Greater Lansing theater returns with more than 50 shows

The 2022-‘23 theater season is officially underway in the Capitol region. City Pulse has also reconstituted the Pulsar Awards Committee, and we’re excited to hear from returning reviewers and to introduce new ones to give you their takes on performances throughout Greater Lansing. Want to be a judge or reviewer? Please email me at heywood.reporter@gmail.com. 

Here are shows scheduled so far. Starlight Dinner Theatre has no plans yet, but company director Linda Granger said possibly in the spring. 

For more information on performances and tickets, see theater group websites. 

All-of-Us Express Children’s Theatre:

allofusexpress.org

“Something Wicked This Way Comes.” William Halloway and James Nightshade confront an evil carnival in this stage adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic novel. Opens Nov. 4. (The company is theater performed by youth actors for youth.) 

Also this season: “The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe,” opens Feb. 3. “School of Rock,” opens April 28. 

Fowlerville Community Theater: 

fowlervilletheatre.com

“12 Angry Men.” A classic courtroom drama exploring how an American jury struggles with facts, evidence and prejudice in determining criminal culpability. Opens Sept. 22 at the historic Livingston County Courthouse.  

Community Theater of Howell: 

cththeatre.org

“9 to 5: The Musical.” Based on the classic Dolly Parton movie, this show about office politics is sure to get your toes tapping. Opens Nov. 4. 

Also this season: “Murder on the Orient Express,” opens Feb. 3. “Tuck Everlasting: The Musical,” opens March 14. “The Sound of Music,” opens May 12.  

Williamston Theater: 

williamstontheatre.org

“The Magnolia Ballet, Part 1.” A Southern Gothic fable about a Black queer boy blending high drama, dance poetry and spectacle to explore masculinity, racism and the love between a queer kid and his father. A co-production with Plowshares Theater in Detroit. Opens Oct. 13. 

Also this season, “A Very Williamston Christmas,” opens Nov. 23. “Wild Horses,” opens Jan. 26. “Mrs. Harrison,” opens March 23. “Alabaster,” opens May 18. “Be Here Now,” opens July 13.  

Ixion Theater: 

ixiontheatre.com

“Incognito.” Identity, cognition and Einstein's stolen brain. Opens Sept. 16. at the Lansing Mall.  

Also this season: “Blazing guns of the Purple Sage,” opens Nov. 4. “Begets: The Fall of a High School Ronin,” opens March 17. “When I Come to Die,” opens May 5.  

Riverwalk Theater Black Box Stage:

riverwalktheatre.com

“Bell, Book and Candle.” Modern day New York Witch Gillian Golroyd casts a love spell on Shepard Henderson, in no small measure to take on a former college rival. Problem? She finds herself falling in love and risking her powers as a result. Opens Sept. 22. 

Also this season: “Fabulation,” opens Oct. 20. “Steel Magnolias,” opens April 13.  

Riverwalk Theater Mainstage: 

riverwalktheatre.com

“A Year with Frog and Toad,” Based on the beloved children’s book by Arnold Obel, this whimsical musical tells the story of an entire year in the lives of friends, frog, the happy one, and toad, the curmudgeon. Performances: Opens Dec. 8. 

Also this season: “Misery,” opens Feb. 9. “Kinky Boots,” March 2. “Peter and the Starcatchers” opens May 4.  

Owosso Community Players: 

lebowskycenter.com

“Kinky Boots”: A smash Broadway hit with music and lyrics by pop icon Cyndi Lauper. The magical story of how lives are changed when minds are changed. Follow the growth of a gentleman’s shoe factory to the catwalks of Milan in the musical with a heart. Opens Friday (Sept. 9).  

Also this season: “Misery,” opens Oct. 21. “Holiday at Lebowsky,” opens Dec. 2. “Billy Elliot: The Musical,” opens Feb. 24. “The Play That Goes Wrong,” opens April 21.  

Peppermint Creek Theater: 

peppermintcreek.org

“Merrily We Roll Along”: This lesser known musical by the late Stephen Sondheim will be performed at the Lansing Media Center, 2500 S. Washington Ave. Lansing. Opens Oct. 20.  

Also this season, “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” opens Nov. 8. “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914,’ opens Dec. 7. “Daddy Longlegs,” opens Feb. 9. “An Incredibly Human Thing,” opens May 11. “White,” opens June 1.  

Lansing Community College: 

lcc.edu

“Queering History”: This is a staged reading directed by Tufford-Dunckel that follows a quiet high school student while exploring what life would be like if queer history was taught in schools. Opens Oct. 14.  

Also this season: “Everybody,” opens Nov. 16. “Do You Feel Anger?” opens Feb. 22. “I Knock at the Door,” opens March 16. “Tartuffe,” opens April 12.  

Michigan State University: 

theatre.msu.edu

“Corktown, or Through the Valley of Dry Bones.” Jackee, a fabulous 14-year-old boy, will take audiences on a tour of one of Detroit’s oldest neighborhoods between 2007 and 2034. From the neighborhood’s urban blight to the gentrified renaissance, “Corktown” chronicles the life cycle of a city and the lives of its residents. When the music is turned down and the graffiti is painted over, there is a beating heart in the history of this place that cannot be ceased. Opens Oct. 14. 

Also this season: “Charlotte’s Web,” opens Feb. 17; “Sweat,” opens March 17; “Bright Star,” opens April 14.  

Wharton Center: 

whartoncenter.com

“Pretty Woman: The Musical.” Based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories, springs to life with a powerhouse creative team led by two-time Tony Award®-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (“Hairspray,” “Kinky Boots,” “Legally Blonde.”) Opens Dec. 13. 

Also this season: “Jagged Little Pill,” opens Jan. 31. “Beetlejuice,” opens March 14. “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” opens April 18. “Wicked,” opens May 10. “Jesus Christ Superstar,” opens June 13.