Michigan Interviews

Chicago is returning to Wharton Center this week, from April 8-13. BroadwayWorld Michigan interviewed Connor Sullivan, who plays Billy Flynn....

Life of Pi, the new play based on the book of the same name, is being hosted at the Wharton Center from March 11th to 16th. Life of Pi opened in the West End in 2022, amassing 5 Olivier Awards (including Best New Play). It had a short stint on Broadway in 2023, where it ended up winning Best Scenic ...

East Lansing’s Wharton Center has officially announced their 2025-26 Broadway series. The season ticket package includes A Beautiful Noise, The Wiz, Back to the Future, Kimberly Akimbo, Clue & Juliet, Beauty and the Beast and Hadestown. ...

Avenue Q, the Tony-winning Best Musical in 2004, will be featured at National Broadway Theatre in Grand Rapids from November 22nd to December 1st....

On October 22nd, beloved stage and screen star Mandy Patinkin is performing his solo concert entitled Being Alive at East Lansing’s Wharton Center....

The ever-iconic musical Les Misérables is making its way back to Wharton Center this week only, October 8th to 13th. BroadwayWorld Michigan had the pleasure of speaking with Nick Cartell, who plays Jean Valjean in the current national tour of Les Misérables....

Ryan Noggle describes the core of Pete Rose's career highs and ultimate downfall: 'I loved the idea that what made Pete great was the same thing that made him crumble. Which was the desire never to give up and fight to the end.' It was his greatest asset and his biggest flaw.'...

Godspell, the Broadway musical written by Stephen Schwartz, is making its way to Flint this month in an exceptionally creative way....

GEARHEADS: The Musical, written by Michigan alumnus Dave Nettleman, is being showcased at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater from August 10-11th....

The Premier performance of GEARHEADS, playing at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre at the University of Michigan, is an original musical comedy, that follows the goings-on at an auto repair shop on a Saturday, when the shop’s owner and service manager are away, leaving the mechanics to run things. When ...

FIM Flint Repertory Theatre season closer, Spring Awakening, will run from June 7 - 23. Read our interview with the director of this production, Derek Van Barham! ...

Have you ever wondered where the story of “Rent” or “Love Story” came from? Puccini’s classic opera has inspired generations with its true-to-life story of Rodolfo and Mimi — star-crossed lovers. With the romantic score and soaring melodies of Puccini, La Bohéme is the perfect opera for opera fans a...

Wharton Center has officially announced their 2024-2025 Broadway series! It kicks off with Les Misérables, followed by Shucked, MJ, Life of Pi and Chicago. Add-on shows include Hamilton and The Book of Mormon....

From February 2nd to 18th, fortunate theatregoers can witness the world premiere of Into the Side of a Hill by award-winning playwright James Anthony Tyler at Flint Repertory Theatre....

From January 16th to 21st only, the iconic jukebox musical Mamma Mia! will be making its return to Michigan on its 25th Anniversary Tour....

This year, head over to Wharton Center from December 18-20 for the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season with your family – Cirque Dreams Holidaze....

LionHeart Productions is presenting Bright Star, a beautiful story about faith, hope, love and forgiveness. Written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. This Tony nominated show (nominated the same year as Wicked)  will have you tapping your toes to it’s country/bluegrass sound.   We had the chance to...

LionHeart Productions is presenting Bright Star, a beautiful story about faith, hope, love and forgiveness. Written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. This Tony nominated show (nominated the same year as Wicked)  will have you tapping your toes to it’s country/bluegrass sound.   We had the chance to...

From October 3rd to 8th only, you can catch playwright Aaron Sorkin's acclaimed new production of To Kill a Mockingbird at Wharton Center in East Lansing....

In this video, watch as Company national tour stars Britney Coleman and Judy McLane chat with Richard Ridge about their iconic roles, the genius of Sondheim, and so much more!...

In BroadwayWorld's exclusive interview, Maeve Moynihan discusses her journey and excitement of starring in the national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird. Read on to learn more about her experience and role as Scout....

In this video, watch as we catch up with star of the To Kill a Mockingbird National Tour, Richard Thomas! He chats about the importance of this story, why it still resonates with audiences, and so much more! ...

