Here is a delightful new version of Kenneth Grahame’s always popular The Wind in the Willows. Toad (Kyle Sodman of Mason) of Toad Hall is an eccentric but lika- ble chap given to “crazes.” His latest craze involves motorcars. Unfortunately, he smashes them up as fast as he gets them. He even steals one for a wild ride over the country- side. Naturally, this gets him into a great deal of trouble. His dear friends Badger (Destiny Dewey of Lansing), Rat (Natalie Vogel of Holt) and Mole (Steven Wulfekuhler of Holt) do their best to help, but their efforts aren’t enough, and Toad ends up in prison... after an uproarious courtroom scene. His imprisonment couldn’t please his enemies, the weasels, more. They quickly take over Toad Hall and trash the place.

7:00 p.m. on Fridays and 3:00 p.m.  on Saturdays and Sundays.
 $7.00 for students and adults and $5.00 for preschoolers. 

Tickets are available from the Alfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center at (517) 483-6686 or at the center the day of the performance.  
Alfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center
5825 Wise Road
Lansing, MI 48911
 
Wise Road runs parallel to Waverly Road between Miller Road on the south
and Jolly Road on the north.
mmft.net

This is the first full musical produced by All-of-us Express!  This musical fantasy will delight audiences of all ages!

Aladdin finds a magic lamp with a genie that transforms his life and wins him the heart of the beautiful Princess Jasmine. However, the evil magician Jammal wants the lamp for himself. This musical fantasy will delight audiences of all ages!

July 26-27 & Aug. 2-3
7 pm Fri. 2 & 4:30 Sat.
$5 kids; $7 age 18+
Hannah Center 
E. Lansing
http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/allofus

7/30 - "Readers of the Lost Book" free Children's Show @ Hope Borbas Library   
Tue, July 30, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Hope Borbas Branch Library--4321 Okemos Road, south of Mt. Hope and Hulett, Okemos 
Chad Patterson wrote and stars in a hilarious kid-centric homage to Indiana Jones and the joys of reading.
www.actingup.biz

Love Letters 
by A. R. Gurney
Sunday, July 28 at 7pm

A fundraiser for the Williamston Theatre
All tickets $15

This staged reading of the classic love story will feature two of the Theatre’s co-founders,John Lepard and Emily Sutton-Smith.The piece is comprised of letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people, sometime lovers, who grow up together, go their separate ways, and continue to share confidences. As the actors read the letters aloud, what is created is an evocative, touching, frequently funny, but always telling, pair of character studies in which what is implied is as revealing and meaningful as what is actually written down. Mr. Lepard and Ms. Sutton-Smith are married and have a young son together.

Call (517) 655-7469 for your reservations!
 www.williamstontheatre.com

8/1-11 - Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, an uproarious and surprisingly poignant story of two bumbling Alabama brothers who have never shot a duck but think they shot an angel, comes to the Over The Ledge Theatre Company in Grand Ledge, August 1-11. 
This quirky comedy, written by Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom of Tuesdays with Morrie fame (the bestselling memoir of all time), Duck Hunter Shoot Angel centers on two good ‘ol’ boys, Duane (Michael Hays) and Duwell (Bruce Bennett), who believe they have shot a celestial being while duck hunting.  Word of their fantastic story reaches the editor (Martin Underhill) of the Weekly World and Globe in New York City and he quickly dispatches one of his reporters, Sandy (Mark Boyd), a cynical and self-professed writer of "crap" with his less than eager photographer (Sidney Sauseda II) to go down South and get the scoop.  The themes of redemption, race, media and north vs. south are all explored in hilarious fashion, and the show features a surprise ending that few theatergoers see coming. 
Directed by the award winning Rick Dethlefsen, this production also features Kellie Stonebrook, Rachelle Garyett, Breckan Erdman and Gary Mitchell as ‘the voice’. 
Shows are scheduled on Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Ledges Playhouse in Fitzgerald Park, Grand Ledge.For ticket information, call 318-0579 or visit the website www.overtheledge.org

7/30 - "Readers of the Lost Book" free Children's Show @ Hope Borbas Library in Okemos, MI
Tue, July 30, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Hope Borbas Branch Library--Okemos, MI
This  children's show is designed to encourage kids to read while making them laugh, dance, sing and think. Join "Michigana Jones" as he encounters a Bookworm, a Dragon and a Mummy in his quest to recover the world's oldest Library Book. You will have a great time with the colorful revolving characters, up to the minute pop culture references, singing, dancing and audience participation! Fun for the whole family!

We saw this show at the Foster Library and it was a treat. The clever script is written by former Lansing-ite Chad Patterson, who also stars as the hilarious and engaging "Michigana Jones." Every summer he concocts a gem like this for the libraries tour to promote summer reading. Bring your kids - or even just your grown-up self, if you want to see what great energy, pacing, imagination and humor look like -- FREE. Talented costar is Okemos Grad and Peppermint Creek veteran Keenan Kangas. Check out www.actingup.biz for future dates. I think this is the last of the Lansing-area dates for this summer.

