The Truth in Jazz Orchestra 

July 1

Fronted by West Michigan's legendary drummer Tim Froncek, the Truth in Jazz Orchestra is 16 of the area's top musicians playing charts from the classic era of the big bands and today's best charts from the hottest jazz composers. Kick up your heels and help us kick off our Summer Fine Arts Festival with West Michigan's premier big band in style!

A Special Engagement of Muskegon Civic Theatre’s
Always … Patsy Cline 

by Ted Swindley
Directed by Mike Vogas

July 7-9

Join us for this special engagement of Muskegon Civic Theatre's production of Always … Patsy Cline. Originally performed in January 2011 to sold-out audiences, the show features local actresses Margot Van Oordt and Kim Harsch as Patsy Cline and her friend, Louise Seger, along with the renowned Oat Bran Boys and friends as Patsy’s band. The show is based on the true story of how Louise met and befriended the young singer in a Houston honky-tonk in 1961 and corresponded via letter with her until Cline’s untimely death in 1963. You won't want to miss this story of deep friendship and the wonderful tunes that made Patsy Cline a country music sweetheart.

CMU’s University Summer Theater Touring Company

July 14-16

The talented students of CMU’s Summer Theatre touring company will return to the Playhouse stage with three veery different shows.

July 14   Guest Artist    

by Jeff Daniels

Pulitzer-prize winning and alcoholic playwright Joseph Harris arrives in Stubenville, OH, to write a play comissioned by a local theater and is met by a callow intern. Set in a small town bus station, Guest Artist delivers a funny and touching story about a young playwright’s struggle when he meets his aging, washed-up playwriting idol.  Not suitable for young audiences.

July 15    Shivaree  

by William Mastrosimone

Shivaree tells the heartwarming story of Chandler, a young, sheltered hemophiliac, and his first experience with love as he meets and falls for a free-spirited belly dancer. Against his mother’s will he escapes for his first adventure into the world. Join the talented students from CMU for this charming romantic comedy from the talented pen of William Mastrosimone (Extremities, The Woolgatherer).  Not suitable for young audiences.

July 16   Proof  

by David Auburn

Robert was a brilliant mathematician who literally changed his field when he was in his 20’s. When he slipped into dementia in his later years, Catherine, his mathematically gifted youngest child, abandoned her studies to care for him. Now with Robert’s death, Catherine’s world is reeling. Proof, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is a provocative, and surprisingly funny adult drama about life, loss and love. Mature language; not suitable for young audiences.

Anybody for Murder?

by Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner
Directed by Debra Freeberg

July 21-23

This murderous farce promises big laughs and a few gasps as six people on a Greek island plot to get the best of one another. Poison, wigs, a row boat, a million-dollar inheritance, a mistress, an unknown cousin and her lawyer husband, and the mystery writer-next-door will surely to have you in stitches and asking the question, “Anybody for Murder?"

White Lake Youth Theatre Presents

Alice in Wonderland

by Anne Coulter Martens
Directed by Cindy Beth Davis

July 28-30

Come join the White Lake Youth Theater program and see the incredible talents of local area youth! Their performance of Alice in Wonderland is sure to having you rooting for Alice to defeat the Queen of Hearts. Don't be late for this very important date!

‘ART’

by Yasmina Reza
1998 Tony Award Winner, Best New Play
Directed by Tom Harryman

August 4-6 

Join us in welcoming back the gentlemen from last year's cast of Moonlight and Magnolias in this year's presentation of the Tony-Award winning show 'ART'. Connect with three friends as they discuss the merits of a single piece of art and begin to unravel their fragile friendships. This is one show you won't want to miss.

Read Bill Iddings review from the Muskegon Chronicle.

The review is a PDF file. Adobe Reader is required to open and view it. Depending upon your browser, the downloaded report will either open in a new window or be downloaded directly to you computer. You may then read it, print it, and/or save it to you computer.

Mature language; not suitable for young audiences.

We  Michigan Weekend
Michigan Music and Documentaries   

August 11-13  

Aug 11     Shout Sister Shout

Cool down on a hot August night with the cool, sweet jazz stylings of Shout Sister Shout featuring Rachel Davis. “The quintet is a tribute to the smoky, sophisticated sound of 1930s and '40s jazz, with plenty of influence from Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole Trio, and Sarah Vaughan, and it's a trip to hear Davis channel those old greats. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a bunch of guys playing the heck out of vintage instruments as backup.” The Metro Times- Detroit, MI

Aug 12     Locally Buzzed: The Great Michigan Beer Movie

Travel with seven West Michigan friends throughout our beautiful state as they visit 50 of our best craft and micro breweries and interview the brewers and Michigan beer enthusiasts along the way. You’ll be amazed at the economic impact the craft brewing industry has in Michigan and will walk away proud to be a Michigander. This film was an entry in Art Prize 2010 in Grand Rapids. A Q&A session with the filmmakers will follow the movie.

Aug 13     Asparagus! Stalking the American Life

For 30 years, Oceana County Michigan has been the Asparagus Capital of the World. Now its spear-struck residents and family farms take on the U.S. War on Drugs, Free Trade and a Fast Food Nation, all to save their beloved roots. This film by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly runs 53 minutes. It has won five film festival awards, including the W.K. Kellogg Good Food Film Award, and was an official selection at 14 other film festivals, including the Kansas International Film Festival. A Q&A session with the filmmakers will follow the movie.

Boeing-Boeing

by Marc Camoletti
2008 Tony Award Winner, Best Revival of a Play
Directed by Mike Vogas

August 18-20

Revived on Broadway in 2008 in a Tony-winning production, this 1960's French farce features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has French, German and American fiancés, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent layovers in Paris. He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected delays bring all three to Bernard's apartment at the same time, and Bernard and his friend Robert must juggle them all at once. Featuring an all-local cast, you'll leave wanting more!

This event is sponsored by Alcoa Howmet and L-3 Communication 

Jake’s Women

by Neil Simon
White Lake Dramatic Club production
Directed by Chris Beaman

August 25-27

This Neil Simon play is the second show produced by the revived White Lake Dramatic Club. Join Jake, a novelist who is more successful in fiction than in reality, as he struggles to keep his marriage together and resolve his internal conflict over the memory of his dead wife. Jake daydreams about the women in his life—his wife, sister, daughter, therapist, potential new wife—and is occasionally interrupted by the women themselves. Featuring an all local cast, it's the perfect way to end your summer!

Special Engagements

Fidelis String Quartet

August 7

7 pm

The Fidelis String Quartet, from the Houston Symphony, will performing at the Playhouse on Sunday evening, August 7. Their performance is the kickoff concert of the White Lake Chamber Music Festival. Tickets are $15 for general admission or $20 to include a post-concert "Meet the Artists" reception.