Local stages offer shows for just about everyone

Charlotte s Web will be presented at the Franciscan Theater & Conference Center of Lourdes College.

Three professional productions are opening locally within the week, and the themes span the ages of 3 to 63, give or take a few decades.

The Theater Vision program at Lourdes College opens its season with Charlotte's Web; the Valentine Theatre is offering Winnie the Pooh, and the Stranahan Theater is offering Menopause the Musical.

In its 23rd year, the Theater Vision program introduces kids to live performances while linking to the curriculum of various schools, said Jule Horn, the Franciscan's arts education director.

The shows are presented by professional companies, often based in New York, that specialize in children's theater. For example, Charlotte's Web is being presented by TheatreworksUSA, one of the premiere children's theater group in the nation.

"We're bringing in a mix of the familiar and the new," Horn said about her season. Teachers seem to like being able to take each new class to the same show, she said.

Although the Theater Vision program is geared toward school field trips, the public is welcome to attend if there is space available. The bulk of the shows are scheduled at 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. on each of two days. Most often, Horn said, tickets will be available for the later show.

Seating is available for performances of "Charlotte's Web" at

12:15 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in the auditorium of the Franciscan Theater & Conference Center of Lourdes College, 6832 Convent Blvd., Sylvania. Tickets are $7. Information: 419-824-3986.

Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Piglet, and Pooh will grace the stage of the Valentine Theatre Saturday when Winnie the Pooh opens the Children's Series.

A Two Beans Production, presented by TheatreWorksUSA, features a cast of four adults interpreting the adventures of the boy Christopher Robin, and his stuffed toys.

Other productions in the series are The Night Before Christmas: The Whole Story in November, Max and Ruby in January, and Seussical the Musical in April. Season tickets are $31 to $43 for adults and $21 to $31 for children.

The Valentine Theatre, 400 North Superior St., presents "Winnie the Pooh" at 2 p.m. Saturday Tickets are $8 and $12 for children, $12 and $16 for adults. Information: 419-242-2787.

Written by Jean Linders, "Menopause the Musical" celebrates women and their hormonal changes.

The show had a successful run at the Collingwood Arts Center earlier this year and returns to Toledo, this time at the Stranahan, for two shows. From the comments I heard at the Collingwood, repeat viewership is the norm as women who saw it the first time return with friends.

The plot revolves around Power Woman, Iowa Housewife, Soap Star, and Earth Mother, four strangers who meet and bond in Bloomingdale's. Throughout the course of the 90-minute show, they poke sympathetic fun at weight gain, hot flashes, food cravings, forgetfulness, and myriad other universalities of the female aging process.

The show is propelled by tunes from the 1960s and '70s with lyrics that have been changed to infect the funnybone.

Marvin Gaye's "I heard it through the grapevine, not much longer would you be mine" becomes "I heard it through the grapevine, you no longer see 39." The Lyrics' "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight" is reworked as "In the guest room or on the sofa, my husband sleeps tonight."

"Menopause the Musical" is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Stranahan Theater, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd. Tickets are $41 and $45. Limited seating is available. Information: 419-244-2787.

Contact Nanciann Cherry at: ncherry@theblade.com or 419-724-6130.