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THE TELLING PROJECT - Are You Ready To Tell Your Story? It's time to speak.

4/30/2015

Peppermint Creek Theatre Company is proud to partner with The Telling Project and the Bob Woodruff Foundation to bring The Telling Project to the mid-Michigan community. We are seeking veterans and military family members who wish to tell their stories in ‘Telling: Lansing'. Performances will take place in Lansing in early November of 2015.

The Telling Project works with veterans and military family members across to country to create 'Telling', a unique performance in which these vets and vets' family members, after interview, performance training and rehearsal, stage the 'telling' of their stories of life and the military for their communities.

The Telling Project has put more than 150 veterans and military family members on stage in fifteen states, raising awareness of military experience on a person-to-person, community level since 2008.

Participants in “Telling: Lansing” need no experience in performance - just willingness and enthusiasm. The Telling Project staff will work with you to shape your story, then transition it from a story to a performance.

Interviews will take place in Lansing, June 11-14, 2015. If you are interested in being involved in this performance opportunity, send an email to info@thetellingproject.org. We look forward to working with you.

Learn more about The Telling Project at their website: www.thetellingproject.org.

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PCTC Announces 2015-2016 Season

4/30/2015

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Past Present
Peppermint Creek Theatre Company is proud to announce our line up for the 2015-2016 season! Our theme 'Past Present' explores the hidden meanings in all of our shows, as well as represents us well as the only theatre in Mid-Michigan producing theatre that addresses vital issues in our society, raises awareness, and encourages dialogue. Stay tuned for your brochure in the mail, and announcements about getting your season tickets!

"Elegies" by William Finn
Directed by Matt Eldred (for the Renegade Theatre Festival)
August 13 - 15, and 20, 21, 2015

This intimate and moving remembrance of departed friends is by the Tony award-winning composer of Falsettos and A New Brain. It pays tribute to a disparate group that includes impresario Joe Papp, actors Peggy Hewitt and Jack Eric Williams, a teacher, the Korean family who ran a deli frequented by Finn, relatives in New Jersey, friends, long-lost pets, and, in a moving sequence, Finn's mother. A three-song conclusion offers a tribute to the victims of 9/11. Each number captures poignant, often funny glimpses of life and death that sparkle with the narrative sophistication always apparent in Finn's work.

"The Whale" by Samuel Hunter
Directed by Jordan Climie
Sept 24 - 27 & Oct 1 - 4, 2015

On the outskirts of Mormon Country, Idaho, a six hundred pound recluse hides away in his apartment, and slowly eats himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. Big-hearted and fiercely funny, The Whale tells the story of a man's last chance at redemption, and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places. "Riveting...An impassioned and arresting clash of minds and emotions. I was glued to the stage...Equally dynamic and horrifying." - New York Observer

"Telling: Lansing" an original production
Directed by Blake Bowen, in partnership with national veteran organization The Telling Project (SEE BELOW; Veterans wanted…)
Nov 5 - 8 & 12 - 15, 2015

The Telling Project works to deepen our understanding of the military and veterans’ experience. Greater understanding fosters receptivity, easing veterans’ transitions back to civil society, and allowing communities to benefit from the skills and experience they bring with them. Through this understanding, a community deepens its connection to its veterans, itself, and its place in the nation and the world. Peppermint Creek is thrilled to be the first Michigan company to partner with national organization The Telling Project to bring Lansing area veterans stories to the stage.

"The Secret Garden" by Marsha Norman and
Lucy Simon
Directed by Chad Badgero
March 3 - 6 & 10 - 13, 2016

This enchanting classic of children's literature is reimagined in brilliant musical style by composer Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of 'Night Mother. In the early years of the 20th century, Mary Lennox, a young English girl born and raised in India, is orphaned by a cholera outbreak and is sent away from India to Yorkshire, England, to live with relatives whom she has never met. Her own personality blossoms as she and a young gardener bring new life to a neglected garden, as well as to her sickly cousin and uncle. Winner of three Tony awards, The Secret Garden boasts a sparkling score and a story for all ages.

