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Experience the Performing Arts!

Explore our five performance series to discover a world of possibilities right here in the Great Lakes Bay Region. 

        

2024/25 Season

Center Stage Theatre Series

The Wizard of Oz

NOV 15 – 16, 2024 / 7 PM
NOV 16 *ADDED FOR POPULAR DEMAND* & 17, 2024 / 2 PM

On the Auditorium Stage!

Travel over the rainbow with THE WIZARD OF OZ! This beloved tale comes to life on the Auditorium Stage featuring all the moments and music from the iconic 1939 MGM film. Follow the yellow brick road with Dorothy Gale as she encounters a host of whimsical characters on her journey to the Emerald City: good witches, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West, who will stop at nothing to get her hands on the ruby slippers. To make it home safely, Dorothy must learn an important lesson: there’s no place like home.

Director / Bill Anderson Jr.
Music Director / Jim Hohmeyer
Choreographer / Kelli Jolly

By L. Frank Baum
With Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, Background Music by Herbert Stothar Dance and Vocal Arrangements by Peter Howard, Orchestrations by Larry Wilcox

Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Based upon the Classic Motion Picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Bros

THE WIZARD OF OZ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com

Sponsored by Midland Oral Isabella Bank and Grace A. Dow Memorial Library

Youth Theatre / Anne of Green Gables

THU, DEC 12 - SAT, DEC 14, 2024 / 7:30 PM
SAT, DEC 14 - SUN, DEC 15, 2024 / 2 PM

Adapted by Joseph Robinette
from the novel by L.M. Montgomery

This exciting new adaption from Joseph Robinette captures the charm and excitement of Lucy Maude Montgomery's enduring classic about an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, from her first encounter with her austere guardian to her thrilling graduation from Queen's Academy. The play faithfully recreates the memorable events and characters from the brilliant novel. All the tragedies and triumphs that mark Anne's growth from adolescence to early adulthood are here: her friendship with Diana, her feuds with Gilbert, her adoration of Matthew, the mistaken wine bottle, the cake disaster, the broken leg, the scholastic achievements, and the saving of Green Gables. Whether the playgoer is an "old friend" of Anne's or meeting her for the first time, this play will solidify a lasting friendship between the audience and one of literature's most unforgettable characters.

Sponsored by Grace A. Dow Memorial Library

The Diary of Anne Frank

FEB 21 & 22, FEB 28 – MAR 1, 2025 / 7:30 PM
FEB 23 & MAR 2, 2025 / 2 PM

In the Little Theater

AUDITIONS / MON & TUE, DEC 16 & 17, 2024 / 6 - 9 PM (LEARN MORE)
Virtual Auditions Accepted DEC 9 - 14, 2024

Playwright Wendy Kesselman breathes new life into Anne Frank's renowned diary with a transcendently powerful stage adaptation, portraying a spirited young woman confronting unimaginable horrors with wit, fierce honesty, and unwavering hope. A heartfelt drama about the lives of eight people hiding from the Nazis in a concealed storage attic, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK captures the realities of their daily existence—their fear, their hope, their laughter, their grief. Each day of these two dark years, Anne's voice shines through: "When I write I shake off all my cares. But I want to achieve more than that. I want to be useful and bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"

Directed by Kaeleigh Casavant

Sponsored by Isabella Bank

Based on The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.

Youth Theatre / Matilda the Musical

THU, APR 10 - SAT, APR 12, 2025 / 7:30 PM
RELAXED PERFORMANCE / SAT, APR 12, 2025 / 2 PM (Learn More)
SUN, APR 13, 2025 / 2 PM

AUDITIONS / DETAILS AVAILABLE Q4 2024

Inspired by the ingenious Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Matilda The Musical is the captivating masterpiece about the power of imagination, anarchy of childhood, and the inspiration of a girl who dreams of a better life. Recently turned into a movie-musical, Matilda has won 47 international awards and continues to thrill audiences of all ages around the world. Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence, and psychokinetic powers. Unloved by her cruel parents, tormented by headmistress Miss Trunchbull, and encouraged by her teacher Miss Honey, Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace! Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, audiences will be thrilled and delighted by the story of a special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.

Merrily We Roll Along

MAY 9 – 10 & 15 – 17, 2025 / 7:30 PM
MAY 11 & 18, 2025 / 2 PM
On-stage seating in the Little Theater

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is a thrilling and compelling showbiz fable about friendship and the high price of success. Starting from adulthood and traveling back in time to the idealistic dreams of youth, MERRILY charts the highs and lows of a relationship among three lifelong friends and traces every milestone of their lives for nearly two decades. With a score showcasing some of Stephen Sondheim’s best-known songs, including “Good Thing Going,” “Not a Day Goes By,” and “Old Friends,” this semi-autobiographical musical turns back the clock on friendship and the importance of staying true to one’s ideals.

Director / Chad William Baker
Music Director / Mike Skutt
Choreography / Faith Dore

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth
Based on the Original Play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Rising Stars / Freaky Friday the Musical

WED, JUN 25 - FRI, JUN 27, 2025 / 8 PM

AUDITIONS / DETAILS AVAILABLE IN 2025

When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again. Disney’s Freaky Friday, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a hilarious, heartfelt, and contemporary update of an American classic. By spending a day in each other's shoes, Katherine and Ellie come to appreciate one another's struggles, learn self-acceptance, and realize the immeasurable love and mutual respect that bond a mother and daughter. With a score by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composers of Next to Normal and If/Then and a book from the writer of TV’s Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, Freaky Friday is a delightfully entertaining new musical for anyone with a perfectly imperfect family.

The 2025 Rising Stars program is sponsored by Great Lakes LoonsCapital Power / MCV

The Prom, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
The Prom, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
Doubt: A Parable, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
Doubt: A Parable, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
White Christmas, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
White Christmas, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Next to Normal, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Next to Normal, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Disney's Frozen JR, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Disney's Frozen JR, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Newsies, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
Newsies, 2024. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography.

More to Know

About Center Stage Theatre

Center Stage Theatre is a national award-winning volunteer theatre program. Its performance season, draws tens of thousands of theater-goers from across the Great Lakes Bay Region and includes comedies, tragedies and musicals, from popular favorites to lesser-known titles.