​Just a quick note to say Portland Civic Players’ Pandemic Variety Show - REAL LIVE SHOW was a delight not only for its fun assortment of songs old and new, Broadway and beyond - but also for the nostalgic thrill of actually sitting in a real theatre seat in the presence of real live singer/dancers and audience members! 

Everyone wore masks— audience and performers — and the audience was seated in socially distanced groups; about an hour and a half with no intermission — so not exACTly “like before” but it brought that living, human, communal element that has been missing from even our best virtual shows.

There are some wonderful voices in Portland - and a very talented 3-piece band. Who knew? http://www.portlandcivicplayers.com has been sort of beyond the GLUT area in the past. But with no printed program, I can’t really give credit to individuals except Dan Templin and Kelly Sandula-Gruner whom I know from previous Lansing area theatrics. (They were very entertaining, as usual — AND they offer a half hour or so of pre-show song and keyboard as their combo, Clique Vocals (Facebook@CliqueVocals) so it pays to arrive EARLY for crooning with Dan and Kelly.

There’s ONE SHOW LEFT at 2:30 tomorrow (today?) Sunday, April 25. $10 tickets will be reserved, in socially distanced groups, by calling  517-647-4041.

You CAN come as a walk in — though capacity is limited, they have yet to reach that capacity, so the odds are good of your getting in. 

It’s really no further than Grand Ledge, just a bit north of that:
231 Maple Street, Portland, MI 48875

Peppermint Creek Theatre Company's virtual musical, Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps, in honor of Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month is more than just music. It’s an artful combination of soulful songs and intimate, poetic readings, based on research of original music sung by inmates in Holocaust concentration camps. 

The piece credits “AV Engineering by Bill Bartilson” - not sure what all that covers, but this  experience not only sounds beautiful (despite being recorded at different locations) but also looks beautiful, with artfully arranged boxes and effects. I was particularly impressed with cellist, Marta Bagratuni, whose exquisitely mournful strings are featured throughout.

Directed by Matt Eldred, this 43-minute experience features musicians from across the entire United States, and guest appearances from Kristy Allen, David Bendena, Amy Handelman, Diego Love-Ramirez, Kammal Reffigee, Zach Riley, and Alex Zikakis. Musicians include David Anderson, Marta Bagratuni, Katie Burk, Seth Burk, Jillian Coleman, Jenny Cook, Jackie King, Nicole Martin, Jon Oakley, Cristina Puentes and Adrian Sanchez.

You can now view this Cantata for free on Peppermint Creek Theatre's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qaq7La-m7w  You may also enjoy the 14 minute interview with Director Matt by PCTC Artistic Director, Chad Swan Badgero. It can serve as an informative introduction or an enhancing “after talk.” That video is right next to the Cantata on the Youtube site.

PCTC is also making the piece available for schools and community groups as an educational tool. To learn more about genocide and how to talk about the subject in your classroom, workplace, congregation, or dining room - please visit http://www.peppermintcreek.org for further resources. 

And now for something completely different — the new LCC short film (43 minutes) LCC Performing Arts
“What’s Next” is an original film "about our recovery from the year that was and embracing the not-so-new normal."

This devised video offers a wide variety of expressions, all growing out of the pandemic experience and reaching for the positive side of its effects. There’s music, dance, poetry, artistic images, even some humor, artfully combined into an intriguing tapestry/crazy quilt/mosaic….?

Director Mark Colson has inspired and challenged co-creators Samantha Le, Brianna Sweet, Molly Sullivan, Kallie and Makayla Marrison, Paula Smith, and Rebecca MacCreary into concocting a uniquely inspiring and varied creation with others participating, notably Sally Hecksel acting Rebecca’s piece and Jade Smith, responsible for creative use of “b-roll” and editing it all together. There are quite a few other participants listed in the credits. Check it out; I’m too lazy to copy them all.

On Facebook, Katie Doyle commented “ What a gentle, brave, extraordinary project. Mark, thanks to you and your class (We hear you...) , as well as the production team, for creating this jewel.” 

I couldn’t have said it better. It’s well worth your 43 minutes!

What’s Next is now viewable on the LCC Theatre, Music & Dance Facebook page. If you don’t see it right away, pull down the menu under “more” choose “videos” and it should be right there. On my desktop Mac, the video seemed a little low-res and fuzzy until I remembered that “settings” gear icon in the lower right corner. Switching that from the default (sd) to (hd) improved the picture quality a lot.