Starlight, Riverwalk theaters bring holiday spirit to the stage
Act I: Catch a classic with Starlight’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”
If you’re looking for a little traditional holiday fare, you still have one more weekend to see Starlight Dinner Theater’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Performing this time at Delta Presbyterian Church, 6100 Michigan Ave., Lansing, 14 actors bring the holiday classic to life under the direction of David Brooks. It’s a temporary move for Starlight as their usual home undergoes renovations. While this means that there won’t be a dinner with this production, it does mean more walk-in tickets are available.
For those not familiar with the classic — one that has been told in many forms since the original movie came out in 1946 — the play tells the story of George Bailey, a man down and out on his luck and about to give up. The powers in heaven send Clarence, a bumbling angel who wants to earn his wings, to stop George from committing suicide. He does so by showing him what life would have been like if he’d never lived, a beautiful telling of the ripples people send out into the world that they never know about.
In the Starlight production, Mark Polizin plays George Bailey and Paul Levandowski is the hapless Clarence. Others in the cast include Stephanie Spagnuolo Vosburgh as Mary, Mark Bethea as Uncle Billy, Douglas Foy as Henry Potter, with most of the remaining cast playing multiple roles.
Shows are general seating at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8-9 and 2 p.m. Dec. 10. Tickets are $17, $15 for seniors and students and $10 for ages 12 and under.
Act II: Riverwalk pulls back the curtain to reveal dysfunctional fun
Slightly less classic but still filled with all the misadventures and icons of Christmas is “Christmas Belles” at Riverwalk Theatre.
Directed by Kate Clark, it’s a show that puts a mirror up to all the kooky drama that happens in holiday festivities. Written by Jones, Hope & Wooten — a trilogy whose work has frequently graced the Starlight stage — “Christmas Belles” takes place in the South where a church Christmas pageant is going horribly wrong and a set of squabbling sisters aren’t doing much to make it right.
Mix in a surly Santa, a vengeful sheep, a reluctant Elvis impersonator and a dose of family secrets and you have a comedic farce that will brighten your holidays and hopefully make you grateful your celebrations won’t go that awry.
The 11-person cast performs what the director (who fell in love with the show when she was in it before moving to the Lansing area) describes as “'Golden Girls' meets 'National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.'”
The show runs Dec. 7-10, 14-17, with performances at 7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15 for adults, $14 for seniors, students and military and $12 for children; a $2 fee is added for all credit/debit card sales.
Encore!
The Capital City Bell Ringers are performing two holiday shows of “The Many Colors of Christmas: A Colorful Handbell Concert.” The first is at 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Lansing and the second is at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at Delta Presbyterian Church.
Peppermint Creek Theater is presenting a free performance of “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” at 7 p.m., Dec. 8 at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.
More than 300 vocalists will fill the Cobb Great Hall on Dec. 9 as the MSU College of Music presents “Holiday Cheer with MSU Symphony Orchestra and Choirs.” The concert includes favorites from “The Nutcracker” and Handel’s “Messiah” along with “Sleigh Ride” and audience singalongs.
Delta Community Choir performs "This Christmastide" at 3 p.m. Dec. 10 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Delta Township. The concert is free, but they accept donations for the Capital Area Diaper Bank.
Audio Air Force is opening up the airwaves at the Hannah Center in East Lansing at 7 p.m., Dec. 15 for “Holiday Audio Theater Special."
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Starlight, Riverwalk theaters bring holiday spirit to the stage
