Alex E. Price

The summer of 2015 is looking to be the best summer yet! This year's Summer lineup of theater is stellar! Take a look at my top 5 picks of Summer Theater that you should check out as you relax under the heat and soak up the sun!

This past Wednesday and Thursday, South Bend was graced with the National Tour of "Beauty and the Beast" presented by NETworks. By far one of the best Disney animated films of its time, "Beauty and the Beast" presents the tale of a princess who is smart, confident, and doesn't need saved by Prince Charming. With a more mature theme and characters, Disney presented us with one of the best love stories of all time. "Beauty and the Beast" came roaring with beauty onto the Morris Performing Arts Center stage, and fans and audience members couldn't get enough of this stunning performance. I absolutely loved the revamped production of NETworks, "Beauty and the Beast" with direction by Rob Roth.

The Knights of the Round Table brought a hilarious production to the stage at the South Bend Civic Theater on March 14, 2015. Monty Python's Spamalot was opened on the South Bend Civic stage on March 13th, and will continue to run until April 4th. This zany musical brought great humor, acting, and vocals from a talented cast directed by Mark Abram-Copenhaver.

On Saturday February 28th, I had the privilege to travel to Valparaiso, Indiana to see the third weekend of "Les Miserables" at the Memorial Opera House. This sung through musical based on the novel written by French Poet and Novelist, Victor Hugo, brought the house down with the amazing vocals, and set of this production. As popular as this musical is in the community theater world, Memorial Opera House put their own twist on it and made it a good production.

On February 27, 2015, the Premier Arts located in Elkhart, Indiana opened the musical, "Harriet The Musical" for the world to see for the very first time. This new musical, with an all-local creative team, impressed the audience with its original score, and original book. This musical presented a Historical Fiction take of the life of Harriet Tubman, a true American Hero who lived during the 1800's in the time of slavery. Premier Arts took on this giant task of writing an original musical, and succeeded in bringing it to life on stage this weekend in Elkhart.

Penn High School sure brought those dancing feet in their performance of '42nd Street'! After two cancelations, and a lot of cold weather, The Penn High School Theater Department finally opened their 2015 Spring Musical, '42nd Street' on Saturday February 21st. Even with the diversity and challenges faced during the week, this cast brought it all and gave one of the best performances I've ever seen at a high school level. Sitting in the audience, I got chills as I saw each and every performer on stage give it their all and perform the best show they could.

While it may be cold outside in Northern Indiana, things are heating up at Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana, as they get ready to open, "Les Miserables" opening on Friday February 13, 2015 with a run of 12 performances. This sung through musical based on the novel written by French Poet and Novelist, Victor Hugo, is sure to bring you all the excitement that you would hope for from this production. This production will feature a cast of over 30, and direction by Scot MacDonald of The Memorial Opera House.

Looking for a place to 'act out' in 2015? The Main Stage, Inc. could be the place for you. The Main Stage is kicking it into gear with their 2015 season, and there's no slowing them down! They have included four productions, as well as a youth summer camp that will take place in June of 2015. I recently sat down with the Executive Director of The Main Stage, Jon West, to find out what makes this season much more special than the previous years. Let's take a look at the 2015 season for The Main Stage, Inc.

Are you stuck inside, freezing, with nothing to do this winter? While the Northern Indiana weather is keeping us frozen, theaters are starting to heat up with the beginning of their 2015 seasons. I will get the pleasure to be bringing you reviews of these productions as they draw nearer, but here is a preview of productions we are looking forward to in the South Bend Region in February and March.