​OVER 60 MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOLS 
TO BE CELEBRATED FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING MUSICAL ACHIEVEMENTS


2024 SUTTON FOSTER AWARDS SHOWCASE
Date/Time:                 Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 6:30PM
Location:                     Cobb Great Hall
Tickets:                        $15
Ticket Office:               www.whartoncenter.com
                                    517.432.2000 or 1.800.WHARTON
                                                                          
EAST LANSING, MI — Wharton Center for Performing Arts proudly presents the 12th annual Sutton Foster Awards. The awards program is a state-wide educational initiative celebrating Michigan high school musical theatre and is a flagship educational initiative of Wharton Center. Tickets for the Sutton Foster Awards Showcase are on sale now through the official Wharton Center Ticket Office, online at whartoncenter.com, or by calling 517.432.2000 or 1.800.WHARTON.


The program features 130 high school students performing selections from their school musicals and a variety of Broadway medleys. Over sixty schools are participating in this year’s program, which was open to all Michigan high schools regardless of location, school size, or musical budget.


“We are thrilled to showcase the extraordinary talents of high school theatre students from across Michigan here on our Cobb Great Hall stage,” Wharton Center’s Executive Director Eric Olmscheid says. “This program aims to inspire creativity with young audiences and elevate the theatre-making experience by creating lifelong skills.” 


Leading up to the showcase, three adjudicators comprised of theatre professionals attended each school’s full musical production. They provided feedback directly to the schools and nominated students intended to promote program and performer growth.


This year’s Sutton Foster Awards also included multiple year-long learning opportunities. Participants worked directly with touring Broadway professionals in musical theatre performance master classes and technical and creative workshops. From shows likeHairspray to Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Michigan students were able to work with some of the best in the business.


The entire year-long program culminates in the Awards Showcase. The 130 high school thespians participating will work with Broadway musical directors and choreographers to rehearse and stage the show. Two performers will be selected to represent Michigan at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (Jimmy Awards) in New York City this June. Cash scholarships and tuition to Wharton Center’s summer Broadway experience, Take It From The Top, will also be awarded.


For a complete list of participating high schools and their productions, visit http://whartoncenter.com/sutton-foster-awards.

The Sutton Foster Awards are sponsored by MSU Federal Credit Union; Piper & Gold Public Relations; with additional support from Nancy Passanante.

See you at GIANT PEACH this weekend?

Also, gather that loot to donate to Riverwalk’s big Rummage Sale.

Check out the latest Ripples from Riverwalk Theatre.

May 3-4 @ 7 p.m. - The Good Doctor by Neil Simon performs twice at LCCs Black Box stage

"An unnamed writer (obviously meant to represent Chekhov himself) suffers from writer's block and his own artistic temperament as he narrates to the audience several of his stories:

• "The Sneeze" (based on "The Death of a Government Clerk") - A government clerk over-apologizes and has a nervous breakdown after accidentally sneezing on a general during a night out at the opera.
• "The Governess" (based on "The Nincompoop") - A mother attempts to cheat her children's governess out of her pay by making up offenses and damages for which the governess must "compensate" but then tells her it was a test to see if she would stand up for herself, she didn't.
• "Surgery" (based on the eponymous title) - A sexton visits the dentist complaining of a toothache, but the dentist's zeal for his profession begins to frighten his patient.
• "Too Late for Happiness" - An older man and woman contemplate making time for each other in song.
• "The Seduction" - A renowned seducer of married women sets his sights on his best friend's wife, using his friend as an unwitting accomplice in the ploy.
• "The Drowned Man" - An entrepreneurial tramp pretends to drown himself to make money, calling what he does "maritime entertainment".
• "The Audition" - An actress who walked four days from Odessa to Moscow to audition for the Writer's next play uses most of her audition time to gush over the Writer.
• "A Defenseless Creature" - A woman with a nervous disorder harasses an ill banker to extort money for her injured husband.
• "The Arrangement" - In flashback, the Writer's father takes his shy 19-year-old son to a brothel to make him a man.
• "A Quiet War" (optional scene) - Two retired military commanders meet in the park to debate what makes the perfect five-course lunch.”

Wikipedia

The Good Doctor by Neil Simon based on Anton Chekhov – Director Andy Callis
LCC Black Box Theatre - Gannon Building – Rm. 1422 - Entrance on Grand Ave. 
Admission - FREE

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May 10-11 @ 7 p.m. - Tickets are on sale for All of us Express spring Studio Class production, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on stage May 10 at 7pm and 11 at 3pm. 

The story concerns a mystery surrounding the death of a neighbor's dog that is investigated by young mathematical genius Christopher Boone, and the 15-year-old's relationships with his parents and school mentor. 

The play, by Simon Stephens based on Mark Haddon's novel of the same name, showcases the talents of a small cast of our older actors, who have been workshopping this production each weekend since January. 

This show is appropriate for viewers ages 13 and up.

All Studio Show tickets are $15 and are available at the front desk of the East Lansing Hannah Community Center, by phone at (517) 333-2580 ext. 0, or online at https://bit.ly/AECTtickets. Season tickets are not able to be used for Studio Show performances.