1/3 - Sunday 4pm  NEVER SWIM ALONE (seriously, this is unique and entertaining; don’t miss it! Jane)
Lansing Community College
Dart Auditorium 

LCC Theatre Production Wins Spot at Kennedy Center Festival
Lansing Community College Theatre's production of Never Swim Alone directed by Deb Keller was selected earlier this month for presentation January 6-7, 2016 in Milwaukee at the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). Never Swim Alone is the first LCC production to receive a highly competitive festival invitation as a Participating Production, one of five in a field of 21 from universities and colleges in the four-state Region III (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana). 

An open dress rehearsal in preparation for the tour will be FREE TO THE PUBLIC at 4 p.m. Sunday, January 3 in Dart Auditorium.
LCC will also have six students competing in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition: Anna Szabo (nominated for A Streetcar Named Desire); Connor Kelly, Heath Sartorius and Monica Tanner (Never Swim Alone); Dustin Dikes and Boris Nikolovski (The Colleen Bawn).
Never Swim Alone will be in the company of shows from Ball State University, Oakland University, Marquette University, and Carthage College. These are then considered for presentation at the national festival in Washington, D.C. in April. Over the years, LCC has entered just a handful of productions as Participating Shows which must be prepared to travel: most are Associate entries and so receive a response from a visiting theatre professor and the opportunity for students to enter into the Irene Ryan Acting Competition.
"Beyond the fact that our LCC production won this spot and will be seen by a regional audience, I am so excited by this invitation because I believe it is a very meaningful recognition of the quality and effectiveness of the training and education LCC students receive through the LCC Theatre Studio Program," said LCC Performing Arts Producer Melissa Kaplan.
Never Swim Alone is Daniel MacIvor's satire about two men who engage in a high-stakes battle of one-upmanship and the woman who referees their match. Director Deb Keller brings powerful staging to this modern piece of theatre, including the use of aerial silks. Originally staged October 2015 in LCC's 90-seat Black Box Theatre for packed crowds, the production team is adapting it for a 525-seat theatre at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee with only a few weeks to prepare. The festival process includes a strictly monitored and adjudicated four-hour load-in, two performances, and a response from festival adjudicators.
Founded in 1966, the KCACTF is a network of more than 700 academic institutions located in eight regions with 20,000 participating students, dedicated to improving the quality of college theatre in the United States. The annual regional festivals offer workshops, performances, and competitions. LCC has been committed to providing KCACTF opportunities to its students for years by encouraging attendance at festivals and participation, when nominated, in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition. Earlier KCACTF recognition for LCC included an invited scene from Six Degrees of Separation (2006), and recognition for direction for Andy Callis, A View From the Bridge (2011).

Lots going on at Riverwalk (All My Sons, Grant$$, Jazz Cabaret, Wait Until Dark Auditions…. See the attached RIPPLES.

Music by RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Book by HOWARD LINDSAY and RUSSEL CROUSE Suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp

Directed by JACK O’BRIEN

Tuesday, February 9 — Sunday, February 14, 2016

Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Cobb Great Hall

Tickets from $38 ● plus applicable fees Student and group discounts available. whartoncenter.com
517.432.2000 or 1.800.WHARTON

Tickets are on sale now for the brand new production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC

This lavish new production will make its East Lansing premiere February 9-14 at Wharton Center as part of a North American tour.

Tickets are available at the official source to purchase Wharton Center tickets online, www.whartoncenter.com, at the Auto-Owner’s Insurance Ticket Office, or by calling 1-800-WHARTON. For more information, please visit www.TheSoundOfMusicOnTour.com.

MUSIC, directed by three-time Tony Award® winner Jack O’Brien.

BEN DAVIS (Broadway’s Violet, A Little Night Music, La Bohème) will play Captain Georg von Trapp and ASHLEY BROWN (Broadway’s Mary Poppins, NBC’s The Sound of Music) will play The Mother Abbess with MERWIN FOARD as Max Detweiler, TERI HANSEN as Elsa Schraeder, DAN TRACY as Rolf and PAIGE SILVESTER as Liesl. The von Trapp children will be played by ERICH SCHUETT (Friedrich), MARIA KNASEL (Louisa), QUINN ERICKSON (Kurt), SVEA JOHNSON (Brigitta), MACKENZIE CURRIE (Marta) and AUDREY BENNETT (Gretl).

And introducing Jack O’Brien’s brand new discovery, KERSTIN ANDERSON as Maria Rainer. A current student at Pace University, Ms. Anderson won the coveted role from hundreds who auditioned. This is her first national tour.

Director O’Brien had this to say about his leading lady, “in looking over a great American classic, like THE SOUND OF MUSIC, sometimes you stumble on something you wonder if anyone ever saw before. For instance, I was privileged to actually see Mary Martin in the original production — as I was myself just a junior at the University of Michigan. She was a great star, and she was giving a ‘great star’s’ performance. She was at the apex of her career, and she was both brilliant and 46 years old.

