BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — The Acting Company, the country’s premiere touring theater ensemble, returns to the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center Mainstage with an all new production presented in association with The Guthrie.

Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” brings Lancelot, Guinevere, Merlin and Mark Twain himself (as Hank) as they come tumbling our way at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 14.

In this satirical tale from America’s favorite humorist, the audience will wander with Twain as he time travels from the 19th Century to 6th Century England’s medieval times through the eyes of Hank Morgan of Hartford, Connecticut, who, after a blow to the head, awakens to find himself transported back to the time of legendary King Arthur.

He astonishes England’s 6th Century court with modern inventions, medicine, and electricity. His tricks from the future initially advance and improve King Arthur’s court, but society ultimately struggles to evolve 1,300 years into the future.

After dreaming he was a knight stuck in hot and heavy armor, Twain’s vision became a book that is often credited as the foundation for time travel as an important literary genre.

His satirical romp exposes the foibles and fortes of both ages leading audiences to question and laugh at themselves and the principles of the 21st Century.

The Acting Company commissioned Jeffrey Hatcher to write a new adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Hatcher’s many plays include “Three Viewings,” “Compleat Female Stage Beauty,” “Scotland Road,” “To Fool the Eye,” and “The Turn of the Screw.” This is his fifth project with The Acting Company.

The play, directed by The Acting Company’s artistic director Ian Belknap, is part of The Acting Company’s 42nd season. The tour begins Feb. 14, at The Guthrie in Minneapolis and makes it way through the Midwest, ending on the east coast this spring.

Founded by John Houseman and Margot Harley in 1972, The Acting Company has toured 48 states and 10 foreign countries, promoting theater and arts education all across America, earning a Tony Award for Excellence in Theater, Obies, Audelcos and Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards.

Kevin Kline, Rainn Wilson, Patti LuPone, Cristin Milioti, Frances Conroy, Jeffrey Wright, Harriet Harris, David Ogden Stiers, Keith David, Hamish Linklater, and Jesse L. Martin are but a handful of performers who began their careers on tour with The Acting Company

Tickets for Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” start at $25 and are available by calling the LMC Mendel Center Box Office at (269) 927-1221 or visiting LMCmainstage.org. For special rates for groups of 10 or more and information about group rates, pre-show party options, and other special arrangements, contact Mike Nadolski at (269) 927-8109 or mnadolski@lakemichigancollege.edu.

A cash bar will be open one hour before show time and during intermission. Special Mendel Center drink cups are available for purchase, which allow patrons to enjoy their beverages inside the theater.

First Source Bank and The Herald Palladium are sponsoring the LMC Mendel Center Mainstage performance of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

The full line-up of LMC Mendel Center Mainstage entertainment can be found at www.lmcmainstage.org. Find the LMC Mendel Center on social media at www.facebook.com/mendelcenter and @LMCMendel on Twitter.