“Flaming Idiots” Opens This Week at Riverwalk

Starting Thursday at Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing is Flaming Idiots. This comedy dishes up more laughs than food. Get ready to meet two not so savvy entrepreneurs and their restaurant staff, along with those who drop in

Reid Schmidt, Matthew Land, Angela Dill, John Roche are in the cast. Josh Martin directs..

The show runs:   
July 21-24
July 28-31

Show times:
Thursday 7 p.m.
 Friday & Saturday 8 p.m.
Sundays 2 p.m.

For tickets, call 482-5700 or visit www.riverwalktheatre.com.

Jim talks to producer Tom Ferris.  Click to listen

Ferris Interview

New theatre group brings Shakespeare to Mid Michigan

The American Shakespeare Collective will present a free reading of Othello Monday, July 18, 2011, at 7:30 pm inside Schuler Books and Music in the Eastwood Towne Center in Lansing. This new, 75-minute adaptation of Othello is by TASC member Vincent Murphy.

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"Pentecost" coming to LCC this weekend

Lansing Community College Performing Arts is proud to present Pentecost this weekend and next in the Dart Auditorium. Written  by David Edgar and directed by Chad Badgero, this show begins as a fresco is unearthed in an abandoned church in Eastern Europe. Similar to “The Lamentation” by Giotto, it will revolutionize Western Art if proved to pre date the master’s work. The discovery causes a dramatic struggle as representatives from the worlds of art history, religion and politics stake their claims for the ultimate prize. The unexpected arrival of 12 refugees sets events spiraling toward an explosive climax.

“Pentecost is about a piece of art and how it should be handled, but it’s also about how we are all very different and very much alike in ways that sometimes can surprise us,” said director Chad Badgero. “What an exciting situation to see play out on stage!”

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Wharton Center announces return of "CATS"

The show that revolutionized musical theatre returns to Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall for three performances only: Friday, June 10 through Saturday, June 11, 2011.

Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS won seven 1983 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Lighting, and Best Costumes.

Tickets go on sale Monday, March 14, at 10:00 a.m. at the Auto-Owners Ticket Office at Wharton Center, online at whartoncenter.com or by calling 1-800-WHARTON. CATS last played at Wharton Center during the 2003-2004 season.

This national tour of CATS is closing in on its 30th anniversary, holding its place as the longest continuously touring Broadway musical in history.

"Hairspray" is a perfect blast from the past

Rating:  4 out of Fordyce

We knew going in that this was going to be a good show. The cream of Lansing’s acting crop signed on to perform the hit musical Hairspray! Writing this review is more a tribute than an assessment because as it stands now you won’t get a ticket. It is sold out, but there may be hope, so read on.

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"Shrek" is a good family choice of the weekend

Rating:  3 out of Fordyce

Shrek: The Musical is on stage through Sunday at Wharton Center. The story of the ogre who finds his princess is a lot of fun. There is music and dance aplenty, great costumes, fantastic sets, and lots of on-stage magic.

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Eeeewww.... It’s Gross and it’s at I-5

Sometimes it’s stinky; sometimes it’s crusty; and sometimes it’s slimy. Explore why your body produces mushy, oozy, crusty, scal,y and stinky gunk at “Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body.” The exhibit is now open at the Impression 5 science museum in downtown Lansing and will be there until Sunday, May 15.

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"9 to 5" disappointment from Dolly

Rating:  2 out of Fordyce

I was disappointed. I wanted 9 to 5 and didn’t get it. I have loved the movie for years and wanted so to like the musical version at Wharton Center, but it just didn’t make the grade.

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"As You Like It” is very likeable

Rating: 3 out of Fordyce

The theater department at Michigan State University is performing Shakespeare’s As You Like It until Sunday November 21. It has been years since I have seen this play on stage and I was impressed with the creativity of placing this show in a Victorian setting with a twist.

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“Greater Tuna” perfectly silly fun

Rating:  4 out of Fordyce

It is a silly show and I love it. Now on stage at Williamston Theatre is Greater Tuna. Directed by Tony Caselli, this sketch-type comedy stars Aral Gribble and Wayne David Parker as ALL the characters. Among them are Arles Struvie, Thurston Wheelis, Aunt Pearl, Petey Fisk, Phineas Blye and Rev. Spikes, and they will all make you laugh out loud.

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