Spring 2020 Events
Acting in compliance with the emergency declarations issued by the State, the Federal government, and following the recommendations of the CDC, all Spring '20 Season events have been cancelled and in most cases they have also been rescheduled.
Ticket holders for any cancelled event will have the option to request refunds or to request a gift card for future use. However we do ask that you consider turning your ticket back in as a tax-deductible donation. To request a refund, a gift card, or to donate the value of your ticket, please Contact Us via this website or call (231) 894•0119.
Thank you for your patience and support as we navigate this very fluid situation.
| January | |
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Doors open at 7:00 pm Tickets $15 | The Friends of the Playhouse Presents
The Friends of the Playhouse is presenting The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a fundraiser for the theatre. The movie is a parody tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. The film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick. The story centers on a young engaged couple whose car breaks down in the rain near a castle where they seek a telephone to call for help. The castle or country home is occupied by strangers in elaborate costumes celebrating an annual convention. They discover the head of the house is Dr. Frank N. Furter, an apparently mad scientist who actually is an alien transvestite who creates a living muscle man in his laboratory. The couple are seduced separately by the mad scientist and eventually released by the servants who take control. A Shadow Cast will lead movie goers in song and dance. Guests are encouraged to dress up as their favorite characters. Prop bags will be available for purchase. No outside props permitted. |
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10:00 to 11: 30 am Session Fee: |
Yoga Onstage-Gentle January
Cindy Beth Davis-Dykema, a certified yoga teacher with nearly a decade of training and experience, will guide a 90 minute yoga session on the second Saturdays of January through March. These classes are designed to meet all levels and will allow for a primer to practice skills like gentleness, deep breathing, and meditative movement. Whether completely new or seasoned to a yoga practice, you’ll be met with warmth and understanding at these sessions. For the January session, we will practice both three-part breathing and the audible exhale. Our essential oil for this session (which you can choose to opt out of any day) will be a blend of organic apricot, lavender and peppermint oils. THINGS TO CONSIDER Recommended: two pillows and a blanket are the ultimate in comfort for the final few restorative poses at the end of our practice, although not absolutely needed. Please arrive at least fifteen to twenty minutes early to sign your participation waiver and get yourself set up onstage. If you choose the 3-class option at your first session, you can sign in at that class for the entire series and simply arrive and set up immediately. This unique opportunity to practice yoga onstage at The Playhouse at White Lake will be a partial fundraiser for both White Lake Youth Theater and Kalon Arts and Yoga Company. |
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7:30 pm Tickets: $10 + $2 Convenience Fee
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Comedy Night with David Dyer The Citizen's Supporting White Lake Fire Featuring comedian David Dyer, with Matt Lauria, and hosted by Pete McCarthy.
David Dyer has been performing stand-up at clubs and corporate events for over twenty years. He’s worked with some of the best comics in the industry including Mike Birbiglia, Jim Breuer, and Lewis Black. He’s been a contributing writer to NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and ABC’s Politically Incorrect. He’s a regular on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Show and frequently guest hosts multiple radio shows for Cumulus Broadcasting in Grand Rapids. You can also read David’s articles on the satirical news website AbsrdComedy. Matt Lauria has been ineffective at everything from relationships and productivity but particularly at writing witty comedy bios. These failures not only make for an evening of incredible entertainment, but also leave audience members feeling as if they’ve accomplished more in their lifetime. |
| February | |
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7:30 pm Tickets: $10 (plus $1 ticket fee)
About the movie: | The Greatest Showman The Friends of the Playhouse present this special Sing-a-Long screening, featuring subtitles for all of the songs (as if you don't have them memorized already). All proceeds benefit the Playhouse!
You are invited, even encouraged, to come in costume! |
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10:00 to 11: 30 am Session Fee: |
Yoga Onstage-Aware in February Ages 6-100 welcome; those 10 and under should have an adult accompany them Cindy Beth Davis-Dykema, a certified yoga teacher with nearly a decade of training and experience, offers the second of the three yoga sessions onstage at The Playhouse. THINGS TO CONSIDER Recommended: two pillows and a blanket are the ultimate in comfort for the final few restorative poses at the end of our practice, although not absolutely needed. Please arrive at least fifteen to twenty minutes early to sign your participation waiver and get yourself set up onstage. If you choose the 3-class option at your first session, you can sign in at that class for the entire series and simply arrive and set up immediately. This unique opportunity to practice yoga onstage at The Playhouse at White Lake will be a partial fundraiser for both White Lake Youth Theater and Kalon Arts and Yoga Company. |
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12:00 to 2:00 pm Free Admission and Popcorn! |
Come on in for a fun afternoon of free, family-friendly cartoons! Part of the White Lake Wanderland weekend of events to celebrate all of the wonderful things our area has to offer! |
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7:30 pm Tickets:
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The Kreellers are a high energy Celtic Rock group hailing from Detroit, Michigan. This five-piece powerhouse has been unstoppable, performing over 100 shows in 2009, recording the music for Fuji’s Enviromax Battery ad campaign, and writing and recording new tunes for their upcoming CD. Still steeped in traditional Irish sound, the band’s mix of rock, funk, and even punk elements has created a sound that has won over fans, critics, and even skeptics throughout the North and Midwest and has made them one of the most sought after Celtic acts in the region.
