theatre

‘School of Rock’ Ready to Roll at Festival Playhouse

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School of Rock characters headmistress Rosalie Mullins and teacher Dewey Finn
All photos by Klose2UPhotography

“School of Rock: The Musical” follows actor David B. Friedman, portraying Dewey Finn, a failed rock star who decides to earn money by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. At the school, he turns a class of bright and well-accomplished students into a rock band, attempting to get them into a battle of the bands without headmistress Rosalie Mullins, played by Broadway actress Hannah Elless, or their parents finding out.
Dewey Finn interacts with a student in School of Rock
Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse offers Farmers Alley Theatre a bigger venue between stage space and audience capacity along with a unique stage ground plan
Dewey Finn interacts with a student in School of Rock
School of Rock boasts a cast of 30 including 16 amazingly talented kids

Are you ready to rock? We are! Farmers Alley Theatre is back on campus for School of Rock: The Musical, its second show of the summer at Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse.

Based on the film starring Jack Black, the musical follows actor David B. Friedman, portraying Dewey Finn, a failed rock star who decides to earn money by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. At the school, he turns a class of bright and well-accomplished students into a rock band, attempting to get them into a battle of the bands without headmistress Rosalie Mullins, played by Broadway actress Hannah Elless, or their parents finding out.

Performing School of Rock at K offers Farmers Alley Theatre a bigger venue between stage space and audience capacity along with a unique stage ground plan that Director Richard Roland loves.

“The thrust stage with all of its different angles and levels allows for some very creative staging, which I am very interested in, particularly for a piece that was conceived and originally produced for a proscenium stage,” Roland said. “Because we don’t have the automation and extravagant technical capabilities of a Broadway theatre, I have to rely on my imagination and the imagination and creativity of my team and actors to affect the transitions from scene to scene. It’s a challenge for sure, but one definitely worth meeting head on. It’s very satisfying to me when I figure out how a multi-location show works on a stage not built to accommodate giant turntables, hydraulics and massive drops. That being said, scenic designer Dan Guyette has provided rolling wagons and slip stages to facilitate transitions on the set which is a much-needed help in a show of this size.”

Actors rehears at Festival Playhouse
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17–Saturday, July 20, and Thursday, July 25–Saturday, July 27, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21, and Sunday, July 28
Dewey Finn leads students in School of Rock
Teacher Dewey Finn—desperately stealing the identity of his roommate as a substitute teacher just to make ends meet—teaches his students some unconventional yet valuable life lessons by making them realize they live under too many rules.
Actors rehearse School of Rock
Broadway actress Hannah Elless portrays headmistress Rosalie Mullins in “School of Rock.”

School of Rock boasts a cast of 30 including 16 amazingly talented kids—four of whom play their own drums, bass, guitar and keyboard—although the biggest draw might be the story as it works in concert with the music. Roland said the plot embraces an age-old storyline of the mentor who brings people to a new awareness of themselves, so audiences will recognize its similarities to musicals such as The Sound of Music and The Music Man.

“As one of the actors in the show put it the other day, the movie is a Jack Black vehicle and focuses, literally and figuratively, on him,” Roland said. “Everyone around him is mostly peripheral. The musical goes a bit further by enlarging the world around Dewey, making the kids as much of the center of the show as he is. What musicals do is let you into the characters’ minds through song, digging a little deeper into their psyches, revealing hopes and fears.”

The character Finn—desperately stealing the identity of his roommate as a substitute teacher just to make ends meet—teaches his students some unconventional yet valuable life lessons by making them realize they live under too many rules, constraints and over-scheduled expectations.

“In breaking down those conventions, the students find gifts within themselves they were previously unaware of,” Roland said. “They grow in talent and confidence. Even Dewey, the initially self-serving freeloader, has an awakening in that he realizes he has much to give when it comes to music. It’s a very heartwarming story with a great score by Andrew Lloyd Webber who, as some may remember, started out with the classic rock ‘n’ roll musical Jesus Christ Superstar. He goes back to his rock roots with School of Rock and leaves you singing along.”

Actors playing in a band
Four of the kid actors play their own drums, bass, guitar and keyboard in “School of Rock.”
Dewey Finn interacts with a student in School of Rock
“School of Rock embraces an age-old storyline of the mentor who brings people to a new awareness of themselves.

School of Rock performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17–Saturday, July 20, and Thursday, July 25–Saturday, July 27, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21, and Sunday, July 28. Tickets for the July 17 preview performance are $25. Tickets for the other shows start at $45 with $10 in-person rush tickets offered for all performances starting one hour prior to curtain. The July 21 show includes American Sign Language interpretation. Tickets are available online at farmersalleytheatre.com or by calling the box office at 269.343.2727. The show contains some adult language, rock-associated themes and tweenage rebellion. It is recommended for ages 10 and up.

“I’m just very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the Farmers Alley team, all the new designers and, of course, the cast of extremely talented actors of Kalamazoo, Chicago and New York,” Roland said. “It’s a joy to watch them create moments in rehearsals: funny, touching, fierce, hopeful. I’m thrilled that this is the first Andrew Lloyd Webber musical I get to direct.”

