Holton Community Theatre stages "Shawshank Redemption"

Holton Community Theatre is set to bring a tale of hope, friendship and resilience to life as it stages “The Shawshank Redemption” later this month. 

With two dinner theatre performances and two matinee showings, audiences will have multiple opportunities to experience the adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, “Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption.” 

The novella was adapted into a movie in 1994 starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and Shannon Wittmer, HCT director, said the play takes inspiration for both the movie and the book.

“For those who love the movie and the book, the play is still a story of hope and friendship,” Wittmer said. “This movie takes place in a prison over the span of nearly 20 years, between the 1940s to 1960s. It is rated R for language and for prison violence. It was important to me to keep with the integrity of the script and not censor it at all.”

The play follows the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly convicted of murder, who is sentenced to life in the infamous Shawshank prison. 

Through decades of hardship, Dufresne forges an unlikely friendship with fellow inmate Red and ultimately discovers a path to redemption. 

The first dinner theatre performance on Saturday, Oct. 11, is sold out. The second dinner performance will be held the following Saturday, Oct. 18. Dinner will start at 6:15 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m.

Matinee performances will be held at 2 p.m. on both Sunday, Oct. 12, and Sunday Oct. 19. 

For more information on this and other stories, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select “Oct. 1, 2025” under “E-Editions.”