Singer/songwriter Scott Sheldon hails from Muskegon and has been compared to Gordon Lightfoot among others. He mixes Irish, Scottish and French songs with his own compositions including the tongue-in-cheek “Turtle Fence Song” about the turtle fence along US-31 in Muskegon. |
| March | |
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7:30 pm Tickets: $10 (plus $1 ticket fee) About the movie: |
Bohemian Rhapsody The Friends of the Playhouse invite you to join us for a foot-stomping celebration and sing-along with last year’s Best Picture nominee. All proceeds benefit the Playhouse!
You are invited, even encouraged, to come in costume! |
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10:00 to 11: 30 am Session Fee:
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Yoga Onstage-Mindful Flow March Ages 6-100 welcome; those 10 and under should have an adult accompany them Cindy Beth Davis-Dykema, a certified yoga teacher with nearly a decade of training and experience, offers the third of the three yoga sessions onstage at The Playhouse. THINGS TO CONSIDER Recommended: two pillows and a blanket are the ultimate in comfort for the final few restorative poses at the end of our practice, although not absolutely needed. Please arrive at least fifteen to twenty minutes early to sign your participation waiver and get yourself set up onstage. If you choose the 3-class option at your first session, you can sign in at that class for the entire series and simply arrive and set up immediately. This unique opportunity to practice yoga onstage at The Playhouse at White Lake will be a partial fundraiser for both White Lake Youth Theater and Kalon Arts and Yoga Company. |
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7:30 pm Tickets:
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
Aoife Scott
Recent accolades include being named Best Folk Act at the Irish Post Music Awards (IRE), beating stiff competition in the category with the legendary Christy Moore, Dublin folk band Lankum as well as Limerick singer Emma Langford. She also claimed the award of Emerging Artist of the Year at the Live Ireland Awards (US) in June 2018. In 2019, her most recent song The December Letter” won Single of the Year at the ALSR Celtic Music Awards (US) and was the most played Christmas song on RTE Radio 1 for December 2018. “A Fiery Passionate Young Talent Springing from a Fine Musical Family” — HOTPRESS Her career successes have seen Aoife and her cousins, Róisín O & Danny O Reilly from The Coronas, release their single Grace which hit straight into the number 1 slot on iTunes in Ireland. This performance gained half a million views on YouTube with their performance from Kilmainham Gaol as part of Centenary on RTE1. Aoife’s single All Along the Wild Atlantic Way also hit the number 1 slot, knocking Ed Sheeran off the top spot and was named Song of the Year at the Irish Folk Music Awards in 2017. Aoife releases her first single from the upcoming album this October with an Irish Tour, and full album release of her album HomeBird is due January 2020.
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| April | |
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but will be rescheduled at a date TBA About the movie: |
The Sound of Music The Friends of the Playhouse invite you to “start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) …”. All proceeds benefit the Playhouse!