‘Spelling Bee’ Musical Spells Opportunity with a K

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Starting Wednesday, opportunity will be spelled with a K for a local theatre company and several students at Kalamazoo College. That’s because K’s Festival Playhouse and Farmers Alley Theatre are joining forces for nine performances of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. 

The partnership is uniting K students with professional Actors’ Equity Association performers and stage workers who will present what Megan J. Herbst ’25 describes as a laugh-out-loud, super witty and heart-touching comedy about six socially outcast tweens.  

“The characters are trying to figure out their own personalities, they’re all competitive and they all love to spell,” said Herbst, who is working in a paid position as an associate assistant stage manager for the show. “There are a few additional supporting characters, but it’s a story of kids coming together and creating bonds between them. It’s easy to connect with so many elements of each character’s story. Even though they’re weird, you will find a soft spot for every one of them. We’ve had test audiences and every person who’s come to see it so far has loved it.” 

Herbst is a theatre and psychology double major and religion minor, who pursued acting from sixth grade through high school. When she arrived at K, she wanted to try something new within the theatre world. Since then, Herbst has served as a stage manager, assistant stage manager, scenic designer, fight captain, assistant costumer designer, performer and more for 11 shows with Festival Playhouse. Some of her favorites include Othello; Next to Normal; On the Exhale, a senior integrated project by Brooklyn Moore ‘24; and Be More Chill.

Herbst said her work—and that of several other K students—with Spelling Bee started nearly immediately after Be More Chill, the last Festival Playhouse production of the 2023–24 academic season, ended. That meant a rigorous schedule that included end-of-term academic work and preparing for finals in addition to the challenges of working on a musical, but every experience in working alongside Farmers Alley representatives has been valuable. 

“So many college students have summer jobs and I’m grateful that mine is something I’m passionate about,” Herbst said. “It’s a privilege to get to work on my craft because sometimes these opportunities can be far and few in between. I get to do what I love every day, so I’m fortunate that this is not only a paid opportunity, but an opportunity that exists at all. 

Six cast members from The 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee dressed as tweens for the show
“The characters are trying to figure out their own personalities, they’re all competitive and they all love to spell,” said Megan J. Herbst ’25, who is one of the students working on “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Photo by Klose2UPhotography.
Actress rehearses for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
“Spelling Bee” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12–Saturday, June 15; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 16; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20–Saturday, June 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23. Tickets are available online. Photo by Klose2UPhotography.
Actors rehearse at the Festival Playhouse
The partnership between the Festival Playhouse and Farmers Alley Theatre is uniting K students with professional Actors’ Equity Association performers and stage workers who will present what Herbst describes as a laugh-out-loud, super witty and heart-touching comedy. Photo by Klose2uPhotography.
Cast members rehearse at the Festival Playhouse
With “Spelling Bee,” Farmers Alley Theatre Executive Director Robert Weiner is directing a company production for the first time since “Avenue Q” in 2019. Photo by Klose2UPhotography.
Actors rehearse for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
Weiner says an equity theatre experience is valuable for students to learn from as it follows a set of guidelines from the union that students need to be aware of if they ever work for a professional theatre. Photo by Klose2UPhotography.
Actors rehearse for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
“We hire talented artists from all over the country, even directors and actors who have worked on Broadway. To have the ability to watch and learn from these established veterans of the theatre scene is invaluable, not to mention the talented artists we hire locally,” Weiner said of the opportunity for K students. Photo by Klose2uPhotography.

“What people don’t understand about stage management is that there is somebody verbally making everything happen,” she added. “There’s somebody saying, ‘Lights down, go. Fog machine, go.’ Everything is controlled by multiple people. But what’s important about our job is that people don’t notice us. Stage management and all of the backstage crew are responsible for making things run as smoothly as possible, so the audience has a truly immersive and magical experience. If you see a truly great show and don’t catch any issues, then it’s either because we did our job well or caught any mistakes before you could. There’s as much talent offstage of any show as there is on stage.” 

Robert Weiner, a founder and executive director of Farmers Alley, says an equity theatre experience is valuable for students to learn from as it follows a set of guidelines from the union that students need to be aware of if they ever work for a professional theatre. 

“We hire talented artists from all over the country, even directors and actors who have worked on Broadway,” Weiner said. “To have the ability to watch and learn from these established veterans of the theatre scene is invaluable, not to mention the talented artists we hire locally.” 

With Spelling Bee, Weiner is directing a company production for the first time since Avenue Q in 2019. 

“Because of audience participation—we invite four members of the audience for each show to ‘compete’ alongside our spellers in the bee—every show has a new feeling where anything could happen,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate during the rehearsal process to have some K students volunteer their time to be guest spellers and they’ve had fun participating. Also, this is the best sounding group of singers I’ve ever heard in a production of Spelling Bee. There are a couple of numbers like Pandemonium or The I Love You Song that are very challenging, and these performers absolutely crush it every single time. The show is like a warm hug that will have you leaving the theatre in a good mood. I really hope K students take advantage of our student and rush tickets. It’s a guaranteed fun evening!” 

