Too bad if you missed LCC's Coarse Acting Shows at their Black Box stage - because it's over. I try to see shows their first weekend, but that doesn't always work out. At any rate, the place was packed. This broad comedy with about 18 actors obviously didn't need MY promotion to fill the house.

Director John Lennox corralled an enthusiastic gang of varying types, sizes and talent levels, into a well choreographed slapstick troupe, presenting fractured versions of Moby Dick, The Last Call for Breakfast (a surreal battle of salt and pepper and their compeers), The Cherry Sisters (a Chekhovian farce), Il Fornicazione (an opera with an orchestra of only bell and utility-bucket drum) , and Henry the Tenth (a Shakespearean gangsta attack on the very well abused Tobin Bates.) Roberta Otten helped with Dance/Movement; Ashley Bryan headed up the many costumes. Set Design was Kim Lennox... a fine line between "set" and "props" with the various "pieces" rolling in and out. This was a fun time for the audience and a great vehicle for many actors to strut their stuff in a bawdy, cartoonish romp.

Tonight we saw LADY VICTORY at MSU's Arena Theatre. It's a "world premiere" of an interesting play adapted by Ann Folino White from a book of poems by Jane Vincent Taylor, dedicated to the babies, girls and nuns that lived together at Our Lady of Victory home for unwed mothers in the early 1960's. It was an artistic amalgam of girlish angst and girlish fun, as they rehearsed an in-house version of Oklahoma, cast with all pregnant cowhands, ranchers, etc. Two nuns clashed and intertwined with the girls, the babies and each other. Letters to a lost child read like poetry. Sister B., well played by Carolyn Conover, carried the conflicted heart of the show, loving the babies and the girls, dealing with the conflicts among love and shame and duty and not knowing what happens to a lost child. There were a 16 actresses  (and a lone actor playing "boy") so it was a bit confusing sorting them out, and the shrillness of some emotional scenes rendered words difficult to understand. But the sisterhood represented a kind of "victory" and understanding of this difficult situation, at a time when unwed mothers were a social stigma to be hidden and denied.

Lady Victory continues through Feb. 27 - dates and times at http://www.theatre.msu.edu The Arena is in the basement of the Auditorium Building, on the corner of Auditorium and Farm Lane. Buy tickets at the Farm Lane end box office, then go downstairs to the Arena.

OLIVER TWIST is Mid Michigan Family Theatre's second show at their new, roomy, theatre inside the Alfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center — and the extra space is welcome for this large cast of 37. This show well represents Mid Michigan's mission to include all ages and family members, with many brothers and sisters and parents (including my stellar daughter and grandson, Emily and Anderson Stevens!) 

Kudos to director Bill Gordon for commandeering such a large collection of fledgling thespians, with a few more experienced actors thrown in for good measure. Young "veteran" actor Forrest Colson, well remembered from LCC's Ragtime, played the beleaguered title waif, with excellent diction and projection. It was fun to see Riverwalk's "Bill Sykes," Robin Harris, reprise his evil role 12 years later. Our four-year-old cousin/brother audience members' favorite part was the villain's run through the audience with little Oliver slung over his shoulder.  In general, however, I would not recommend this show for preschool age. It is somewhat long for a children's show (an hour and a half) and the pacing is not fast or animated enough to keep very little ones focused. It is a charming show, however, with adorable orphan/pickpockets and a creative use of projections to help with the many scene changes.

NOTE that the times were incorrectly publicized in an erroneous news release that was repeated in the State Journal.
Saturday and Sunday shows are at 3pm. The only 7pm show left is on Friday, Feb. 22. Shows run through Feb. 24. 
$7 for students and adults and $5 for preschoolers available at the door.
Alfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center is the former Hill H.S. on Wise Road, south off Jolly, between MLK and Waverly). Park on the south side of the building and enter at the southeast corner with all the windows.
www.mmft.net

What a twisted tale! This hard to "review" without spoiler alerts. You'll just have to take my word that this psycho-thriller is entertaining and engaging throughout. Playing Andrew Wyke, Jeff Magnuson supercharges the energy, both verbal and physical, as the larger-than-life game-playing mystery writer cajoling his wife's new boyfriend, played by Joseph Mull, into a bizarre burglary plot. Joe keeps pace, contrasts and shines in the various aspects of his character. Newcomers Josh Plum and Colt Sutton round out the cast nicely. The set by Bob Nees is beautifully convincing as Wyke's country manor house, well dressed and extensively "propped" by Melody and Ray Kurtis. Costumes by Kris Maier are fun, too, from smoking jackets to a clown suit. Lighting (Tim Fox) and Sound (John Herrbach) add to the mood and the surprises. Congrats to Director Mary K. Hodges-Nees for at last bringing Anthony Shaffer's play to the Riverwalk stage, and making it clear why it is his most popular work.

Sleuth continues through Feb. 24 -- 7pm Bargain Thursdays $8/$108pm Fri/Sat; 2pm Sun - $12/$14Reservations 482-5700 - www.riverwalktheatre.com