"Water by the Spoonful" by Quiara Alegria Hudes
Directed by Tommy Gomez
April 28 - May 1 & 5 - 7, 2016

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. Water by the Spoonful is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption. Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. "A complete and satisfying work…A quartet of wounded yet fiercely bright characters who are trying to stay sober communicate over the internet. Those who feel the web is a cold connection may change their opinion after they see the very hot limbo in which these characters live and interact…” – New York Times

"title of show" by Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen
Directed by Ben Cassidy (part of a three year Launching Pad New Directors Initiative)
July 7 - 10 & 14 - 17, 2016

[title of show]—taken from the space on a festival’s application form which asks for the [title of show]—follows Hunter and Jeff and their friends on their journey through the gauntlet of creative self-expression. In the span of 90 minutes they write and perform their show at the festival and learn lessons about themselves as people, friends and artists. [title of show] is, above all, a love letter to the musical theatre—a uniquely American art form—and to the joy of collaboration. Hilarious and irreverent, “title of show” is both poignant and a side-splitting love letter to the theatre.

Save the Date! Announcing Our Special Events:
• June 26 & 27, 2015 – Chad & Amanda DeKatch, a farewell concert
• July 19, 2015 – Donor Thank You Party, hosted by the Mattson’s
• Summer 2015: Stage to Screen – movie shows at PCTC of plays that have been made into films
• August 2 & 3, 2015 – PCTC Season Auditions
• December 2015 – Holiday Cabaret

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5/7-17 - PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF “Venus in Fur”

4/30/2015

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Peppermint Creek Theatre produces Mid-Michigan premiere of sexy new play

Lansing, MI – Peppermint Creek Theatre Company, with license from Dramatists Play Service, is proud to announce the two week run of the sexy comedy, Venus in Fur, in its Mid-Michigan premiere.

Thomas, a beleaguered playwright/director, (Joseph Mull) is desperate to find an actress to play Vanda, the female lead in his adaptation of the classic sadomasochistic tale Venus in Fur. Into his empty audition room walks a vulgar and equally desperate actress—oddly enough, named Vanda (Mary Dilworth). Though utterly wrong for the sophisticated part, Vanda exhibits a strange command of the material, piquing Thomas' interest with her seductive talents and secretive manner. As the two work through the script, they blur the line between play and reality, entering into an increasingly serious game of submission and domination that only one of them can win. A mysterious, funny, erotic drama that represents yet another departure for the multifaceted David Ives.

This is what critics have to say about Venus in Fur: "The teeter-tottering test of wills that takes place in VENUS IN FUR makes even the most fraught encounter between a domineering director and a sensitive performer seem like a play date in the sandbox. Audiences may be pleased to hear that in this ninety minutes of good, kinky fun, the upper hand does not necessarily belong to the usual suspect." —NY Times. "VENUS IN FUR invites both carnal and cerebral excitement…" —Village Voice. "Ives has crafted a modern take on a classic tale, skillfully twisting his plot and characters in a fast-paced journey into one man's entrapment by a clever, vengeful female." —Associated Press. "You want funny? You want sexy? Then you'll want to see VENUS IN FUR." —New Jersey Newsroom.

Peppermint Creek Guest Director, Rob Roznowski, had this to say about the show, “Venus in Fur works on various levels. The juggling of these various levels as director with these actors has been such an exciting part of the process. Audiences can latch into the play as a theatrical sparring match, character study, or exciting exploration of gender roles.”

The production will take place at Peppermint Creek’s performance venue, the Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing MI 48911. The show will run Thursday, May 7 – Sunday, May 10, and Thursday, May 14 – Sunday, May 17, 2015. Show times are Thursday – Saturday at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets can be ordered online at www.peppermintcreek.org, and are $15 general admission, and $10 for students/seniors 65+.

This production of Venus in Fur is being directed by PCTC Guest Director and head of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre, Rob Roznowski.

To purchase tickets, visit www.peppermintcreek.org. Follow “PCTC” on Twitter: @PeppermintCreek or on Facebook. Press photos are available on request.
Venus in Fur Peppermint Creek Theatre Company

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PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF “Dogfight”

3/1/2015

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Peppermint Creek Theatre produces MI premiere of award winning musical

Lansing, MI – Peppermint Creek Theatre Company, with license from Music Theatre International, is proud to announce the two week run of the musical Dogfight, in its Michigan Premiere.