Weiner previously directed Farmers Alley productions such as [title of show], The Toxic Avenger, Fully Committed, All in the Timing and A Grand Night for Singing. However, he is eager for the experience of bringing productions like Spelling Bee—and School of Rock later this summer—to a larger venue. 

“We are so grateful to be performing at the Festival Playhouse all summer with Spelling Bee and School of Rock,” Weiner said. “The main draw was the added stage space and audience capacity. School of Rock features 30 performers, including 15 students aged 11–16, and our small, intimate space downtown just wouldn’t be viable for a show of that magnitude. There are lots of challenges producing a show not in our space, including set building and load-in off site and all the intricacies of this unique space to adjust to. Thankfully, Professor of Theatre Lanny Potts and the entire K staff have been so welcoming and the whole process has been a win-win. 

“One thing I’ve noticed about K students is how kind and accepting they are,” he added. “Theatre attracts individuals of all kinds. We want to make Farmers Alley Theatre a space for all, and from my purview, it looks like K does the same. They’re smart, hard-working and willing to adapt and problem solve while keeping a positive attitude.” 

If Herbst and Weiner have piqued your interest, performances of Spelling Bee are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12–Saturday, June 15; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 16; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20–Saturday, June 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23. The performance Sunday, June 16, includes American Sign Language interpretation. Tickets are available online. 

“Why should you see it? This show is flat-out fun,” Weiner said. “There are catchy songs with clever lyrics, quirky characters, lots of laughs and a fair amount of heart. Plus, it’s only 90 minutes long. It really is a perfect little evening of summer entertainment.”  

Silent Film Festival Spotlights K Student’s Creativity

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Ryan Muschler '25 (from left), Audrey Schulz '25 and Josie Checkett '25 act in a scene from "A Deadly Affair."
Ryan Muschler ’25 (from left), Audrey Schulz ’25 and Josie Checkett ’25 act in a scene from “A Deadly Affair,” an award-winning film by Grace Cancro ’25. Watch the film.
The title screen for "A Deadly Affair"
Cancro’s film “A Deadly Affair” was screened at the Redford Theatre in Suburban Detroit during the International Youth Silent Film Festival.

Fade in. Night. New York City. A handsome man bearing a striking resemblance to Humphrey Bogart wears a fedora and trench coat. He wanders through a foggy Central Park, pondering the recent film successes of Kalamazoo College student Grace Cancro ’25. He realizes that she won her age group at the International Youth Silent Film Festival’s Detroit regional and received an honorable mention in the Kazoo 48 competition. He also recognizes her potential as a screenwriter, playwriter, producer and director, which could make hers a household name.

He smiles and says, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

OK, so that script was never written, and the line belongs to a movie made more than 80 years ago. But Cancro has had an interest in classic movies—starring actors like Bogart—her entire life and her recent competitive success, starting with a family influence, is undeniable.

“I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ respective houses and watched Turner Classic Movies for hours with my grandpa,” Cancro said. “I’ve also done theatre my whole life.”

With her love for the theatrical, the Redford Theatre—an art deco-decorated site in suburban Detroit that shows classic movies and plays, commonly featuring an organ that rises from the floor—is a significant place for her. Cancro notes that it’s where she saw Singin’ in the Rain for the first time. Plus, she and Audrey Schulz ’25 tried out there to be extras—by cheering during a boxing match—for a film that ultimately was shelved.

Now the Redford marks the spot where her own film, A Deadly Affair, was chosen as one of 20 finalists at the Detroit regional competition for the International Youth Silent Film Festival. It ultimately won the category for 19- to 22-year-old entrants, beating out filmmakers from most of the eastern half of the country. Cancro earned a cash prize, a plaque, a certificate, and a chance to compete June 9 in Portland, Oregon, at the festival’s next level.

“My mom and I are going to fly out to Portland together. There will be a parade and a dinner, and the contest is a really big thing for me,” Cancro said.

International Youth Silent Film Festival organizers provided entrants with three minutes of organ music across a variety of genres. Cancro—a theatre arts and English double major with a film and media studies concentration—chose film noir for her silent film. She then assembled some excited friends and shot A Deadly Affair near her residence, in downtown Kalamazoo near the walking mall, and in Bronson Park. Ian Burr ’24 served as the director of photography, also called a cinematographer. Schulz portrayed a wife betrayed by her on-screen husband, Ryan Muschler ’25. Schulz’s character meets up with her husband’s mistress, played by Josie Checkett ’25. Together, they decide to kill the husband.

After the screening, Cancro awaited word of her placement.

“They had the awards at the end and I was super nervous,” Cancro said. “I held my friends’ hands and I apologized if I squeezed so hard that I crushed a bone. Then, they called my name. It was the coolest experience, because six years after we tried out as extras, we were seeing Audrey’s name and mine while watching her face on the screen.”

Since the Detroit competition, she also has participated in the Kazoo 48, a film festival that challenges entrants to take an assigned genre, prop, character quirk, location and line of dialogue, and create a short film in just 48 hours. Her film-making team included Burr, Muschler, Schulz, James Hauke ’26, Aidan Baas ’23, Michael Robertson ’25, Abby Nelson ’24, Jakob Hubert ’25 and Mabel Bowdle ’25.

