Monday, March 18,2013

Wharton Center 2011-2012 season schedule

'Rock of Ages,' 'Addams Family' and 'Memphis' among Broadway season premieres

by City Pulse

MSU FEDERAL CREDIT UNION BROADWAY AT WHARTON CENTERNov. 8-13: “ West Side Story”Dec. 13-18: “Rock of Ages”Jan. 10-15, 2012: “Million Dollar Quartet”Jan. 31- Feb. 5, 2012: “The Addams Family”March 27-Apr. 1, 2012: “Memphis”

Monday, March 18,2013

Chrome Cat closing Saturday

Old Town club announces it is shutting its doors

by City Pulse

Thursday, April 28 — The Chrome Cat may have finally run through its nine lives. The Old Town bar — a popular LGBT hangout — announced via Twitter and Facebook this morning that it is closing for good Saturday. "Come down and say goodbye to your Old Town Cats," the T...

Monday, March 18,2013

Get Up Kids and Saves the Day rock The Loft this Friday

by City Pulse

Influential Kansas City five-piece The Get Up Kids returned from a five-year hiatus in January with “There Are Rules,” the band’s fifth full-length album. Lansing fans can catch some of these new songs at The Loft on Friday.

Monday, March 18,2013

Pinsonnault's picks

Our Local TV News personality winner chooses some of his favorite things about Lansing

by City Pulse

Raindrops on roses? Whiskers on kittens? No, Evan Pinsonnault, our Top of the Town winner in the Local News Personality category, has many favorite things in Lansing — none of which were ever immortalized in a Rodgers and Hammerstein song. Here’s his list, with his comments.

Monday, March 18,2013

Murphy's laws

'Distracted' star shares her thoughts on theater and the inspiration of Gilda Radner

by Paul Wozniak

Abby Murphy has performed in over 50 theater productions in Lansing, from studio shows at Lansing Community College to the Peppermint Creek Theatre Co. main stage. Audiences may remember her as Elizabeth Bennett in Lansing Community College’s “Pride and Prejudice,” Salome in LCC’s “Salome” and, more recently, as Ophelia in Riverwalk’s “Fortinbras.” She has worked under notable local directors such as Mary Job, Lela Ivey and Kristine Thatcher. Currently, Murphy plays the mother of a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in the Peppermint Creek production “Distracted,” directed by Lynn Lammers.

Monday, March 18,2013

Getting the most out of 'Grapes'

Michigan State University director Ann Folino White discusses her techniques of working with actors and the importance of dramaturgy

by Paul Wozniak

It’s the largest cast she has ever directed. However, Ann Folino White is confident that her cast of 40 actors and musicians in “The Grapes of Wrath” is ready for an audience. It certainly helps that her period of expertise is performance during the Great Depression. From new script reader for the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago to actor to dramaturge and director at Michigan State University, Folino White has extensive experience on and off the stage. Folino White spoke this week about the challenges of directing a show like “The Grapes of Wrath” at the collegiate level, the skills she teaches her students, and how her actor training and scholarly passion inform her directing style.

Monday, March 18,2013

MSU welcomes 'Dali'; Ruhala hosts 'Clownin''

Surrealism and spur-of-the-moment improvisation are on view at area theaters

by Paul Wozniak

José Rivera’s “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” is not the bawdy comedy its title seems to imply. It is, according to director and Michigan State University Theatre Professor Melissa C. Thomson, an “intense and passionate” piece for those open to a non-traditional theater experience.

Monday, March 18,2013

Talking with Michelle Meredith

The actress and MSU graduate makes her Williamston Theatre debut in 'Eleemosynary' this week

by Paul Wozniak

With the maturity that Michelle Meredith displays in every role she plays, one could easily assume she is older than 22. Virtually typecast as mothers and grandmothers, Meredith is a graduate of Michigan State University; she performed alongside Carmen Decker in “Kimberly Akimbo” at Stormfield Theater earlier this year. She makes her Williamston Theatre debut this week in “Eleemosynary,” her second collaboration with director Lynn Lammers.

Monday, March 18,2013

A shout-out to the '70s

With the priceless Leslie Hull leading the way, 'Gemini' finds high-decibel fun in Philly

by Paul Wozniak

Friday, June 10 — Albert Innaurato’s personalized tragic-comedy ‘Gemini’ plays out in Italian-dominated South Philadelphia (although it could easily be transferred to Boston, the Bronx, Brooklyn or parts of New Jersey). With dialogue mostly shouted and all the physicality essential to Italian speech, “Gemini” is the ideal kick-off production for Michigan State University’s Summer Circle Theatre season: loud, sometimes poignant and very funny.

Monday, March 18,2013

Theater community comes together to remember Tori Croff

A memorial service for the 8-year-old was held today at Olivet Baptist Church

by Paul Wozniak

Thursday, June 23 — A week and a half ago, members of the Lansing theater community gathered to celebrate the best in local theater at the annual Pulsar awards ceremony. On Thursday, many of those same people came together again, this time under somber circumstances.