It's Nov. 21, 1963. On the eve of their deployment to a small but growing conflict in Southeast Asia, three young Marines set out for one final boys’ night of debauchery, partying, and maybe a little trouble. But when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of compassion."
Dogfight is based on the Warner Bros. film and screenplay by Bob Comfort; Lili Taylor and River Phoenix starred in the movie. The Marines' cruel bet involves finding the ugliest girl in town and bringing them to a party, at which the women are secretly judged and a winner among the men is chosen.
This hauntingly beautiful musical by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Edges, James And The Giant Peach, A Christmas Story) and Peter Duchan, was praised by countless critics and nominated for numerous awards and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. Based on the 1991 Warner Brothers film, Dogfight takes audiences on a romantic and heartbreaking theatrical journey that will haunt long after the performance.

Peppermint Creek Director, Chad Badgero, had this to say about the show, “There is so much heart and heartbreak in this story, the show actually CALLED OUT for me to direct it! As an audience, we see how these young men are mistreating the women in the show. Yet we also get to see the environment and the world they have been prepped to be as Marine’s. How that plays out on stage is very human and touching. I know audiences will really be moved and relate to the music and the situations in the play. We’re also thrilled to be presenting the Michigan premiere by two rising stars in the musical theatre world, Pasek and Paul”!

The production will take place at Peppermint Creek’s performance venue, the Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing MI 48911. The show will run Thursday, March 19 – Sunday, March 22, and Thursday, March 26 – Sunday, March 29, 2015. Show times are Thursday – Saturday at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets can be ordered online atwww.peppermintcreek.org, and are $20 general admission, and $15 for students/seniors 65+.

This production of Dogfight is being directed by PCTC’s Artistic Director, Chad Badgero, and stars a cast of 12 local performers from Greater Lansing, Detroit, and New York.

To purchase tickets, visit www.peppermintcreek.org. Follow “PCTC” on Twitter: @PeppermintCreek or on Facebook.
CAST LIST

ROSE - Jayna Katz
EDDIE - Patrick Harney
BERNSTEIN - Joe Quick
BOLAND - Matthew Bill
MARCY - Amanda Harvey
FECTOR - Ben Cassidy
STEVENS - Keenan Kangas
GIBBS - Reece Schaberg
MAMA - Racheal Raymer
RUTH TWO BEARS - Lauren Ezzo
PETE - Karol Garrison
PEGGY - Kaitlin Burns

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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE

1/9/2015

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If you enjoy thought-provoking contemporary theatre, please considering volunteering at Peppermint Creek. This involves two people per performance to sell/take tickets and hand out programs before the show, and sell concessions during intermission. Volunteers are compensated with free admission. If you would like to be added to our volunteer list, please contact Charlotte Ruppert at charcda@gmail.com.

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1/22 - 2/1 - PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF“Or You Could Kiss Me”

1/6/2015

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Peppermint Creek Theatre produces US premiere of new play by creators of “War Horse”

Peppermint Creek Theatre Company is proud to announce the two week run of the new play Or You Could Kiss Me. A fierce and tender meditation on love, memory and the power of the unspoken, Or You Could Kiss Me uses a bare stage, a company of six actors, a handful of props and puppetry to tell its story.  Puppetry is a trademark of the Handspring Puppet Company (co-authors), and Or You Could Kiss Me emerges as an intimate history of two very private lives, lived in extraordinary times.

Set in the winter of 2036 in a shabby apartment in the South African seaside town of Port Elizabeth, two old men search for a way to say goodbye after a lifetime spent together. In the perfect summer of 1971, in a very different South Africa, their younger selves search for the courage to fall in love. And poised halfway between these two stories – one imagined, one remembered – their real-life counterparts bear witness to both the beginning and ending of an incredible journey.

Or You Could Kiss Me received its world première at London’s National Theatre venue in October 2010.  Under approval from the author, Peppermint Creek Theatre’s production will be the first production of the play in the United States.

Peppermint Creek Guest Director, Scott Crandall, had this to say about why he was drawn to the show, “Or You Could Kiss Me is an ambitious and rich script, looking at themes of time, memory, love, oppression and more, all embroiled in the politically tangled backdrop of apartheid era South Africa and moving through present day and beyond. Despite the thematic complexity, it moves through the very personal story it tells with a surprising candor, and it's through this intimate story that the other themes live.  I was really excited about the challenge involved in using humans and puppets to tell this very timely and truthful story”.

