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“It’s a great choice for this time and for this company, and it’s one of my favorite shows that they’ve done.”

“Theatre 55’s Artistic Director Richard Hitchler directs this fantastic cast with just the right mix of humor and heart. It’s worth noting that not all of the actors in Theatre 55 shows are professional actors, but they’re all so present and passionate and invested in the storytelling.”

Part of Theatre 55’s mission is to pair novice performers with professionals, but what some may lack in experience they make up for with heart, sincerity, and passion. Everyone on stage is fully committed to telling this story, and bringing their whole life experience to it. The Kit Kat girls and boys are indeed beautiful, if not in the limited way that society tells us is beautiful, then in the way that real people of varied ages and body types, who are comfortable and confident in their bodies, are. As a newly 50-year-old woman, these are my role models for aging; I want to be like them when I grow up.

Singer-songwriter Katy Vernon, who was born in London and now lives in White Bear Lake, Minn., recommends Theatre 55’s production of  “A Chorus Line – In Concert,” based on the 1975 musical about aspiring Broadway dancers.

“Everything they do is geared towards performers 55 and up,” she says. “And as a performer myself, reaching that age in the next few years, I just really am encouraged and inspired by theater that shows none of us have an expiration date.”

Catherine Brennan sings the part of a dancer who is talented and well trained but has never been in a show. “I remember when A Chorus Line was on Broadway,” said the Merriam Park resident. “At the time, I was an aspiring actor. In my 20s, I worked for a couple of years as a modern dancer. Then, I gave in to the realities of survival and pursued other work. Last year, after a 30-year hiatus from performing, I auditioned for Theatre 55’s production of Rent and was offered a role. It was as if the lights went on in my brain. It was so joyous.

TCL photographer Drew Schingen takes us to Eagan’s Caponi Art Park Amphitheater and Theatre 55.

When the Tony Award-winning rock musical “Rent” is produced, usually a gaggle of 20- to 30-somethings clad in retro 1990s garb take the stage.

However, at Theatre 55, there isn’t a member of the cast under 55 — and the oldest is about to turn 75.

Actor Rik Kutcher plays HIV-positive homeless activist Tom Collins, and while the 60-year-old doesn’t look like most people’s idea of a young revolutionary, his life story mirrors his characters.

“In 1986, I tested positive for HIV,” Kutcher says. “At that time, it was a very, very scary time, a lot of stigma.”