“Our genre was fantasy, so Michael Robertson’s character got super high and thought he was in a fantasy quest to build a stop sign,” Cancro said. “It was shot at Ian’s house, on the street and at Lowe’s. Michael went to Lowe’s to buy a shovel to put his stop sign in the ground. We had to go to Lowe’s with everyone in full fantasy gear. We wrote it on Friday night, shot it Saturday, edited it Saturday night and Sunday, and turned it in around 5:55 on Sunday when it was due at 6.”

The team was forced to enter the professional category because a couple of its members had earned money for film productions in the past, so in the end they couldn’t beat out film-production companies to win the contest. However, they were awarded with Best Use of Character for Hubert’s role as a character who gave advice in rhyme.

Cancro appreciates the opportunities she’s had at K that have developed her passion and skill at filmmaking. Her sophomore year, she participated in the New York Arts study away program, and she studied abroad in London her junior year. A playwriting class led by Assistant Professor of Theatre Quincy Thomas performed part of her self-written play—Sincerely, Scott—two years ago, leading her to create a 10-minute play festival for students, featuring the full play. Based partly on Cancro’s own life, the piece pondered what a man recovering from alcoholism might say in a letter to a daughter he’s never known before the two agree to meet. That festival will continue in its second year on June 1 with additional plays, comedy sketches and puppetry.

Now, armed with all these experiences, Cancro wants to return to New York, a place where she feels at home with many professional contacts, to film a mental-health themed Senior Integrated Project this summer. She plans to move there after graduation, hoping to mix in grad school while working in the film industry, perhaps with the nonprofit Women Make Movies (WMM), which distributes artistically significant films to audiences with a focus on uplifting the voices of the underrepresented.

Cancro has already worked with Women Make Movies in two internships with the first arranged through the New York Arts Program thanks in part to her software design experience in work study through K’s theater department. She then lived in a K graduate’s apartment last summer to work in a second internship with WMM. But whether it be through individual projects or a permanent job, Cancro recognizes the power of film, her talents and interests, and how they might combine to benefit society.

“Theater and film have the power to make people feel things and feel seen and that’s what it’s done for me,” Cancro said. “There’s merit in the adventure films that have CGI and explosions and all that. But I like to focus on the stuff that’s closer to the human experience, whether that be just my experience that I’m putting into a character on the screen or someone else’s experience. I want to put that into my art and have people watch it, think about it for long after, and feel it.”

Grace Cancro receives a plaque at the International Youth Silent Film Festival in Detroit
Cancro received a plaque for winning the Detroit regional of the International Youth Silent Film Festival in her age group.
Grace Cancro receives a plaque at the International Youth Silent Film Festival in Detroit
Checkett and Schulz congratulate Cancro as she receives a plaque from the International Youth Silent Film Festival.
Filmmaker Grace Cancro '25 works with Josie Checkett '25
Filmmaker Grace Cancro ’25 works with Audrey Schulz ’25 for Cancro’s award-winning film, “A Deadly Affair.”
Grace Cancro receives a plaque at the International Youth Silent Film Festival in Detroit
Cancro is announced as the winner in the category for 19- to 22-year-old filmmakers in the International Youth Silent Film Festival Detroit regional.

Alum’s Musical ‘Be More Chill’ Opens Thursday at Festival Playhouse

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A Broadway musical written by a Kalamazoo College alumnus who is influencing the entertainment industry will run Thursday, May 16–Sunday, May 19, at K’s Festival Playhouse.

Be More Chill, which features music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz ’04, will spotlight Max Wright ’26 as Jeremy Heere. Jeremy is an average teenager until he discovers the Squip, a supercomputer that promises to bring him everything he desires including a date with Christine Canigula, played by Brooklyn Moore ’24, along with an invitation to the party of the year and a chance to enjoy life in his suburban New Jersey high school.

The musical concludes the academic year for the Playhouse’s 60th season, which has been themed “Systems as Old as Time.” It also has featured plays such as Playhouse Creatures and The Dutchman, which explore the harmful systems that hold back the oppressed while highlighting the ways that joy, laughter and solidarity can exist and thrive despite those systems.

Caleb Allen ’25 is serving Be More Chill as its dramaturg by assisting Director Quincy Thomas, a K assistant professor of theatre arts, in teaching the actors about the play’s characters and settings. Allen said the musical references some pop culture from the 1980s—including retro drinks such as Ecto Cooler, games such as Pac-Man and actors such as Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci—but it has themes that are relatable for all audiences.

“It’s very much a play about finding yourself in high school,” he said. “There’s obviously a lot of fun with it, but there’s also a deep, sad story that probably resonates with a lot of people. Even the characters who are portrayed as cool in the play definitely have their own issues and everyone deals with negative self-talk.”

Another K alumnus, Grinnell College Professor of Theatre and Design Justin Thomas ’01, will serve as a Be More Chill scenic designer.

Tracz is well known for being a writer and co-executive producer on the Disney+ series adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. He previously created the Netflix series Dash & Lily and served as its showrunner. He also worked on the Netflix version of A Series of Unfortunate Events as a writer and producer, and next will work as a co-showrunner for Season 2 of the live action version of One Piece on Netflix. His other theatre credits include The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, for which he was a Drama Desk award nominee for outstanding book.