The production will take place at Peppermint Creek’s performance venue, the Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing MI 48911.  The show will run Thursday, January 22 – Sunday, Sunday January 25, and Thursday, January 29 – Sunday, February 1, 2015.  Show times are Thursday – Saturday at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm.  Tickets can be ordered online atwww.peppermintcreek.org, and are $15 general admission, and $10 for students/seniors 65+.

This production of Or You Could Kiss Me is the first in a three-year initiative titled “LAUNCHING PAD” where PCTC is welcoming a college student focused on the field of directing to helm a main stage production in their season. The show is being directed by PCTC’s Guest Director, Scott Crandall, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s theatre graduate program, and stars a cast of six local performers from the Greater Lansing area.

To purchase tickets, visit www.peppermintcreek.org. Follow “PCTC” on Twitter: @PeppermintCreek or on Facebook. Press photos are available on request.
Or You Could Kiss Me Peppermint Creek Theatre Company

CAST LIST:

ASSISTANTS - Jordan Climie, Brennan Hattaway, Keenan Kangas
MC - Lauren Ezzo
A - Jeff Boerger
B - Bill Henson

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12/18 - The Truth About the Holidays: A Musical Cabaret!

12/5/2014

Fundraiser · Hosted by Peppermint Creek Theatre Company

WHEN: Thursday, December 18 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing, MI 48911
TICKETS: $30 per person, or $150 for a reserved table for four
Peppermint Creek Theatre Company
6025 Curry Ln, Lansing, Michigan 48911Tickets Available
www.peppermintcreek.org

Join Peppermint Creek for our third annual holiday celebration on Thursday, December 18, for ‘The Truth About the Holidays, a Musical Cabaret’.

Led by local theatre luminaries Adam Woolsey and Matt Eldred, this fun evening of song will feature food, drinks, holiday song, and some special gifts for our guests! You won’t want to miss guest singers Tigi Habtemariam, Meghan Eldred, Amanda Harvey and more for an evening of classic holiday tunes, and a few others that just might shed a little light on the “other” side of the holiday season. Come cozy up with us as we toast to a fantastic 2014, and look forward to the rest of our theatrical season!

Performers have generously donated their time and talents, and all funds raised will go to support Peppermint Creek Theatre Company. Get your tickets now for this entertaining, casual, and festive evening of song and friends at www.peppermintcreek.org.

11/6-9 & 13-16 - PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF “Parade”

10/31/2014

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Peppermint Creek Theatre produces Tony award winning musical

Lansing, MI – Peppermint Creek Theatre Company, with license from Music Theatre International, is proud to announce the two week run of the musical Parade. Amid religious intolerance, political injustice and racial tension, the stirring TONY Award-winning Parade explores the endurance of love and hope against all the odds. With a book by acclaimed playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and a rousing, colorful and haunting score by Jason Robert Brown (Songs For A New World, The Last Five Years, Bridges Of Madison County), Parade is a moving examination of the darkest corners of America's history.

In 1913, Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-raised Jew living in Georgia, is put on trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher and a janitor's false testimony seal Leo's fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience, and, eventually, his assimilated Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion. Daring, innovative and bold, Parade is filled with soaring music and a heart-wrenching story, offering a moral lesson about the dangers of prejudice and ignorance that should not be forgotten.

The Broadway premiere of Parade took place in 1998 and ran for over 100 performances. The play was nominated for thirteen Drama Desk Awards, and nine nominations for the 1999 Tony Awards. The show was Jason Robert Brown's first Broadway production. His music was applauded as having "subtle and appealing melodies that draw on a variety of influences, from pop-rock to folk to rhythm and blues and gospel." The plot of the musical dramatizes the historical story and does not shy away from dark or controversial topics.

Peppermint Creek Guest Director, Jane Falion, had this to say about the show, “This musical has been on my “bucket list” to direct since I first saw it on Broadway in 1999. It’s everything a magnificent production should be: powerful, ironic, truthful, packed with gorgeous music, and asks important questions. And I am always drawn to stories that are based in history. And our cast and crew are top-notch, truly bringing this amazing show to life in the most amazing way”.

