The Guildlings rehearse with music director Carmelle Atkins (at piano) for their summer musical, “Free To Be You and Me.” The show will be performed 7:30 p.m. July 15-17 at the Players Guild of Dearborn, with all tickets $5 for general admission. The cast includes: Cole Haas (front row, left), Lily Greimel, Molly Boudreau, Jessica Koehler, Allison Koehler, Nick Atkins, Peter Moore, and Olivia McPherson; Quinn Higgins (middle row, left), Jade Reynolds, Kayla Katona, Rhiannon Flores, Maddie Kaplan, Scout Greimel, Ryan Shameri, Noah Goddard, Ian Haas, Joe Atkins, Madison Schroka, Amy Hatfield, Adriana Viscomi and Amy Golembiewski; Emma Scott (back row, left), Miranda Fothergill, Maria Viscomi, Bella Fothergill, Anthony Cieri, Tim Smith and Austin Clark. For more information go to www.playersguildofdearborn.org.
By Sue Suchyta
Dearborn actress Jaclyn Strez and Dearborn Heights actor Sean Paraventi have been cast in the Water Works Theatre Company production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” the 11th annual Shakespeare in the Park in Royal Oak production.
The show opens July 21 and runs for three weekends.
Strez will portray a Spirit and Ceres, while Paraventi will play Stephano.
In “The Tempest” Prospero, an exiled duke and his daughter Miranda have been stranded on a remote island for 12 years. When Prospero learns that his throne-usurping brother is passing near the island on a ship, he conjures a storm which causes their ship to run aground. Supernatural spirits, romance and intrigue are woven throughout the play, thought to be Shakespeare’s last and one of his finest plays.
Others in the cast include Paul Hopper of Chelsea as Prospero, Kirk Haas of Inkster as Alonso, Clifford Katskee of Birmingham as Antonio, Sara Catheryn Wolf of St. Clair Shores as Ariel, Rusty Mewha of Plymouth as Caliban, Zach Hendrickson of Ann Arbor as Ferdinand, Dennis Kleinsmith of Lathrup Village as Gonzalo, Katie Terpstra of Ann Arbor as a spirit and Iris, Allyson Ortwein of Sterling Heights as a spirit and Juno, Julia Garlotte of Chelsea as Miranda, Ericka Hoveland of Royal Oak as Sebastian and Stephen Blackwell of Berkley as Trinculo.
The show will be performed in Starr Jaycee Park, 1101 W. 13 Mile Rd. in Royal Oak. Tickets are $20, and patrons may sit in the bleachers or bring blankets or low profile lawn chairs for seating.
The show will run for three weekends, July 21 to Aug. 7, with 8 p.m. shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday matinees.
THE COMMEDIA TALES OF ALADDIN
The Waterworks Theatre Company will also present Lane Riosley’s “The Commedia Tales of Aladdin” in Starr Jaycee Park in Royal Oak July 26 through Aug. 7, with 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday shows and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees.
The cast includes Casey Hibbert of Pontiac as Arlequin, David Woitulewicz of Detroit as Punchin, Heidi Bennett of Ann Arbor as Columbine and Jillian Kurtz or Ann Arbor as Rosetta.
Tickets are $6 with lawn or bleacher seating.
SUMMER SONNETS AND MORE
Shakespeare’s love sonnets will be read in Starr Jaycee Park in Royal Oak at 4 p.m. on July 30 and Aug. 6 with no charge for admission.
“KidsAct!” open to students to first through eighth grade students, will be held Aug. 1 to 5 in Starr Jaycee Park. Registration is $185 per student, and culminates in a student performed show at the end of the session.
The Waterworks Academy will be held July 25 to 29 for high school and pre-college students. Registration is $185 per student.
The one-week intensive will give student actors a chance to create their own play in the park using a summer stock company approach. Working professionals will provide instruction on script writing, directing, stage management, design and performance.
For more information about the Water Works Theatre Company go to www.waterworkstheatre.com.
SOUTHGATE PRESENTS “WAIT UNTIL DARK”
The Southgate Civic Players will present the suspense thriller “Wait Until Dark” at 8 p.m. July 15, 16, 22 and 23 at the Corner Playhouse, 12671 Dix Toledo Rd. in Southgate.
A blind woman, Susy Hendrix, played by Rebekah Tiefenbach of St. Clair Shores, unknowingly receives a heroin-filled doll that was given to her husband, Sam Hendrix, played by Josh LaPeer of Allen Park, during a recent visit to Montreal.
Three criminals, Roat, played by Dan Clair of Canton, Mike, portrayed by Domingo Guzman of Melvindale and Carlino, played by Brendun Deer of Southgate, plot to get the doll and the heroin from Susy.
Susy catches on to their con, and with the help of a young neighbor, Gloria, played by Ana Pauli of Lincoln Park, decides to fight back against the criminals.
Tickets are $13, and seating is cabaret style. For more information visit scponstage.com.