Tracz “feels almost like a mythological figure to me,” Allen said. “Just being from the same school is exciting. I definitely have friends from outside of K, who are surprised to know that he went here, and he’s worked on a lot since then. It’s inspiring to see he came from roots like this to go into what he’s doing now.”

Be More Chill is presented through an arrangement with Concord Theatricals. Shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday–Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333. K students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a College ID. Adult tickets are $25, seniors are $20 and children younger than 12 are $5. Thursday’s performance will include a sign language interpreter. Please note that the play contains language and situations that may be triggering, including adult themes and the use of haze, flashing images and strobe lights.

Be More Chill photo shows Max Wright as Jeremy Heere and Zachary Ufkes '24 as the mask-wearing supercomputer, the Squip.
Max Wright ’26 portrays Jeremy Heere and Zachary Ufkes ’24 is a supercomputer called the Squip in “Be More Chill,” running Thursday-Sunday at Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse. Photos by Andy Krieger of Inspired Media.
Be More Chill actors
Tickets to “Be More Chill” are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333. Photos by by Andy Krieger of Inspired Media.

‘Dutchman’ Puts Racism, Black Identity Center Stage

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Black identity, racism and allusions to the slave trade will be put center stage this week when Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse presents Dutchman.

The 1964 play—written by Amiri Baraka, who then was known as LeRoi Jones—is the second of the Festival Playhouse’s 60th season, which has a theme of “Systems as Old as Time,” focusing on the harmful systems that hold back the oppressed and how people fight against them.

The plot features Clay, a 20-year-old, college-educated Black man portrayed by Jared Pittman ’20, who also played Martin Luther King, Jr. last winter in the Festival Playhouse’s production of The Mountaintop. Pittman notes that Clay is traveling on the subway to a friend’s house for a get-together when he meets Lula, a young white woman.

“He’s shy and timid upon his introduction to Lula on the train, given the racial climate during the 1960s,” Pittman said. “He’s polished in his three-piece suit and speaks with great intellect. Clay doesn’t want to be grouped amongst the stereotype of Black men, so he makes a conscious effort to be above the stereotype.”

Abigail Nelson '24 and Jared Pittman '20 portray Lula and Clay respectively in the Festival Playhouse production of Dutchman
Abigail Nelson ’24 and Jared Pittman ’20 portray Lula and Clay in the Festival Playhouse production of “Dutchman” being staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 29–Saturday, March 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3.

Lula, however, played by Abigail Nelson ’24, is symbolic of white America during the Civil Rights Movement. She enters the train eating an apple beginning references to Adam and Eve that occur throughout the play as Clay attempts to be his own man even though his name might suggest that he should be easily shaped and molded.

“She’s very flirtatious with Clay, and although he is shy, he is intrigued by Lula, so he entertains her advances,” Pittman said. “She has a bipolar personality, and it keeps Clay on his toes, not really knowing if she is joking or serious. This allows her to antagonize Clay, and ultimately push him over the edge.”

The play is guest directed by Anthony J. Hamilton, a former visiting assistant professor of theatre arts at K and guest professor and director at Western Michigan University. His career directing credits include The Piano Lesson, The 1940s Radio Hour and Once on This Island at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre; Into the Woods and Skeleton Crew at WMU; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at Hackett Catholic Prep; Grandma’s Quilt and Playwright’s Competition at the Negro Ensemble Company in New York; and Next to Normal at the Festival Playhouse last spring.

Dutchman will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 29–Saturday, March 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, in the Festival Playhouse Theatre at 129 Thompson St. Thursday’s show will include American Sign Language interpretation and an audience talkback.

Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333. K students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a College ID. Adult tickets are $25, seniors are $20 and children younger than 12 are $5. Audiences should be aware that the play’s content includes adult language, themes and situations that include simulated violence and may be triggering.

Pittman said that audiences are certain to appreciate the performances, even as they provoke a profound emotional response. “I think those who come to see the show, should know that this is theatre, and we are people portraying characters,” he said. “Although a very real experience for some people, we ask that the audience members provide the performers with grace. We’ve worked hard to tell this iconic story and we understand the sensitivity of it all.”

Festival Playhouse Opens 60th Season with ‘Playhouse Creatures’

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The curtain will rise beginning Thursday on a production that’s based on historical figures, but not historical fact, at Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse.

Playhouse Creatures begins in 1669 as theatres in England are reopening after 17 years of Puritan suppression under a regime led by Oliver Cromwell. The Restoration Era is beginning with a monarchy re-established under King Charles II, who declares that women—for the first time in England—should be the actors in female-identifying roles.

The play examines five of the most famous actresses of the English stage to provide a moving and often comic account of the trailblazers. The characters include Doll Common, played by Brooklyn Moore ’24; Nell Gwynn, played by Jericho Trevino ’27; Mrs. Mary Betterton, played by Abby Nelson ’24; Mrs. Rebecca Marshall, played by Cameo Green ’24; and Mrs. Elizabeth Farley, played by May Moe Tun ’25.