The production will take place at Peppermint Creek’s performance venue, the Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing MI 48911. The show will run Thursday, November 6 – Sunday, November 9, and Thursday, November 13 – Sunday, November 16, 2014. Show times are Thursday – Saturday at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets can be ordered online at www.peppermintcreek.org, and are $18 general admission, and $15 for students/seniors 65+.

This production of Parade is being directed by PCTC’s Guest Director, Jane Falion, and stars a cast of 24 local performers from the Greater Lansing area.

To purchase tickets, visit www.peppermintcreek.org. Follow “PCTC” on Twitter: @PeppermintCreek or on Facebook. Press photos are available on request.

Parade Peppermint Creek Theatre Company CAST LIST

LEO FRANK - Adam Woolsey
LUCILLE FRANK - Mary Maurer
MARY PHAGAN - Cami Hancock
FRANKIE EPPS/YOUNG SOLDIER - Ben Cassidy
IOLA STOVER - Rachael Dec
MONTEEN - Marina Threadgould
ESSIE - Kaleel Van Voorhees
BRITT CRAIG - Joe Quick
HUGH DORSEY - Joseph Baumann
GOVERNOR SLATON - Bob Purosky
SALLY SLATON - Alison Grojean
TOM WATSON - Benjamin Knapp
JIM CONLEY - Rachman Shareef
LUTHER ROSSER - Kyle Harwood
MRS. PHAGAN - Racheal Raymer
MINNIE MCKNIGHT/ANGELA - Devaugn Staley
JUDGE ROAN/OLD SOLDIER - Ken Beachler
NEWT LEE/RILEY - Brennan Hattaway
ENSEMBLE - Kelly Stuible, Keenan Kangas, Trevor McNinn, Judith Evans, Katelyn Curtis

www.peppermintcreek.org

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Bengal Tiger video

9/16/2014

Jane:

Obviously, you guys (Young Frankenstein) aren't going to need any help selling tickets this weekend. The same might not be true of the folks over at Peppermint Creek. I made a video for them promoting their show. It sure would be nice if you could tell several hundred of your closest friends about it.

Matt Ottinger

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
by Rajiv Joseph
directed by Michael Hays
Sept 18 - 21 & 25 - 28, 2014
Thursday - Saturday @ 8pm, Sunday @ 2pm

The lives of two American Marines and an Iraqi translator are forever changed by an encounter with a quick-witted tiger who haunts the streets of war-torn Baghdad attempting to find meaning, forgiveness and redemption amidst the city's ruins. Rajiv Joseph's groundbreaking new American play explores both the power and the perils of human nature. "Set in the chaotic first days of the American invasion of Iraq, this boldly imagined, harrowing and surprisingly funny drama considers the long afterlife of violent acts, as well as the impenetrable mysteries of the afterlife itself." —NY Times. "Joseph's metaphoric inventiveness is magnificently displayed throughout, and the kaleidoscope of figures and images bespeaks a purely theatrical imagination." —LA Times. "Tragic yet darkly comic and highly imaginative…Joseph has created a theatrical landscape that is totally different from the harrowing war reports to which the nightly news has accustomed us." —CurtainUp. "

www.peppermintcreek.org

CREW MEMBERS NEEDED at Peppermint Creek

8/27/2014

Peppermint Creek Theatre Company is seeking crew members to assist in various capacities with the upcoming production of "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo", by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Michael Hays.

Performing/rehearsing at the Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing, MI 48911 - off Miller Road, near Cedar - next to North School.

At a minimum, individuals will be expected to be available during tech week, September 13 thru September 21, as well as September 23 thru September 28. Individuals with more availability may be given positions of increased responsibility.

Please contact director, Michael Hays at stage1actor@yahoo.com, or text him at (517) 703-3875.

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THE TELLING PROJECT - Are You Ready To Tell Your Story? It's time to speak.

PCTC Announces 2015-2016 Season

5/7-17 - PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF “Venus in Fur”

PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF “Dogfight”

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE

1/22 - 2/1 - PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF“Or You Could Kiss Me”

12/18 - The Truth About the Holidays: A Musical Cabaret!

11/6-9 & 13-16 - PEPPERMINT CREEK THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF “Parade”

Bengal Tiger video

CREW MEMBERS NEEDED at Peppermint Creek

G.L.U.T. NEWS

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