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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. 

        

2023/24 Center Stage Season

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

APR 12, 13 & 18 - 20, 2024 / 7:30 PM
APR 14 & 21, 2024 / 2 PM

Three Siblings. One Hot Mess. Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia bicker and complain about life in their Bucks County farmhouse. Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Old resentments flare up. Thus begins an unforgettable family reunion filled with rivalry, regret, and all-too-true premonitions from a clairvoyant housekeeper. Will Vanya and Sonia ever find happiness? Will Masha sell the house out from under them? Will Spike ever put his pants on? This irresistible comedy of remorse and sibling rivalry is a wickedly wonderful mash-up of Chekhov’s famous ennui and modern-day concerns of celebrity, social networking, and age, resulting in a hilarious laugh-out-loud comedy! “Deliriously funny!” – The New York Times

By Christopher Durang
Directed by Chad William Baker.

Note: this show will be staged up close and personal with seating on the stage! This show contains adult language.

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.

Next to Normal

Next to Normal

MAY 17, 18, 24, 25, 2024 / 7:30 PM
MAY 19 & 26, 2024 / 2 PM

An emotional powerhouse of a musical with a thrilling rock score, NEXT TO NORMAL takes an honest look at the sometimes harsh realities of life. A typical family to the outside world, the Goodmans secretly struggle in their suburban home as they deal with the unpredictability of their mother’s worsening mental health. As they navigate their changing world, they deal with the pressing contemporary issues of trauma, loss, mental health treatment, and what it means to be “normal.” This raw, exhilarating, and deeply moving musical about the realities of the modern American family asks us to examine how we love and care for ourselves and each other.

Music by Tom Kitt
Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Directed by Tommy Wedge

NEXT TO NORMAL is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

This show contains adult content.

Sponsored by MyMichigan Health

Rising Stars: Newsies

JUN 26 - 29, 2024 / 8 PM
Auditions / SAT, APR 27 / 10 AM - 1 PM (LEARN MORE)
On the Outdoor Stage

Disney’s Newsies, based on the 1992 motion picture film, features a score by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, along with a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein. Inspired by the real-life Newsboy Strike of 1899, where newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphaned and runaway "newsies" in a two-week-long battle against powerful newspaper publishers like Pulitzer and Hearst.

The high-energy stage musical is full of thrilling dance numbers and introduces eight brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman, while retaining beloved classics from the film, including “Carrying the Banner,” “Seize the Day,” “King of New York,” and “Santa Fe.” Join us for non-stop thrills in this captivating musical performed by teenage Rising Stars from the Great Lakes Bay region!

Directed by Chaz Wolcott


Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Jack Feldman
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Based on the Disney film written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White


Sponsored by  Capital Power MCV

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

A Christmas Story: The Musical, 2022. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
The Sparrow, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
RENT, 2022. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
Little Women, 2022. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
The Prom, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
Doubt: A Parable, 2023. Photo by The Mattesons Photography
White Christmas, 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.