Riverwalk theatre is looking for new scripts by Michigan writers to stage-read at the Riverwalk Black Box theatre. 
If you are a Michigan playwright, send your script with your contact information and bio to: 

Staged Readings, Riverwalk Theatre, P.O. Box 12249, Lansing MI 48901
…or deliver to the RWT office (228 Museum Drive, next to Imression 5) 
…or email to rwt@riverwalktheatre.com

PLACE: Plymouth Congregational Church
2001 E. Grand River Avenue
Lansing, MI 48912-3286
PHONE: 517-484-9495
DATE/TIME: Sunday, July 28, 2013, 7:00 PM
CONTACT: Joan Chandler, Secretary

J & J Sounds is a fast paced show band which features the exciting brass sounds of the “Heart Attack Horns”. Their show is action packed from beginning to end and is sure to bring the audience to their feet early on in the show. They are on a mission to move your souls with Blues Brothers music, Chicago tunes, Motown sounds, Big Band arrangements and pop classics from the fifties to today. The group has an extensive repertoire and many of the members have been playing together since college days.

The group was formed in 1992 by John Dale Smith and Jerry Krause and proceeded to take off with a unique blend of horn driven rock and roll and easy listening favorites designed to appeal to all age groups and musical tastes. A performance can be designed to include a mix of popular music including big band, patriotic, polkas, and dinner music.

Featured in the group, on vocals and bass, Jerry Krause. John Dale Smith, Director of Music for Plymouth Congregational Church, plays keyboards. Doug Gluckin, plays flute, alto, and tenor sax. Richard Cote, the drummer, is former band director at Beagle Middle School in Grand Ledge, and an employee of Marshall Music. Roger Weyersberg, former director of the Ovid-Elsie High band, plays trombone, Tim Parry plays trumpet and guitarist and vocalist is Don Sovey, former Associate Superintendent for Business at Charlotte Public Schools and a Certified Public Accountant. Percussionist for this concert will be Jonathan Smith, recent grad of Julliard School of Music and currently a DMA candidate at University of Michigan.

Many of these musicians have performed in pit orchestra for area theatre; hear them do NON show tunes on Sunday. There are rumors of a local favorite actress/singer perhaps adding a few solos...  ;-}
(Note that John Dale and many of these musicians are scheduled to do a show-tune cabaret at Riverwalk Theatre, September 28 at Riverwalk's black box.)

As you may know, the former LCP Costume Shop has been turned over to Riverwalk to manage and run for the use of theatres and the community. It is presently housed in the former LCP firehouse building on the corner of Michigan and Hayford.

The RWT costume committee and volunteers have been cleaning and organizing for the past few months to make the shop more user friendly. We need your help on this final Saturday in July so that we can have a “soft opening” in the month of August when we will take appointments for those needing costumes during this time. We plan to open with formal hours starting in September -  stay tuned.
 
This Saturday morning, we need helpers who are good at organizing, know at least a little about costumes, and can be ruthless about discarding of items that are not good for rental. We have directions and can give guidance. Please note it is hot up in the old firehouse 2nd floor so dress lightly and bring water. We expect to work for two to three hours, starting at 9:00 AM when it will be coolest. Questions? Call Marge Hetherington W-655-5523 or H 339-3095. 
  
Clothing PATTERNS to be given away to costumers who can use them
 
There a several filing cabinets of commercially printed clothing patterns housed in the costume shop that RWT will not be using. We would like to offer them to anyone who could use them for building new costumes. The patterns will be available Sat. July 27th or you can call Marge Hetherington W-655-5523 or H 339-3095 to make arrangements for getting the patterns until July 29th. (Do not call Marge after that as she will be out of the country.)

Also, anyone interested in volunteering as a costumer or assistant costumer for Riverwalk shows may give their contact information to RWT Manager, Mike Siracuse (482-5700 rwt@riverwalktheatre.com)

- an irreverent and witty twist on a classic work

Wednesday - Sunday,
July 24-28
7:00PM The Odyssey: A Play by Mary Zimmerman
Directed by Deborah Keller
This dramatic adaptation of Homer's myth begins with a modern young woman who is struggling to understand Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey.  A classical muse appears, and the young woman becomes the goddess Athena--a tireless advocate for Odysseus in his struggle to get home.  With her trademark irreverent and witty twist on classic works, Zimmerman brings to life the story of Odysseus's ten-year journey, depicting his encounters with characters such as Circe, the Cyclops, Poseidon, Calypso, the Sirens, and others.  Presented by LCC's 2nd Semester Theatre Studio class.