A tuneful, heartwarming story, it is based on the real life story of the Von Trapp Family singers, one of the world's best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II. Julie Andrews plays the role of Maria, the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home. You are invited, even encouraged, to come in costume! |
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but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
You've never heard violin like this! The world's premier visionary violinist, Dixon's life mission is to inspire people—and he has done so across North America, including giving three TED talks/performances, over ten years at Burning Man, plus radio, TV, and film appearances. A former technology leader and symphony violinist, Dixon walked away from a distinguished career to follow his dream full-time, and invented a whole new music genre. Dixon now improvises on a 5-string electric violin with a looping system he developed to create an all-live one-man symphony, guided by his remarkable personal story of life transformation. YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/XHlmsw5VFsE co-produced by Gruvia Productions |
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7:30 pm
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Shane Hennessey in Concert Presented by Michigan Irish Music Festival
Described by legendary guitarist Tommy Emmanuel as “a brilliant entertainer and an amazing musician who transcends the guitar the same way Muhammed Ali transcended boxing”, Shane has developed an unmistakably unique voice on the guitar, blending his native Irish music with elements of jazz, country, blues, funk, classical, soul, world, and hip-hop, both vocally and instrumentally. His live shows are known for their energy and variety. “[A]nything from Bach to Beyoncé!; Irish Music Magazine have called him “one of the most exciting live performers of his generation”. In 2019, Shane was a firm favorite on the festival scene in the United States, appearing at prestigious roots festivals such as MerleFest (Wilkesboro, NC) and Appaloosa (Front Royal, VA), as well as numerous Irish and Celtic Festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest (WI), Kansas City Irish Fest (MO), Irish Fest Chicago (IL), Michigan Irish Music Fest (Muskegon, MI), and many more. Shane has released two albums of original music: Zephyrus (2015), and Marrakech (2017). A third album is due for release in early 2020. He has also worked with Riverdance composer and Grammy winner Bill Whelan, and in 2017 he sold out a solo show in Ireland’s National Concert Hall for the release of Marrakech. “His musicianship is equally varied with an ability to move between styles and genres with ease, very much in keeping with guitar heroes like Davy Graham or Eric Clapton.” – Irish Music Magazine, June 2018 |
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7:30 pm
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
Gruvia Productions Presents: Organissimo
As American cultural critic Elvis Mitchell wrote after witnessing a show at Baker's Keyboard Lounge, "The group's toned, muscular playing keeps the crowd rapt, a condition noticeable by the fact that almost no one is talking." Organissimo formed in November of 2000 with the goal of bringing jazz back to the people. Organissimo's sound is instantly identifiable yet constantly evolving, infusing elements of funk, gospel, blues, progressive rock, and Latin rhythms into a solid foundation of jazz. Shifting meters, deep grooves, melodic finesse and tight ensemble interplay are hallmarks of the organissimo sound. |
Saturday, April 25 3:00pm
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
The Playhouse at White Lake and My Air Productions Present:
Emmy award-winning master and the puppeteer behind Being John Malkovich, Phillip Huber, brings a stunning range of marionettes in this sophisticated performance praised as “a marvel” by the L.A. Times. Huber also worked his puppetry magic in China Girl, in the Disney film Oz the Great and Powerful, and in many other artistic and theatrical productions internationally. The Huber Marionette’s incredible, complex puppets and manipulations are famed around the world. Sure to delight all audiences and to surprise even the most knowledgeable puppet fans.
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/user/huberpuppet |
Saturday, April 25 7:30 pm Donations Accepted at the Door
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
White Lake Dramatic Club Present
The newly, re-formed White Lake Dramatic Club, a group of community actors, directors, and technicians, is pleased to present a staged reading of Frank R Adams original 1912 play, Molly and I. The original, type-written script was gifted to the Playhouse by Pete Damm. Adams was a prolific writer of movies, books, and song, and was an essential part of getting the Playhouse built in 1916. A romantic comedy, the play tells the story of an wealthy heiress who must marry by a certain date in order to secure her fortune. With the help of a friend, she places an advertisement for a husband who she will never see after they are married as she wants to live life on her own. Like many of his works, the story was told in the form of a book, a play, and a film. This is the first of two staged readings the Club will be performing. The second reading will be May 10 at 3:00 PM. Membership in the Club is open to anyone interested in community theatre. |
| May | |
Saturday, May 9 Doors open 6:30 pm
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA
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Gruvia Productions Presents: The Verve Pipe
In addition to their success on radio, TV and film, sold-out concert dates throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, features in Rolling Stone, Interview Magazine and many more, and videos on MTV and VH1, the band has made numerous television appearances, including The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Night With David Letterman.’ Between recording rock albums, including the most recent release Parachute, and their first-ever live album Villains – Live & Acoustic, featuring an acoustic reimagining of their platinum debut album Villains, The Verve Pipe expanded their repertoire to include writing and recording A Family Album, their critically acclaimed introduction to the world of children’s music, as well as their follow up family oriented release, Are We There Yet?. With a new lineup and a renewed energy and focus, lead singer/principal songwriter and founder Brian Vander Ark and the band continue to deliver original music that is distinguished by innovative arrangements, soul-searching lyrics and layered vocals. The Verve Pipe perform both rock and kids shows throughout North America, including notable appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Festival, Lincoln Center, Hangout Music Festival, SummerStage in Central Park, and many more. |