This month, two Michigan high school students, Jillian Armstrong and Mark Bonney, will compete in the Jimmy Awards®. Read our interview with them here!...

From June 9th to the 25th only, you can catch the modern Broadway classic Ragtime reimagined by the Flint Repertory Theatre....

What do you get when you have a ballet dancer who dreams of making it professionally and showing the world that guys can dance too?  You have a real-life Billy Elliot story, which is happening to someone who played the titular role of Billy on the West End back home in the UK, and is now here in the...

Wicked is finally coming back to East Lansing from May 10th through 28th. After premiering on Broadway in 2003, Wicked received 3 awards at the 2004 Tony Awards, and has been touring the continent ever since 2005....

April 18th through the 23rd only, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical comes to Wharton Center for the first time. Tina premiered in London in 2018 before moving to Broadway in 2019. Last fall, the national tour started its journey in theatres across North America....

Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple is a classic comedy in which a group of guys assembles for cards in the apartment of divorced Oscar Madison. And if the mess is any indication, it's no wonder that his wife left him. Late to arrive is Felix Unger, who has just been separated from his wife. Depressed, and ...

Making its Wharton Center debut March 14-19 is Beetlejuice, the modern cult classic musical based on the movie from 1988....

'You Oughta Know' that the 2019 Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill is making its Michigan debut at Wharton Center in East Lansing from January 31st to February 5th....

From December 13th to 18th, you won't want to be anywhere other than Wharton Center while the national tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical makes its East Lansing debut....

“The Voice” herself, Miss Sandi Patty winner of five Grammy® awards, and four Billboard Awards joins Grand Rapids Symphony for a one-night-only special Christmas concert Thursday, December 22, 2022, at 7:00 PM at DeVos Performance Hall. “Christmas Blessings” will feature classics such as “Silent Nig...

While it may not be your traditional Nutcracker, the production is set to Tchaikovsky’s score performed by a live 48-piece orchestra. This version mines E.T.A Hoffmann’s original story to recreate a world inspired by Charles Burns that is both funny and inventive. Performing December 3rd at 7:30 p....

Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella opens at the Grant Fine Arts Center this week, bringing back Lion Heart Productions’ first large-cast musical since Mamma Mia! In 2019.  The show is running 2 weekends, through November 12th, and is the new Broadway adaptation of the classic musical. This contempor...

Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it. From 9/27 to 10/9, this remarkable show will visit the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. BWW Detroit had a chance to speak with Ian Coursey, a current U of M student on tour with the show, about h...

Willem Butler, winner of BroadwayWorld's first ever season of Next on Stage, is currently shining bright on stages across the country as Dmitry in the National Tour of Anastasia. A recent graduate from Elon University, Anastasia is Butler's touring debut! Read BroadwayWorld's interview with Willem B...

Broadway legend and film star, Brian Stokes Mitchell, will make his first appearance in East Lansing on 9/23 in Cobb Great Hall at the Wharton Center. The 2-time Tony Award winner with a 40-year career spanning Broadway and more is a highly versatile singer ready to give fans a memorable show, An Ev...

The Encore Musical Theatre Company is kicking off its 14th season with Ain't Misbehavin', the sassy, sultry musical celebration of legendary jazz great Fats Waller, which runs from 9/15 to 10/2 in Dexter. Gerry McIntyre is returning to direct on The Encore stage. BWW Detroit had a few moments to spe...

The National Tour of Dear Evan Hansen is in its fourth year of touring across North America, and will now have a new Evan Hansen! Anthony Norman (The Prom original Broadway cast, National Tour of Newsies, and more) is stepping into the lead role! Read BroadwayWorld's interview with the new star of D...

Watch as Richard Ridge catches up with the director and star of The Encore Musical Theatre Company's world premiere of A Thousand Faces: The Lon Chaney Musical- Sam Scalamoni and Danny Gardner....

The Addams Family will be the first musical since the pandemic for the Detroit Mercy Theatre Company in Detroit. The 90-minute dramatic concert version of the show will run from 3/31-4/10 at The Marlene Ball Theatre. 'Love. Laughter. All-American Family. Secrets,' responded director Greg Grobis when...