Playhouse Creatures is the first play slated for the Festival Playhouse’s 60th season, which features a theme of “Systems as Old as Time,” focusing on the harmful systems that hold back the oppressed and how people fight against them. It will highlight the ways that joy, laughter and solidarity can still exist and thrive despite those systems.

Actors rehearse for "Playhouse Creatures" at the Festival Playhouse stage
Jericho Trevino ’27 (left) and May Moe Tun ’25 rehearse for “Playhouse Creatures,” which runs Thursday, November 2–Sunday, November 5, at the Festival Playhouse.

“Nell Gwynn, our main character, became an incredibly influential figure in English society, but she starts the show in a very low place, and we see her rise,” said Max Wright ’26, who is serving as the play’s dramaturg. “We also see the difference between the young, new actors and the women who were older after acting early in the Restoration.”

Wright is stepping into a production role for the first time. However, they have been acting since fourth grade and they were a featured actor in the Festival Playhouse show of Othello last year. Their responsibilities for this production include a lobby display that provides basic historical context, a brief look back on women in theater, and a view into the lives that the real-life characters led.

“It’s a very heavy show, but I think a lot of it is about overcoming the constraints that are placed on you and still making your way in the world, while finding your own place despite someone else’s expectations and the hardships you have to go through,” Wright said. “It’s very focused on the community aspect of how women have leaned on each other and the sisterhood of feminism in history.”

The play will be staged at 7:30 p.m. on November 2–4, and at 2 p.m. November 5, in the Festival Playhouse Theatre at 129 Thompson St. Thursday’s show will include American Sign Language interpretation in a performance made possible with support from Theatre Kalamazoo and the James Gilmore Foundation. Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333.  Audiences should be aware that the play’s content includes flashing lights and situations including abortion and simulated violence.

“Theatre in general is a wonderful experience because it tells stories in ways that can’t be done elsewhere,” Wright said. “The aspect of live theatre—of physically seeing a story played out in front of you—is a form of communication that we’ve had throughout history. That is how we share our culture. That is how we share our community. That is how we share the stories of ourselves in our past. This is one of the stories of our past and it was a crucial point in time for women and theatre in general.”

Sister Pie Bakery Owner to Speak at Convocation

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Lisa Ludwinski ’06, owner of Detroit’s nationally recognized bakery, Sister Pie, will deliver the keynote at Kalamazoo College’s 2023 Convocation on September 7 at 3 p.m.

Ludwinski launched Sister Pie out of her parents’ Milford, Michigan, kitchen at Thanksgiving 2012. The business grew steadily, and in April 2015, Sister Pie opened its doors in a corner shop at Kercheval Avenue and Parker Street in the historic West Village neighborhood in Detroit. Known for its seasonally influenced sweet and savory pies as well as unique cookies, the shop has been featured in The Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, Eater, Bloomberg News, The New York Times and Bon Appetit.

In 2015, Ludwinski, who earned a B.A. in theatre arts at Kalamazoo College, was named one of the best chefs in the United States in Eater’s national Young Guns contest. She has also been nominated several times for a James Beard Award and was a finalist in 2019.

The Sister Pie cookbook, published in 2018, was a 2019 Michigan Notable Award-winning book, finalist for the International Association of Culinary Professionals award, and named one of the best cookbooks of the year by the New York Times and Chicago Tribune.

Ludwinski was recognized among the 2019 Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 honorees, focused on those who target important Michigan issues such as technology, inclusivity and opportunity for all. In 2019, Sister Pie partnered with Alternatives for Girls, which serves homeless and high-risk girls and young women, both donating funds and holding baking workshops for program participants.

Ludwinski and her bakers experiment with nontraditional flavor combinations and seasonal options that promote Michigan’s varied agriculture. They consider themselves a triple bottom line business, focusing on employees, environment and the economy. The bakery also supports a Neighborhood Fund, which helps to subsidize neighborhood and senior discounts, as well as food donations for a community fridge and freezer for the West Village and Islandview neighborhoods—just one way Ludwinski and Sister Pie are helping make Detroit sweeter, one slice at a time.

Sister Pie Bakery Owner Lisa Ludwinski
Alumna Lisa Ludwinski ’06, the owner of Detroit’s Sister Pie bakery, will speak at 3 p.m. September 7 at Kalamazoo College’s Convocation.

Convocation marks the start of the academic year and formally welcomes first-year students to campus.  President Jorge G. Gonzalez, Provost Danette Ifert Johnson, Dean of Admission Suzanne Lepley and Dean of Students J. Malcolm Smith will also welcome attendees. Chaplain Elizabeth Candido ’00 will provide an invocation. All students, families, faculty and staff are invited to attend.

Convocation will be held in person on the College’s Quad and will be available to livestream.

‘Next to Normal’ Completes Season Focused on Mental Health

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The Festival Playhouse will present the capstone to its 59th season with four performances of Next to Normal from Thursday, May 18–Sunday, May 21, at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St.

