Voices of Valhalla: A Hayride Through History

Hawthorne Players and Valhalla Funeral Chapel, Crematory and Cemetery first presented "Voices of Valhalla: Hayrides Through Time" at Valhalla Cemetery in 2010. This unusual theatre-in-a-cemetery production features a hayride through the cemetery with stops along the way where characters appear from the darkness and present monologues describing their lives and times.
Hawthorne Players and Valhalla Funeral Chapel, Crematory and Cemetery first presented the unusual theatre-in-a-cemetery “Voices of Valhalla: Hayrides Through Time” at Valhalla Cemetery in 2010.

History comes alive when Hawthorne Players and Valhalla Cemetery present “Voices of Valhalla: A Hayride through History” on Oct. 6, 7, 13, 14.

The performances mark the eighth season for Hawthorne’s popular “theatre in a cemetery” event, presented at Valhalla Cemetery and Funeral Chapel, 7600 St. Charles Rock Road.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. Tickets are $25 for the hayrides or $400 for an entire wagon (limited to 16 persons) and $15 for the indoor performances and can be purchased by calling 314-863-3011.  In case of inclement weather, the performances will be held indoors. No refunds. These historical hayrides are not recommended for young children.

The hayrides leave every 15 minutes, beginning at 6:30 each evening and taking visitors to locations in the lovely grounds where actors from Hawthorne Players will bring to life the stories and times of some of the cemetery’s permanent residents.

Besides the hayrides, two special indoor performances, featuring all of the characters, will be held in the chapel of the Valhalla Mausoleum on Saturday, Oct. 7 and 14 at 4 p.m.

This year’s characters will include the very first person entombed in the lovely Valhalla Mausoleum which opened exactly 100 years ago; a World War I hero and his ammunition-making brother; a detective who helped solve the “Crime of the (19th) Century;” a corset-salesman and his intellectual lover; a woman who spent her days among file cabinets and her nights in Gaslight Square; and finally, a man who planned to speak at his own funeral.

Director/Writer Larry Marsh says that this year’s stories are sure to both entertain and inform.

“Some are funny, some disturbing, some inspiring, but all of them are based on the lives of real people. And during the evening, you’ll also learn a lot about St. Louis history.”

For more information see the Hawthrone Players website: www.hawthorneplayers.info/voices-of-valhalla-home.html.

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