The Grand Marais Playhouse is in full swing with the production of Disney’s The Lion King Jr. With a cast of 54 kids from ages 8 to 15 rehearsals are high energy, loud and FUN! There is much to do in the five weeks of afterschool rehearsal: 14 songs to learn, multiple costumes, puppets, scenery, and props to make and many lights to be hung and focused. And so much more!
The Playhouse, cast, and crew would welcome community help on all the production elements. We will work on Fridays from 3:30- 5:30 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weeknights 6 to 8 p.m. We will not be working over Spring Break (March 24 – April 2), but we can send projects home with you! Come find out more this Friday or Saturday.
The plays have been selected for the 2017 Grand Marais Summer Theater Festival which will run weekends July 20 – August 13, 2017.
The Pajama Game: Book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and based on the novel “7½ cents” by Richard Bissell.
As evidenced in the picture, there is a large cast for the Lion King Jr. production that will take place at the Arrowhead Center for Arts (ACA) April 20-21 and April 28-29. And while there are lots of cast members, Director Sue Hennessy has put out a call for more help with the production. If you have some time to spare and a willing heart, call 218-387-1284 x 2.
The Pajama Game was awarded the 1955 Tony for Best Musical and, over half a century later, claimed the award for Best Revival of a Musical, proving that the story is truly timeless. With an energetic score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (Damn Yankees), The Pajama Game is brimming with songs and dances that have become musical theater standards, including “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.”
Conditions at the Sleep- Tite Pajama Factory are anything but peaceful as sparks fly between the new superintendent, Sid Sorokin, and Babe Williams, leader of the union grievance committee. Their stormy relationship comes to a head when the workers strike for a 7½ -cent pay increase, setting off not only a conflict between management and labor but a battle of the sexes as well.
Cast size: seven men, six women plus chorus, some doubling possible. Performance dates July 21, 23, 27, 29, Aug. 4, 6, 10, 12.
And, Ken Ludwig’s The Games Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.
This was the winner of the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Awards – Best Play.
It is December 1936, and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast-members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. Then it’s up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set during the Christmas holidays.
Cast size: three men, five women. Auditions will be at the end of April, early May with rehearsals Sunday -Thursday but flexible through June. Performance dates July 20, 22, 28, 30, Aug. 3, 5, 11, 13.
Grand Marais Playhouse Artistic Director Sue Hennessy provides this behind-the-scenes look at Grand Marais Playhouse activities.
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