“But in reading it privately, something caught my eye: Maria is probably, as a postulant, no more than six or seven years older than Liesl! She may be many things — a country lass, a climber-of-trees, a young renegade, but she is clearly NOT an established star! How interesting!

“I’ve always believed Maria was a ‘star-making’ part, rather than the leading role we remember from the movies and our experience; so I went looking for someone with star-making magic. And in through the auditiondooronedaywalkedKerstinAnderson,stillstudyingatPaceUniversityinNewYork. Sheopened her mouth, she sang, and the tears welled up in my eyes.

“If ever there were an enchanting young woman standing on the brink of discovery — this was it! And now, the discovery is about to be all of ours! Please, as I do — welcome her!"

THE SOUND OF MUSIC features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp. This new production is directed by Jack O’Brien (credits include: Hairspray, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Coast of Utopia), choreographed by Danny Mefford (Fun Home, The Bridges of Madison County and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) and music supervision by Andy Einhorn (Bullets Over Broadway, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Brief Encounter, The Light in the Piazza). The design and production team is comprised of Douglas W. Schmidt, set design (Tony Award® nominee: 42nd Street, Into the Woods); Jane Greenwood, costume design (2014 recipient of the Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre), Natasha Katz, lighting design (Five-time Tony Award® winner: An American in Paris, Once, Aida, The Coast of Utopia, The Glass Menagerie) and Ken Travis, sound design (Aladdin, Newsies, Memphis). Casting by Telsey + Company/Rachel Hoffman, CSA.

According to director Jack O’Brien, “THE SOUND OF MUSIC has been in our ears for decades, as it deserves to be. But it might be time to look once more, and more closely, at this remarkable work which, I feel, begins to reveal itself as deeper, richer, and more powerful than ever. It’s no longer ‘your mother’s’ familiar SOUND OF MUSIC. We are tearing off the varnish

of the past from one of the great glories of our theatergoing experience and making it fresh! This is an opportunity we’ve all longed to create!”

Producer Beth Williams (Grove Entertainment) said, “It’s a great privilege to bring this beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein musical to theaters across North America. We hope that people of all ages will continue to fall in love with it for the first time, or all over again, and that it will truly become one of their ‘favorite things.’ From our distinguished team led by the creative master Jack O’Brien, audiences can expect a truly magnificent production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC.”

In the words of Ted Chapin, President of Rodgers & Hammerstein, “THE SOUND OF MUSIC continues to be the world’s most beloved musical. When a major national tour was suggested, I not only agreed, but was willing to roll up my sleeves and do whatever I could to fashion a new stage production that would re- engage today’s theatergoing public. The show was originally created for Broadway, and seeing it on stage only reinforces the power of the story and the score. And with Jack O’Brien at the directorial helm – well, we simply couldn’t do better. Landing somewhere between The Coast of Utopia and Hairspray (shows for which Jack won the Tony®), his production is smart, focused, and surprising.”

THE SOUND OF MUSIC enjoyed extraordinary success as the first live television production of a musical in over 50 years when “The Sound of Music Live!” aired on NBC in December, 2013; 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the film version, which continues to be the most successful movie musical in history. The spirited, romantic and beloved musical story of Maria and the Von Trapp Family will once again thrill audiences with such songs as “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Edelweiss” and the title song.

For more information, please visit www.TheSoundOfMusicOnTour.com. www.facebook.com/TheSoundOfMusic www.twitter.com/SoundOfMusic www.instagram.com/soundofmusicontour

THE SOUND OF MUSIC is generously sponsored by Auto-Owners Insurance; Farm Bureau Insurance; Jackson National Life Insurance Company; Retailers Insurance Company; and Rick’s American Cafe/Harrison Roadhouse/Beggar’s Banquet.

As I mentioned before, our own Tom Heideman of the popular Tom & Mary duo (perpetrators of many many Community Circle Players — at both the Okemos Barn and Riverwalk Theatre — fundraisers over the years) has a wonderful NEW CD “Inertia Removed” that is available for $10 at Marshall Music— and now ALSO at CDBaby.com.  Go there and have a listen. This could be your new fave CD!


