PEACH WEEKENDER: THEATRE
Village Players to present staged readings
6/26/2014
The cast rehearses a scene from Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods,’ to be presented by the Upton Players, the Village Players’ young-adult program, at 7:30 p.m. July 17-19, and 2:30 p.m. July 20.
THE VILLAGE PLAYERS
The cast rehearses a scene from Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods,’ to be presented by the Upton Players, the Village Players’ young-adult program, at 7:30 p.m. July 17-19, and 2:30 p.m. July 20.
The readings will begin on Oct. 3-4.
The Village Players will offer The Village After Dark, a new program of staged readings, starting in October. As Bees in Honey Drown by Douglas Carter Beane will be presented Oct. 3-4. Just before Valentine’s Day, David Ives’ Venus in Fur will be offered on Feb. 6-7. The Village After Dark shows are general admission, with tickets, $10, available at the door, 2740 Upton Ave.
The Players’ 2014-2015 season, its 58th, will feature the comedy Quartet, Sept. 5-20; The Heiress, Nov. 7-22; Good People, Jan. 9-24; Looking, March 6-21, and Clue: The Musical, May 8-23. Information on season tickets is available at thevillageplayers.org or by calling 419-472-6817.
Rehearsals continue for the Village’s summer show, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, to be presented by the Upton Players, the group’s young-adult program, in four performances, at 7:30 p.m. July 17-19, and 2:30 p.m. July 20.
Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the door or at thevillageplayers.org. The website is being redesigned, with photo galleries, options for purchasing tickets, and Village news, and is scheduled to debut July 5.
New at the Ritz
The comedy Moon Over Buffalo opens the Ritz Theatre’s new Ritz Players season Oct. 31. The play, set in the 1950s, is about an acting duo, George and Charlotte Hay, who may have one more chance at success: Frank Capra is coming to see their show, and if he approves, he may cast them in a movie. Of course, hilarious disasters ensue. Performances at the Tiffin theater will be on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 8, and 9.
The season continues with Christmas on Broadway Dec. 14; the absurdist comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Feb. 13-14 and 21-22, and Belles, a drama about the relationship of six Southern sisters, May 8-9 and 16-17.
The Ritz plays it for laughs March 7 with the Southern Fried Chicks Cage-Free Comedy Tour, lead by comedian Etta May, winner of the 1999 American Comedy Award for funniest female stand-up comic. On Jan. 24, the Nobodies of Comedy return to the Tiffin stage with a new lineup of up-and-coming comedians.
The Ritz’s Golden Age of Hollywood matinee movie series, with screenings at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, begins Oct. 15. The series of eight films featuring leading men in Hollywood classics opens with The Philadelphia Story (1940). Highlights include Mister Roberts (1955) on Jan. 14 and Top Hat (1935) on May 13.
Music highlights include Three Dog Night on Sept. 26, Huey Lewis and the News on Oct. 17, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra on March 8.
Information on subscription renewals, single ticket sales, and ticket prices will be announced by July 14. The theater is at 30 S. Washington St., Tiffin. Information: 419-448-8544, ritztheatre.org, or at the box office.
Croswell camps
Auditions for the Croswell’s Summer Performance Intensive, a new two-week program for students ages 10 to 18 who have performing experience, will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the theater, 129 E. Maumee St. in Adrian. The program runs July 21 through Aug. 3.
Admission to the Intensive is by audition only. Topics will include professional auditions, singing, makeup application for the stage, and movement for the actor. The Performance Intensive will be led by a director, and students will work with other theater professionals. There will be a cabaret performance the weekend of Aug. 1-2.
Those auditioning should bring their own sheet music and be prepared to sing 16 bars of music and read from a script provided by the director. An accompanist will be provided. Tuition is $300; additional students from the same family will be $275.
Another program, the Croswell Kids Performance Camp, is for beginners ages 5 to 15. All students will learn the songs, script, and movement of the musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress as an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. The camp will have a professional team of director, music director, and choreographer. Auditions are not required, but roles in the comedy will be awarded based on abilities assessed in the first few days of camp. Registration for this program is open through July 14, and the camp runs July 21 through Aug. 3. Tuition is $200/student; additional students from the same family are $175.
Registration information, including camp schedules, can be found at croswell.org, the theater Facebook page, or at the box office.
Information about tickets to Once Upon a Mattress or the Croswell Cabaret can be found at these locations and by calling the Croswell box office at 517-264-7469.
Dramatic sale
The costume shop at the Meadow Brook Theatre at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., is having a sale Saturday. Clothing, both custom-made and purchased, and accessories will be for sale on a cash-only basis.
Most things will be priced at less than $30. Items representing medieval times to the present day will be offered, as well as vintage pieces ranging from the early 1900s to the 1970s.
The sale will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on the theater’s stage, 207 Wilson Hall, Oakland University. Enter through the garage between Wilson Hall and Graham Health Center on Oakland University’s campus.
Send theater items two weeks in advance to Sue Brickey at sbrickey@theblade.com.