NDSU.

Hartl plans to continue studying voice while pursuing her master's degree. She is applying to colleges and hopes to find a fit beginning with the Fall 2022 semester.

In the meantime, she's ready to have some fun this holiday season. She wants patrons to know that the show has "a lot of Christmas songs that people will know." She's also excited to work with the fun, new talent that's coming into town for the three-week run.

"It's a great way to kick off the holiday season," Hartl concluded.

Grace Quam, who plays Hartl's "best friend" Suzy in the show, is the other North Dakotan native on stage. Quam is from Lakota, and area theatre-goers might recognize her from Fort Totten Little Theatre. She played "Marty" in Grease this past summer, and also performed in Rock of Ages.

Quam loves to dance. She was a student of Miki's School of Dance in Devils Lake throughout her youth. Now a student at the University of Jamestown (UJ), Quam is majoring in exercise science while taking on performance roles. She choreographed "Curtains" at UJ this past year, and also acted in "Forbidden Broadway."

Quam's role as Suzy is quite quirky. Suzy is happy-go-lucky, a little giddy, a little silly, and a little pregnant.

"I think it's a really fun show," Quam said.

So what happens when these two "best friends" team up with another pair of besties for a haphazard holiday in a hardware store?

It's rather hilarious, really.

Meet Raleigh Peterson, a Branson, Mo. native, and Hannah Hill, who play best friends Cindy Lou and Betty Jean, respectively.

Like Quam, Peterson started dancing at a young age. Her whole family performed in community theatres in Kansas City when she was a child.

"On a stage performing is the only thing I wanted to do," she recalled.

Peterson obtained her bachelor's degree in musical theatre from Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) in Arkadelphia, Ark. A 2020 graduate, this is her first "professional" performance role.

Cindy Lou, Peterson's character, is the "bad girl" of the group, now reformed (to a point). She is sexy, with a dry and sassy wit, and has a sky-high, jet-black beehive, a cross between the Ronettes and early Priscilla Presley.

Peterson said she is enjoying the small town atmosphere in New Rockford, "I needed an adventure, and this has definitely been one."

Hannah Hill grew up in central Arkansas, the big sister of four. Although she spent most of her youth playing softball, she was encouraged to sing at chapel as a kid.

She was exposed to theatre as a senior in high school, when she performed in her first musical. She remembered thinking, "You can get paid to do musicals?" With that, she enrolled in the musical theatre department at OBU. It was there she met Peterson.

Like Peterson, Hill played a role in Ft. Totten Little Theatre's "Grease" this summer. While here in North Dakota, she met Elliott Schwab and came to a performance of "Life Could Be a Dream."

While at the show, she saw the advertisement for "Winter Wonderettes" in the program and decided to reach out to Schwab and audition. Once she was cast, she was instrumental in getting Peterson on board.

Fun fact: this isn't Hill's first gig in a former church converted into a theatre. She spent a summer in Brownville, Neb. performing at the Brownville Village Theatre. Population 127, Brownville is a tiny village tucked in the southeast corner of Nebraska.

Hill's experience also includes roles at the Empire Theater and the North Dakota Shakespeare Festival, both in Grand Forks.

Hill's character, Betty Jean, takes the lead of the Marvelous Wonderettes in the show. "I relate a lot with Betty Jean," Hill said. She's the class clown, and a tom boy.

So, what can audiences expect as these four women make their way on stage? Hill said they can look forward to a "warm and joyful experience, perfect for the holidays."

"It's cool to see (the characters) come together and make their own Christmas memories together," Hill added. "It's 'snow' much fun! You don't want to miss it!"

Reserve your seats today with a call or text to the DPRCA Box Office at 701-399-9634 or book online at http://www.dprca.com.