70 years of celebrities: Lansing Town Hall's lecture series benefits Lansing Symphony Orchestra

For 70 years, Lansing Town Hall has been giving Lansing area folks the opportunity hear a series of celebrity lectures. And even though most of the lectures have nothing to do with music, all the proceeds benefit the Lansing Symphony Orchestra.

Carol Dooley, president of Town Hall, has been on the board for many years. She said the organization gives the LSO about $20,000 a year.

“We don’t sponsor a specific program; we just donate the money directly to the orchestra," she said. "They’re such a wonderful organization.”

Through the years, the group has brought in well-known celebrities to speak: “On the Road “host Charles Kuralt, Broadway star Rita Moreno, legendary news anchor David Brinkley, novelist Jodi Picoult, and many (over 280) others.

“Although we love to have famous people on the roster, some of our favorite speakers have been totally unknown,” Dooley said. Elliot Engel, who speaks about the Bronte sisters and other literary topics, is so popular he’s been back seven times.

“Some famous people are a bomb – not interesting,” Dooley added. She remembers fitness celebrity Richard Simmons as being a strange guest.

Back in 1953, when Dorthea Burrell founded Lansing Town Hall, the events were entirely run and attended by women.  Dooley said now there are several men who participate plus retirees.

Town Hall has suffered because of the COVID pandemic, Dooley said. But tickets sales are increasing again. They expect about 450 attendees this year. In past years they’ve had crowds of 1,200.

Lansing Town Hall sells its tickets primarily by word of mouth. It just recently created a Facebook page. The budget for the yearly series, which includes four speakers, is about $30,000. Over its 70 years, it's donated over $500,000 to the LSO.

When the group began, the lectures were at the old Gladmer Theatre in downtown Lansing. Currently they take place at Eagle Eye Banquet Center in Bath Township. Dooley is excited about the variety and quality of this season’s speakers.

“We love CBS newsman Steve Hartman," Dooley said. "He’s our first speaker. He tells inspiring stories that make you laugh and cry. We have had him before and everyone was thrilled.”

Other speakers in the 2023-24 Town Hall series are motivational speaker Molly Fletcher, New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro and international affairs lawyer William Burke-White.

If you go

Lansing Town Hall

• Celebrity lecture series

• Oct. 9, Steve Hartman

• Nov, 6, Molly Fletcher

• April 15, Tom Toro

• May 6, William Burke-White

• For tickets and info, call 517-323-1045 (lecture only) or 517-432-3041 (lecture and lunch).

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing Town Hall Celebrity Lecture Series benefits Lansing Symphony