I’d write a review, but Carol Ingells has already said it so well:
“It’s About Time"
"I love this gentle, heartfelt album. Tom's voice is mellow and sincere; his lyrics reflect the searching and struggles we all go through. The instrumentals are upbeat and lyrical. The album is fun, caring and full of love. The above title reflects my delight that he has made a new album, as well as reflecting one of his basic themes: time.
I know these songs will become ingrained in my mind and heart. I highly recommend Tom's creation.
Carol Ingells

www.cdbaby.com/cd/tomheideman

12/11-12 - 8 pm - Crazytown, a comedy by Jonathan Rand - 1st Semester Theatre Studio show, LCC Black Box Theatre directed by Paige Dunckel - Sorry I’m not going to get to see this until Saturday and it’s ONLY two days Fri/Sat…not sure how many Paige has cast, but it sounds like a very fun show! Here’s the description from the web:

Crazytown is a low-tech evening of comedy designed to be performed by a cast of four, but expandable to over 70 actors. Take a tour of the most messed up town in America, from the police interrogation room where the nicest guy in town is issued a strange ultimatum, to the elementary school for a heated political debate on critical issues like tater tots. Welcome to Crazytown, where our motto is: Welcome to Crazytown. 

LCC Black Box Theatre is 168 Gannon Building. Best to park on Grand, and enter on the southmost, small door of the building…. and it’s FREE!

http://www.lcc.edu/cma/events/

Check this link (or copy and paste) on Kathleen Lavey’s article about Michigan playwrights.
Interesting stuff by our ace Ripples reporter who ALSO happens to work for the REAL newspaper!
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/life/2015/12/04/michigan-good-place-playwrights/76781060/

12/11-13 - The Owosso Community Players will ring in the holiday season this December with their annual performance of "Holiday at Lebowsky: Christmas in the Air" Dec. 11 - 13 at the historical Lebowsky Center in Owosso.

From extravagant scenic elements and beautiful lighting design, to the astounding talents of the ensemble, dancers and children's choir, this spirited show will delight families and audiences of all ages. The Owosso Community Players invite the community to enjoy a show full of holiday tunes and intricate dance numbers performed by some of the area's best performers. 

For more information about "Holiday at Lebowsky: Christmas in the Air" and the Owosso Community Players, visit www.owossoplayers.com. 

12/4-6 - Mid Michigan Family Theatre presents CAROL’S CHRISTMAS December 4 - 6 with shows at 7:00 p.m. on Friday; at 2:00 and 4:30 on Saturday, and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. 

About the play: Marley was dead. All the students in Ms. Kosmos’ science class are heartbroken over their deceased guinea pig except Carol Hipplewhite, whose job it was to care for poor Marley.  “He was a RODENT!  Get over it!” declares Carol in a voice as cold as her own heart.  But late that night, the overfed Marley — now a huge guinea pig with his bowl on a chain around his neck — visits Carol to warn her.  “What we do in life, we live within the hereafter!  I’m out there with the dogs that bit, the cats that scratched, and a couple of really nasty hamsters!  Carol, change your ways!”  After foretelling of three spirits who will visit her during the night, Marley disappears.  And you know the rest! Carol’s ghostly visitors come in the form of her first grade teacher, her current school principal, and a fellow math student who could’ve used Carol’s help but never got it.  In an anxious, grasping attempt to make excuses for past behavior — like gluing Herbie Walker to his seat in first grade — Carol begins to open her eyes as the clock ticks around the hours.  Carol will make audiences laugh and even shed a tear as she finds her humanity and the spirit of Christmas, as well.  The ghost of Charles Dickens himself narrates this friendly little seasonal haunting, fitting for all ages!


The theatre is located at 3448 Hagadorn Road, Okemos. We are in the Happendance Complex. Please use the east entrance for easy access to the performance space.
The theatrical be reached by calling (517) 339-2145.

LCC Black Box Theatre - 168 Gannon Building Friday & Saturday, 
Dec. 4-5 8:00PM
Sunday, Dec. 6 2:00PM

Long before the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm, there was Shakespeare's CYMBELINE. All the fairy-tale elements are here to enjoy: a wicked stepmother/queen who is beautiful and deadly, a plucky but innocent heroine who is falsely accused and who must escape into the wilds, a hero who is valiant and brave but also hot tempered and rash, a villainous seducer and a prince who plans murder and rape when thwarted of his prize, and last but not least, a pair of missing heirs who have been raised in the wilds as sort of “noble savages."

The action moves from the British Court of Cymbeline - rife with suspicion, to Rome - bright, glossy, sophisticated with seductive traps for the unwary, to Wales - the forest primeval – green and wild, purifying, but also with its dangers.  

The cast of 3rd Semester Theatre Studio students includes Jesse Frawley as Cymbeline, King of the Britons, and Carissa Zielinski, Anna Szabo, Zach Riley, Boris Nikolovski, Anna Raymo, Perri Foster, Cyrstal Bialoskurski, Envy Meisel, Alek Kring, Tim Ewald, Ian Whipp, Heath Sartorius, Nick Lemmer, Hannah Price, Connor Kelly, Dustin Dikes, Richard Kopitsch, Tong Kupatavetin and Chatiana Moore.

Donations welcome, suggested $5 students, $10 adults.

www.lcc.edu/showinfo