2025 theater season in review

Live theater has the power to move us in ways that other forms of entertainment cannot. The communion of an audience sharing a live experience with performers who are showcasing both their talents and vulnerabilities creates a special, albeit temporary, bond. It’s a bond that’s very necessary in these days of divisiveness, when people can hide behind screens and heartlessly attack one another. Theater gives us back that heart and human connection.

Many shows I reviewed this year were so powerful that I teared up remembering them as I scanned my reviews. The year began with Williamston Theatre’s heartbreaking “A Case for the Existence of God,” the story of two fathers who bond over their struggles to maintain custody of their daughters. Next, Ixion Ensemble crushed it, and me, with “Broke-ology,” wherein two sons wrestle with how to best care for their ailing father — a story all too familiar for many families today.

Peppermint Creek Theatre Co. brought audiences together by sharing stories about families ripped apart with its production of “The Best We Could (a family tragedy),” a work that allowed Jeff Magnuson to trick us into thinking he was an easygoing, happy dad. The role of the father was central to Williamston Theatre’s “Baba,” about an immigrant father navigating the unforgiving bureaucracy of the US Passport and Immigration office to get a passport for his young daughter so he can take her home to Egypt. Sarab Kamoo was outstanding, pulling double duty as Baba and his estranged adult daughter.

Two productions stood out for their bravery in tackling uncomfortable topics. Riverwalk Theatre’s black box production of “How I Learned to Drive” addressed generational sexual abuse within a family. It was extremely cringey, but it was so very well acted that it was worth the discomfort. Not to be undone in making audiences uncomfortable, Lansing Community College presented “Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties.” This show was a clever, hilarious and raunchy look at female and female-presenting empowerment and self-actualization. Betz Lund turned in perhaps the most vulnerable performance I saw this year with her almost naked, joyful abandon as her character learned to love herself. It was hard not to leave the play feeling happy and hopeful.

Here are the shows that moved City Pulse’s other theater reviewers in 2025:

Courtney Bowerman:

“The SpongeBob Musical” at Riverwalk was a nautically naughty good time. The cast nailed their characters perfectly, and even the adults in the audience could appreciate the show’s humor and poignantly relevant storyline. That being said, I also loved the Broadway series at Wharton Center, especially “A Beautiful Noise,” “The Wiz” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

 

Dana deMink:

Peppermint Creek’s production “Ride the Cyclone” was a standout in 2025. When you read the plot synopsis, it seems cliché, but this was a hilarious, wild ride.  I am always amazed by our local talent, and this was an off-the-charts talent extravaganza.  Peppermint Creek also impressed the hell out of me with the spectacular “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”

Additionally, I really enjoyed “Lustful Youth” at Riverwalk Theatre. My husband is still talking about it.  This farcical metacomedy showcased a great working relationship between director Kait Wilson and playwright Mike Eserkaln. The duo worked together at Eserkaln’s improv club in Wisconsin, developing sketch comedy vignettes. That strong collaborative vibe really worked for this tight production.

I closed out 2025 with a spectacle at Wharton Center. With its breathtaking vocals, vibrant costumes and Motown, funk, gospel and soul sounds, as well as its energized mélange of hip-hop, ballet and Afro-Cuban choreography, the revival of “The Wiz” has been delightfully reimagined for modern audiences.

 

Vic Rauch:

My favorite show of 2025, for very personal reasons, was “A Sherlock Carol,” performed at Williamston Theatre. I’ve been tantalized by Christmas stories, especially Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” all my life. I heard it performed on the radio as early as age 4 or 5. A book with the original haunting illustrations fascinated me. As a youth, I saw movie versions in theaters. After my family got a television set, I watched every conceivable production, including cartoon and musical versions.

When I started my own family, I introduced my children to my love of the Dickens classic, not only through television, but by attending live performances every Christmas season at the New Vic Theatre in Kalamazoo. One year, my oldest granddaughter was in the cast, playing Fan and one of the Cratchit kids. All in all, I estimate that I’ve read, heard or seen the story 300 times in my 86 years.

As for “Sherlock Carol” at Williamston, I was intrigued by the interplay of Sherlock Holmes characters mingling with the ghosts and grown-up Cratchits to deal with suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Ebenezer Scrooge. Not only was it a masterful performance, with just six actors effectively playing the roles of multiple characters, but it gave me my “Christmas Carol” fix for 2025.