New seasons get underway at Williamston, Peppermint Creek and Riverwalk theatres

With Labor Day come and gone, Greater Lansing theaters are raising the curtains on their 2023-2024 seasons with new shows, new locations and new times.

Williamston Theatre presents the story of a lovelorn realtor with Jason Odell Williams’ “On The Market,” a new romantic comedy about finding love later in life.

In it, Charlotte, a widow, is dragged into the dating scene by her well-meaning colleagues with somewhat disastrous results until she finds a mysterious note from her dead husband encouraging her to “move on.”

Directed by Tony Caselli, the show features Dani Cochrane, Yolanda Davis, Patrick Loos and Brian Sage.

The show opens in previews on Sept. 15 with opening night on Sept. 22. It runs through Oct. 22. In response to audience analysis and feedback, Williamston is offering new matinees. There will be 2 p.m. Wednesday matinees on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18, Saturday matinees beginning Sept. 23 and Sunday matinees throughout the run.

Peppermint Creek Theatre inaugurates its new season with “The Minutes” by Tracy Letts, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright best known for “August: Osage County.” Directed by Mary Job, this exploration of small-town politics opens Sept. 7 at the Sycamore Creek Church’s south Lansing campus, 1919 S. Pennsylvania Ave. The show runs Sept. 7-10 and Sept. 14-17.

“I love the way the play morphs from full-on guffaw sitcom featuring the completely recognizable foibles of a group of local politicians to something more primal and sinister — and what that has to say about our relationship with the problematic portions of history,” Job said.

Local cast members include Gini Larson, Rachel Mender, Matt Land, Debbie Lundeen, Edward Heldt, Judith Evans, Doak Bloss, Daniel Dye, Brandon Arnold, Joe Dickson and Joe Clark.

Riverwalk Theatre begins its season with a Black Box show by Joshua Harmon, “Admissions.” Directed by Bob Robinson, the show features Sherri Rosen-Mason as the head of admissions at a New England prep school who has been trying to diversify the student body with help from her husband, the school’s headmaster. Then her only son decides he wants to go to an Ivy League university and the play incisively explores privilege, power and hypocrisy.

The show runs from Sept. 14-17 and Sept. 21-24 at the downtown theater and features local actors Heath Sartorius, Emily Clark, Jeff Kennedy, Colleen Bethea and Jane Zussman.

At the Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts, the Owosso Community Players are presenting the classic musical, “The Wizard of Oz” from Sept. 8-17.

Encore!

• If you’ve been waiting to purchase those Wharton Center tickets for “To Kill a Mockingbird” or the “Hip Hop Nutcracker,” the time has arrived. Individual tickets for any shows in the 2023-2024 season except for “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” are now on sale at either whartoncenter.com or by calling 517-432-2000.

• With the new school year under way, the Michigan State University College of Music has brought the baton down on a series of musical events. The Music and the Garden series that ran all summer closes with a free concert “Medusa’s Vines,” at 2 p.m Sept. 10 at the W.J. Beal Botanical Gardens. At 8 p.m. Sept. 15, the “Many Hands” concert will take place at Fairchild Theatre. Featuring two pianos and four hands, five musicians will present works by female composers.  That same day and time at the MSU Music Building will be a swing dance where three jazz orchestras present a high-energy concert filled with work by the great jazz masters. Audiences are encouraged to get up and dance.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Williamston Theatre, Peppermint Creek, Riverwalk start new seasons