2015-2016 Greater Lansing Theater Season Calendar

THEATER SEASON CALENDAR

The Greater Lansing theater scene has put together a wildly diverse 2015-2016 season, featuring everything from theater classics — from Shakespeare to Mamet — to world premieres, from ambitious musicals to intimate productions and from slapstick comedy to heavy drama.

City Pulse has compiled the area’s biggest theater events into one master calendar, along with some staff-picked season highlights.

Season highlights by Mary C. Cusack and Ty Forquer

IT = Ixion Theatre
LCC = Lansing Community College
Theatre Program
MSU = Michigan State University

Department of Theatre
OCP = Owosso Community Players
OTL = Over the Ledge
PCTC = Peppermint Creek Theatre Co.

RT = Riverwalk Theatre
SDT = Starlight Dinner Theatre
WC = Wharton Center
WT = Williamston Theatre

The Art of Murder

July 24-Aug. 23, 2015 • WT

Elegies

Aug 13-21, 2015 • PCTC

Ernie

Aug. 19-22 • WC

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Sept 10-20, 2015 • RT

Riverwalk Theatre kicks off its season with a musical adaptation of the hit 1988 film “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” The musical tells the story of con men Freddy Benson and Lawrence Jamieson — played in the film by Steve Martin and Michael Caine — who are competing to swindle an American heiress out of a large sum of money.

Hilarity ensues as the suave Brit Lawrence faces off against arrogant American Benson. Capturing the magic of Martin and Caine’s comedic chemistry is a tall order, but if Riverwalk Theatre can tap into even a fraction of that energy, it should prove to be an enjoyable evening.

Barefoot in the Park

Sept 10-20, 2015 • OTL

Legally Blonde

Sept. 11-20, 2015 • OCP

Glengarry Glen Ross

Sept 19-27, 2015 • IT

It is a thrill to see a David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” on this season’s theater roster, because, quite frankly, the Lansing scene just doesn’t present enough Mamet. Given the complexity of the dialogue and Mamet’s famous and distinct patter — otherwise known as “Mamet speak” — it’s easy to understand why. Taking on “Glengarry Glenn Ross” is especially risky, because audiences will inevitably compare it to the Oscar-nominated film that featured such heavy hitters as Kevin Spacy, Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon. Like the beleaguered salesmen in the play, Ixion Theater Ensemble artistic director Jeff Croff is going for the Cadillac El Dorado by opening this season with “Glengarry.”

Mamet dramas are larger than life, yet are best experienced in an intimate setting. Ixion has relocated to the recently opened Robin Theatre in REO Town. The space maintains the intimacy of Ixion’s former location, AA Creative Corridor, but the Robin Theatre has been renovated for live performance. Production values should be markedly improved.

“Glengarry” has the potential to be this season’s top dog if the acting is tight. No pressure, but remember this, cast: Second place is a set of steak knives and third place is you’re fired. As Mamet might say, go balls out for that El Dorado.

Cinderella

Sept. 22-27, 2015 • WC

The Whale

Sept 24-Oct 4, 2015 • PCTC

Rounding Third

Sept 24-Nov 1, 2015 WT

Baltimore

Oct 2-11, 2015 • MSU

The Cocktail Hour

Oct 2-11, 2015 • RT

Never Swim Alone

Oct 2-10, 2015 • LCC

Jersey Boys

Oct. 13-18, 2015 • WC

The Diary of Anne Frank

Oct 22-Nov 1, 2015 • RT

Telling: Lansing (Original)

Nov. 5-15, 2015 • PCTC

Peppermint Creek Theatre Co. is teaming up with the Telling Project to bring the stories of Lansing-area military veterans to the stage. This original production will give local veterans and military family members a chance to share their experiences in a dramatic performance, with a goal of increased understanding between the veterans and their communities.

“The most direct path to understanding veterans’ experience is person-to-person contact,” says the Telling Project’s website. “We give veterans and military family members the opportunity to speak, and their communities the opportunity to listen.”

Dirty Dancing

Nov. 10-15, 2015 • WC

Get a heaping helping of ‘80s nostalgia when the Wharton Center presents the Broadway adaptation of “Dirty Dancing.” Based on the hit 1987 film of the same name, the musical includes songs from the classic soundtrack, including “Hungry Eyes” and “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

If hits from the ‘80s aren’t your thing, you can always dip deeper into the nostalgia well with “Motown the Musical,” based on the story of Motown Records founder Barry Gordy, or “Jersey Boys,” based on early rock ‘n’ rollers the Four Seasons.

Stage Door

Nov 13-22, 2015 • MSU

Jacob Marley´s Christmas Carol

Nov. 19-Dec. 20, 2016 • WT

The Monkey King

Dec. 3-6, 2015 • MSU

MSU’s Department of Theatre joins the university’s year-long cultural project, “The China Experience,” with its production of “The Monkey King.” Based on the 16th century Ming dynasty novel “Journey to the West,” this world premiere adaptation depicts the trials and suffering of a Buddhist monk who travels to India in order to obtain a set of sacred texts.

“The Monkey King” is also the department’s ninth annual freshman showcase, giving audiences a first look at the next generation of MSU actors.

