Writer Mollee Francisco interviewed playwright Pat Hazell. Here's her story:

"Lawn darts, Pop Rocks, Spam – if any of these items send you back to another place and time, then Pat Hazell has a show for you. The Wonder Bread Years is a loving look back at the wonder of childhood. It is now playing at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

Hazell may have grown up eating corn in Nebraska, but his show reflects a broader sensibility about an era when one’s biggest concern was extending their bedtime. Hazell uses pop culture references to span generations and connect to his audience for 90-minutes of “pure escapism.”

Q: What is “The Wonder Bread Years?”
A: It’s a one-man show that I originally wrote and performed for a PBS special. It’s a very contagious show that will evoke memories and is a really interesting form of escapism.

Q: You’re no longer performing the shows. Was it hard to let go and allow someone else do the play?
A: It was the first time I did it. But after watching different interpretations of it, I realized we were birthing something bigger. There are only a few “wonder boys” and they make the show better. I still direct the shows for consistency.

Q: Who should see “The Wonder Bread Years?”
A: It’s a salute to baby boomer Americana. It’s especially for adults when memory is all you have left. It doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or 65. If you were once five, you can relate to those moments of wonder and sheer abandon – when you had no responsibility. We offer that 90-minute escape to the attic.

Q: What kind of pop culture references can the audience expect?
A: Dangerous toys like lawn darts. Food things like Spam, Velveeta, Pop Rocks. Remember those? And there was that rumor that if you mixed them with Coke you’d explode? We always heard that’s how the kid from Life cereal died.

Q: How did you get your start?
A: I was a kid magician that did self-taught juggling. My act happened to be funny and gradually I started doing stand-up comedy.

Q: You appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Did you ever imagine that was a possibility growing up?
A: When you grow up in Nebraska and he’s up in Nebraska, you set your sights on it. Luckily for me it happened right before my 10-year (high school) reunion.

Q: How were you involved with Seinfeld?
A: I started as an opening act for Jerry (Seinfeld). Later, he got his pilot (for the show) and he invited me to submit stuff for Seinfeld. I got one of the first jobs on the show.

Q: Did you write anything viewers might recognize?
A: I invented Kramerica, a Kramer necktie for businessmen and a lot of other weird Kramer-esque things.

Q: How did working on Seinfeld affect your career?
A: Clearly, it’s the shiniest badge on my Boy Scout banner. It was great because Jerry actually endorsed “The Wonder Bread Years” as “milk-snortingly funny” which was a huge compliment.

Eden Prairie resident Todd Carlsen is a music enthusiast and SPCO season ticket subscriber. He sent me this story about the upcoming concert.

"Now is a great time to see the world-class Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in concert at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie. The SPCO will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21 with a program featuring Italian violinist Ruggero Allifranchini.

Ruggero, as SPCO members affectionately call him, is a virtuoso showman at the top of his craft. With his expressive Italian features, immersed in his playing, he is a joy to watch. He plays a beautiful violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1694 known as the “Fetzer” (worth at least two million dollars). He can make it sing so beautifully, weep passionately, and make the most difficult solos seem effortless.

Allifranchini studied at the finest academies, including the Curtis Institute of Music, and was bestowed the Diploma d’Onore from the Chiguina Academy in Siena, Italy. He is a soloist internationally, a member of the world-renowned trio Nobilis, and Associate Concertmaster of the SPCO.

The program includes four crowd-pleasing pieces.

Haydn’s Violin Concerto #2 was composed in the brilliant Italian violin style for star violinist Alois Luigi Tomasini, with challenging passages for only virtuoso violinists, like Ruggero Allifranchini.

Rossini’s Overture to the Italian Girl in Algiers is catchy. (You probably know his William Tell Overture, also known as the Lone Ranger theme song.)

Martin’s Pavane Couleur du Temps is a childlike tapestry of musical colors, based on a tale in which a fairy grants a girl several gifts, including a dress in her favorite color. She chooses “le couleur du temps,” which ambiguously means the color of the weather or moments in time.

Mozart’s cheery Symphony #36, Linz, was written in about four days “at breakneck speed” for a rich patron. This masterpiece is Mozart’s most charming symphony, I feel, with plenty of fast playing.

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will perform eight Friday evening concerts and four Friday morning concerts at Wooddale in Eden Prairie this season."