Sunday, May 10 3:00 pm Donations Accepted at the Door
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
White Lake Dramatic Club Present
In this riotously funny Southern-fried comedy, the three Verdeen cousins—Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmie Wyvette—could not have picked a worse time to throw their family reunion. Their outrageous antics have delighted local gossips in the small town of Sweetgum (just down the road from Fayro) and the eyes of Texas are upon them, as their self-righteous Aunt LaMerle is quick to point out. Having “accidentally” crashed her minivan through the bedroom wall of her husband’s girlfriend’s doublewide, Gaynelle is one frazzled nerve away from a spectacular meltdown. Peaches, a saucy firebrand and the number one mortuarial cosmetologist in the tri-county area, is struggling to decide if it’s time to have her long-absent trucker husband declared dead. And Jimmie Wyvette, the rough-around-the-edges store manager of Whatley’s Western Wear, is resorting to extreme measures to outmaneuver a priss-pot neighbor for the affections of Sweetgum’s newest widower. But the cousins can’t back out of the reunion now. It’s on, Gaynelle’s hosting it, and Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette have decided that its success is the perfect way to prove Gaynelle’s sanity to a skeptical court-appointed psychologist. Unfortunately, they face an uphill battle as a parade of wildly eccentric Verdeens gathers on the hottest day of July, smack-dab in the middle of Texas tornado season. Things spin hilariously out of control when a neighbor’s pet devours everything edible, a one-eyed suitor shows up to declare his love, and a jaw-dropping high-stakes wager is made on who bakes the best red velvet cake. As this fast-paced romp barrels toward its uproarious climax, you’ll wish your own family reunions were this much fun! This is the second of two staged readings the Club will be performing. Membership in the Club is open to anyone interested in community theatre. |
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7:30 pm Tickets:
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA
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Gruvia Productions Presents The British Invasion: During that time, the group played over 15,000 shows to 3 million people. This world breaking run earned the group recognition in Newsweek magazine's Beatles 50th Anniversary Edition, where they were hailed as "the longest continuously running Beatles tribute on record”. The group left Epcot in 2011 and since then has continued to delight audiences in concert. The British Invasion have headlined in concert at such legendary venues as The Arie Crown Theater Chicago, The Rose Garden, Portland, The Patriot Center and many other premier theatrical venues. In addition to their theater schedule, the group is a sought after corporate headliner for Hard Rock Live, House of Blues, Ford Motor Company, Mercedes Benz among others. The group performs material from the entire scope of the Beatles amazing career starting with the early years in the iconic black suits, to Sgt Pepper in full costume, and finishing with selections from the White Album, Let it Be and Abbey Road in the costumes from the legendary Abbey Road LP cover. Shawn Bryant's portrayal of Buddy Holly is widely known as the most authentic tribute to the legendary rocker from Lubbock Texas. Shawn was discovered by producer John Stuart and cast as Buddy in the Las Vegas show of the year, Legends In Concert. During his 10 years in Legends, Shawn performed at the Imperial Palace, Las Vegas, Caesar’s Atlantic City, The Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, and The Palladium, Hollywood CA. Shawn also appeared as Buddy in the Moody Blues video "Say it with love” which appeared worldwide on MTV and VH1. Shawn has performed as Buddy in Lubbock TX (Buddy's hometown) and throughout Canada and Mexico. In addition to his portrayal of Buddy, Shawn is an accomplished musician and has worked with and for Chubby Checker, Roger McGuinn, The Crests, Joey Dee, The Legends of DooWop and Wrecking Crew studio legends Hal Blaine, Don Randi and Jerry Cole. |
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7:30 pm Tickets:
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA
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The Insiders: Tom Petty Tribute Band
It all starts with front man Max Lockwood. “I grew up listening to Tom. My mom would play Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits while she worked out. I’d sit at the top of the stairs and listen to those songs—it was my most requested CD at the age of 6.” In high school, Lockwood’s band Big Dudee Roo started covering Mary Jane’s Last Dance at their frequent shows in West Michigan. “Tom was part of the great American landscape to me—a legend by the time I was musically conscious. We got a great crowd reaction with Petty tunes, and people frequently commented that I sounded authentically ‘Petty’.” Nothing has changed with time. After the passing of Tom Petty in October of 2017 Lockwood organized the band by pulling together some of his favorite musicians for a benefit concert. After a sold-out show that raised thousands for a local domestic violence shelter The Insiders decided they wouldn’t back down. “We try to honor what Mr. Petty and the Heartbreakers have done for rock and roll each night. We’re fans of the music foremost. These songs are woven into the fabric of the American identity.” They’ve found no shortage of demand, selling out shows everywhere they go in the first year of the band’s existence. Local Spins’ John Sinkevics had this to say: “The Insiders set the bar at a new level for Tom Petty tributes.” |
| June | |
Friday, June 5 7:30 pm Tickets:
but will be rescheduled at a date TBA |
John Gorka in Concert
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show 
David Dyer’s interesting and sometimes twisted take on life will make you say, “Hey, that happened to me, too” even if it didn’t … it’s weird, I know. You’re sure to walk out of his show feeling better about yourself or sorry for him … he’s fine with it either way. 
Saturday Cartoons 
The Kreellers
Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers. The film traces the rise of the band through their iconic songs, their near-implosion as Mercury’s lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of 
The Playhouse proudly welcomes 
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Dixon’s Violin 
Shane Hennessy
You might notice of something different at an 
Recommended for ages 8 and above 
Close your eyes and you won’t know the difference. Open them and you still might be fooled. 