Shakespeare TBA

Dec. 4-6, 2015 • LCC

The Colleen Bawn

Nov. 6-13, 2015 • LCC

Ghost: The Musical

Nov. 6-15, 2015 • OCP

Nuncrackers (Nunsense Xmas)

Nov. 6-15, 2015 • SDT

The View From Here

Nov. 7-15, 2015 • IT

Holliday at Lebowsky

Dec. 11-13, 2015 • OCP

All My Sons

Jan 7-17, 2016 • RT

Bigmouth

Jan 15, 2016 • WC

The Boys Next Door

Jan. 15-24, 2016 • OCP

And Away We Go

Jan 22-31, 2016 • MSU

Too Much, Too Much, Too Many

Jan. 28-Feb. 28, 2016 WT

Broadway´s Next H!t Musical

Jan. 29, 2016 • WC

The Sound of Music

Feb. 9-14, 2016 • WC

One Flew Over the Cuckoo´s Nest

Feb. 11-21, 2016 • RT

For You(r) Mom

Feb. 12-14, 2016 • SDT

The Threepenny Opera

Feb. 18-28, 2016 • LCC

The theater program at LCC brings “The Threepenny Opera” to the Dart Auditorium stage. Written in 1928 by dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, the musical is one of the first works to combine classical music with jazz elements.

Based on John Gay’s “The Begger’s Opera,” “The Threepenny Opera” is a scathing critique of capitalism and morality. LCC’s production will take this turn-of-the-century story and put it in a post-apocalyptic, steampunk version of London.

The musical’s best known tune is "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer," better known by its English translation, “Mack the Knife.” The musical was originally written in German, but LCC’s production is an English adaptation by Mark Blitzstein.

Pride and Prejudice

Feb. 19-28, 2016 • MSU

A Musical Adventure

Feb. 26-March 13, 2016 • OCP

The Secret Garden

March 3-13, 2016 • PCTC

Vietnam, meets Nina Reynolds, a student activist, during a Kent State rally. Ten scenes set against various social events of the ‘70s provide a look back a country trying to find itself — and two people trying to find their place in it.

Riverdance

April 1-3 • WC

The Women of Lockerbie

March 4-13, 2016 • RT

Red, White and Tuna

March 4-13, 2016 • SDT

Written by the team of Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, “Red, White and Tuna” is the third in a series of comedic plays, preceded by “Greater Tuna” and “A Tuna Christmas” and followed by “Tuna Does Vegas.” The plays are set in the fictional small town of Tuna, Texas — the “third-smallest” town in Texas, according to the script.

The series of plays features just two actors portraying the town’s eccentric cast of characters — over 20 characters of both genders and various ages — and is simultaneously an affectionate tribute to smalltown Southern life and a withering satire of it.

Motown the Musical

March 15-20, 2016 • WC

Motortown

March 18-26, 2016 • LCC

She Kills Monsters

March 20-28, 2016 • IT

Wait Until Dark

March 31-April 10, 2016 • RT

The Decade Dance

March 31-May 1, 2016 • WT

Williamston Theatre brings a world premiere to its stage this spring with “The Decade Dance.” Penned by Joseph Zettelmaier, Eastern Michigan University theater professor, “The Decade Dance” tells the story of a one-night stand turned ten-year journey — set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1970s.

Roger Weems, recently returned from

Grease

April 15-24, 2016 • MSU

Matilda

April 19-24, 2016 • WC

You Can´t Take It With You

April 22-May 1, 2016 • SDT

Plaza Suite

April 22-May 1, 2016 • OCP

Water by the Spoonful

April 28-May 7, 2016 • PCTC

Beyond Therapy

May 13-22, 2016 • RT

Secrets

May 14-22, 2016 • IT

The Bridges of Madison County

May 19-22, 2016 • WC

Chapatti

May 26-June 26, 2016 WT

Rent

June 2-12, 2016 • RT

Calendar Girls

June 10-19, 2016 • OCP

The Book of Mormon

June 14-19, 2016 • WC

[Title of Show]

July 7-17, 2016 • PCTC

Summer Retreat

July 14-Aug 21, 2016 • WT 

CHILDREN’S THEATER SCHEDULE

Don’t forget about the kids! Both Riverwalk Theatre and Wharton Center offer fun shows that are appropriate for the whole family, and East Lansing’s All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre gives aspiring thespians a chance to get in on the action.

RT = Riverwalk Theatre AE = All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre WC = Wharton Center

Hammie

Aug. 15, 2015 • AE

The Stinky Cheese Man

Oct. 25, 2015 • WC

Through the Looking-Glass

Nov. 6-14, 2015 • AE

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Nov.27-Dec 6, 2015 • RT

The Monster Who Ate My Peas

Jan. 31, 2016 • WC

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Feb. 5-13, 2016 • AE

Peter Rabbit Tales

Feb. 27, 2016 • WC

Skippyjon Jones: Snow What

March 12, 2016 • WC

Thumbelina

April 22-May 1, 2016 • RT

Peter Pan

July 29-Aug 6, 2016 • AET