The rock musical centers on Diana, a suburban woman struggling with worsening bipolar disorder and its effects on her family. The show has themes of grief, depression, suicide, drug abuse and psychiatric ethics, making it ideal for concluding a season themed Mental Health Matters. After an off-Broadway debut in 2008, Next to Normal opened on Broadway in 2009, earning 11 Tony nominations and three awards along with the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Visiting Assistant Professor Anthony J. Hamilton will serve as the musical’s director. Hamilton made his New York directorial debut in a production titled Grandma’s Quilt with the Negro Ensemble Company in 2020. He has directing and choreography credits from the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre including Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 2011, Once on This Island in 2019, The 1940s Radio Hour in 2021, The Piano Lesson and Newsies in 2022, and A Raisin in the Sun in 2023.

“It isn’t a typical rock opera or musical, but I think those who come will get something out of it, which is that ‘mental health matters’ component,” Hamilton said. “I think young people especially are championing the idea that it matters, and because we’re presenting it at a college, it will be interesting to see how students react to this piece.”

Dramaturg Isaiah Calderon ’26 says the play doesn’t shy away from some horrible experiences while it tackles issues surrounding both mental health and the modern-day medical industry.

“This broad scope of focus might detract from the narrative efficiency of another play, but Next to Normal handles its eclectic storytelling in a way that leaves everything thoroughly explored,” Calderon said. “All the pieces are brought together by the acknowledgement of human imperfection and the fact that even though it may be tempting, the perfection we strive for is neither attainable nor ideal. Its presentation intends to affect its viewer in a way that feels a bit overwhelming, but upon examination, is refreshingly direct. Its intensity and refusal to compromise drive home its points perfectly.”

Sophia Merchant ’25 will play Diana, the matriarch of her nuclear family, in the musical’s lead.

“What’s great about working on a show at a place like K instead of a place like Western, where everyone is a theatre major, is that we have psychology majors and engineers, our state manager is pre-med, and we have all of these different backgrounds coming together to put on this show,” Hamilton said.

The play will be staged at 7:30 p.m. May 18–20 and at 2 p.m. May 21. Tickets are available online or by calling the Festival Playhouse at 269.337.7333.

Sophia Merchant sings during Founders Day at Stetson Chapel
Sophia Merchant ’25 will play Diana, a character who deals with mental health issues including worsening bipolar disorder, in the upcoming production of “Next to Normal.”
Image advertising play about mental health says, "Next to Normal" by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt
The Festival Playhouse will stage “Next to Normal” at 7:30 p.m. May 18–20 and at 2 p.m. May 21.

Playhouse’s 60th Season to Spotlight Alum’s Broadway Musical

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The Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College is celebrating a milestone season in the 2023–24 academic year by staging a Broadway musical written by an alumnus among its three productions before hosting Farmers Alley Theatre for another musical.

The theme for its 60th season is “Systems as Old as Time,” which will focus on the harmful systems that hold back the oppressed and how people fight against them. The Playhouse will highlight the ways that joy, laughter and solidarity can still exist and thrive despite those systems.

“The ‘Systems as Old as Time’ theme is a both/and: it both harkens to our 60th anniversary and recognizes the frighteningly repetitive nature of oppressive systems,” Professor of Theatre Lanny Potts said. “Theatre uniquely has the opportunity to help us explore, as a community, oppressive systemic structures.”

The season will open in fall with Playhouse Creatures, written by April De Angelis and directed by Professor of Theatre Arts Ren Pruis. Set in 1669, the play focuses on five women who were some of the first English actresses to appear on stage after Puritan oppression. It explores the lives of the trailblazers and their fight for power and agency in a patriarchal society.

Musical writer Joe Tracz '04
Alumnus Joe Tracz ’04 wrote the musical “Be More Chill,” which will be one of three Festival Playhouse productions in its 60th season along with “Playhouse Creatures” and “Pipeline.” The Playhouse also will host the Farmers Alley Theatre for its production of “School of Rock,” which will give students a chance to work alongside local and Actors Equity professionals.

The second show, scheduled for the winter term, will be Pipeline, written by Dominique Morisseau and directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Anthony Hamilton. It is the story of a mother’s fight to help give her son a future without turning her back on the community that made him who he is. It confronts the damages of a rigged school-to-prison pipeline and emphasizes the importance of bringing the conversations surrounding it to the forefront of our institutions.

In a college premier, the third show will be the Broadway musical Be More Chill, directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Quincy Thomas. This rock sci-fi story about growing up, high school and what people do to get what they want is written by K alumnus Joe Tracz ’04. He is updating the play to license it to K, and another alumnus, Grinnell College Professor of Theatre and Design Justin Thomas ’01, will join the production as its scenic designer.

Then, after the academic season, Farmers Alley Theatre will produce School of Rock on the Playhouse stage. The opportunity will allow students to work alongside local and Actors Equity professionals, as they did in 1964 during the first Festival Playhouse season. Based on the film starring Jack Black, the School of Rock musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed rock star who decides to earn money by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. At the school, he turns a class of bright and well-accomplished students into a rock band.

“Our 60th season explores misogyny, patriarchy, racism, redlining and the schools to prison complex, bullying, social shaming and conformism,” Potts said. “And we look forward to connecting with our community partners and campus as we explore complex themes in ways that help us to better comprehend, and as accomplices, move forward to dismantle these oppressive systems.”

Festival Playhouse to Stage ‘The Mountaintop’

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A fictional play coming to Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse will invoke one of history’s greatest civil rights leaders and consider how he might have viewed his own legacy the night before he was killed.

Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Dr. Quincy Thomas will direct The Mountaintop, a two-actor play about Martin Luther King Jr. and his mark on history, for the Festival Playhouse’s winter production this month.

“One of the interesting things about this play is that none of the lines from it are Dr. King’s,” Thomas said. “When we’re dealing with Black narratives, it’s important to remember that the most recognizable ones have been done a particular way many times. We don’t really need another true-to-life depiction of Dr. King. I think (playwright) Katori Hall knew that and thought to herself, here’s an opportunity to tell a human version of Dr. Martin Luther King that we’ve never seen. Like a great dramaturg would, she did a ton of research to create who Dr. King is, so it’s founded on truth. But the story is a creative reimagining of Dr. King.”

The play’s title refers to the 1968 speech King delivered to a Memphis church congregation during the city’s sanitation workers’ strike. Through it, King admitted he expected difficult days ahead in the civil rights movement, but he wasn’t worried. Instead, he was focused on the mountaintop, a symbol for a promised land of a desirable, equitable society created through God’s will.

In the play, King—played by K alumnus Jared Pittman ’20—retires to room 306 at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968. A young hotel maid, Camae, played by Milan Levy ’23, visits him during the night and they flirt.

“Even after it was performed, (Katori Hall) still got backlash because all of a sudden there’s a Martin Luther King who smells his shoes and realizes that they stink; who one minute is trying to get a hold of his wife and the next is having flirtatious conversations with a stranger,” Thomas said. “He’s smoking, he’s drinking, and a lot of people don’t want the iconography of Martin Luther King tarnished. But this play asks us to consider our private life versus our public life. It asks us to consider Martin Luther King the icon versus Martin Luther King the man. I think the playwright didn’t give us a depiction of a King we are used to seeing, but one that is very resonant, attainable and recognizable.”

Camae later reveals a surprise to King that forces him to confront his own and society’s future.

“On the surface, it doesn’t seem like the two have a lot in common,” Thomas said. “We then find out Martin Luther King has to come to terms with his iconic status based on what Camae reveals. He has to see that despite everything he’s done, he is saddled with mortality and that’s painful. Anytime anyone does a remake of Romeo and Juliet, we watch it despite knowing how it’s going to end. We know how this show ends the moment we find out that it’s Martin Luther King. He is sent somebody who’s going to take him on to the next chapter of his journey, and when you’re so special that you get that kind of treatment, that’s humbling. At the same time, he’s not going to talk his way out of dying.”

Pittman and Levy will shape the main characters on stage, while Caleb Allen ’25 will ensure the audience understands the history involved, the scenes, their words and their historical points of reference through lobby displays as the play’s dramaturg.

“Caleb has been with us since the week of table work and he’s at every rehearsal,” Thomas said. “He’s doing a lot of historical work about the Lorraine Hotel, about Memphis, about the sanitation strike, and about who King is and who he was. There’s a lot of King’s work that is implied, and Caleb will help us make sure, for this particular audience, that nothing is lost in translation.”

The production will be staged at the Playhouse, 129 Thompson St., at 7:30 p.m. from Thursday, February 23–Saturday, February 25, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, February 26. Tickets are available online or by calling 269.337.7333. Please note that attendees must wear a mask and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination.

“At the end of the day, I think my job is to ensure that the audience walks away understanding that Martin Luther King was a man who had done great things that shaped his legacy, but he was a man,” Thomas said. “He wasn’t perfect. Our Black heroes don’t have to be perfect. One of the things we never talk about with Martin Luther King is the way the life he lived affected him physically. In the play, it’s thundering outside and there are multiple times where he thinks that the thunder is a gunshot. There’s a moment when he hyperventilates because he thought he had been shot. There are places in the script where he’s checking to see if his room is bugged. He’s double checking the lock. He’s double checking the chain. He was a great man. But he was also a man with flaws and fears. I think I would like our audience to understand that because Dr. Martin Luther King was a man who became an icon, every person can be an agent of change because agents of change don’t have to be perfect.”

Actors rehearse for "The Mountaintop" in a black-and-white photo
Jared Pittman ’20 portrays Martin Luther King Jr. and Milan Levy ’23 plays Camae the maid in the upcoming production of “The Mountaintop.”

Walking in Memphis

  • Members of the Festival Playhouse production team for The Mountaintop visited room 306 of the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King Jr. spent his last night alive, which is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. They also toured the museum of soul music Stax, the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, and a Smithsonian exhibit highlighting the birthplace of Memphis blues and soul music. 
  • In the top photo, director Quincy Thomas, stage manager Isaiah Calderon, assistant director Brooklyn Moore, assistant scenic designer Julia Holt, publicity and marketing director Marquisha James, head usher Marilu Bueno, dramaturg Caleb Allen, projection designer James Hauke and sound board operator Davis Henderson meet with civil-rights legend Jacqueline Smith. Smith was evicted from the Lorraine Motel, along with her possessions, in 1968 and has protested there for 35 years.  
  • In the bottom photo, Marquisha James poses in front of the Lorraine Hotel at the National Civil Rights Museum.