Jerri Shafer News

A brand new play receiving its first fully staged production. In this darkly comic version of the Peter Pan story, Wendy's mother sets in motion a journey that threatens to change her family forever. Suggested for audiences ages 13 and older. Performances run September 8th thru 24th at Curtain Players, 5691 Harlem Road, Galena, Ohio 43021. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: http://curtainplayers.org/season/2017-2018/1_wendy.php

The Pirates of Penzance is Gilbert and Sullivan's fifth collaboration and follows young Frederic, an orphan who has mistakenly been apprenticed to an ineffectual but raucous band of pirates. He disavows the pirates' way of life and falls for the beautiful daughter of the Major-General Stanley, Mabel. But when the Pirate King discovers that General Stanley has lied about being an orphan to keep the pirates from stealing all of his belongings and carrying off his bevy of beautiful daughters, an 'ingenious paradox' may prevent the budding romance and lead to the death of 'The very model of a modern Major-General.' Pirates performs September 7th through September 23rd at MadLab Theatre and Gallery, 227 N. Thirt St. (Downtown) Columbus, Ohio. For more info visit http://www.srotheatre.org/

Our version of The Tempest attacks the assumption of American exceptionalism. We live in an era where America's supposed to be 'great again,' but that greatness is based on subjugation of disadvantaged people and exploitation of national fears. Prospero's blindness to his own sense of entitlement - over a state he abandoned and an island he exploited - is at the crux of the problems within the entire play. This production will involve incidental acoustic music and song. Performances are August 10 - September 3, 2017. Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm. Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage, Columbus, Ohio. For information on donations and seat reservations, visit http://theactorstheatre.org

It's 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. The problem: They are both gay, and have married each other's partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two "All-American" couples are forced to stare down the closet door. Performances are August 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, September 1, 2 at 8 PM; August 27 at 2 PM. Columbus Performing Arts Center, Van Fleet Theatre, 549 Franklin Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215. For tickets or more information, visit: http://evolutiontheatre.org/ or by calling 614-233-1124.

Miss Mona runs the Chicken Ranch, a brothel with a long history in a small Texas town. The locals have a good relationship with the institution, and Mona is respected in the community. The Sheriff, Ed Earl Dodd, also looks out for the Chicken Ranch due to his past with Miss Mona. However, when pious reporter Melvin Thorpe exposes the brothel, outside interests want it shut down, putting the governor in a tough spot.  Performances August 10-12, 2017 at 8pm and August 13th at 3:00 pm. Doors open 30 minutes prior. Northland Performing Arts Center (NPAC), 4411 Tamarack Blvd, Columbus, Ohio 43229. Visit www.imaginecolumbus.org for information on purchasing tickets.

Aphra Behn's 1687 comedy is a zany blend of commedia dell'arte, music, and science fiction. Servants and lovers run wild in this play which was hugely successful in the English Restoration Period. Behn's work has been described as "an affordable mini-spectacle," and she is considered one of the great women playwrights in all of classic theatre. Performances are July 20 thru August 6, 2017. Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm. Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage, Columbus, Ohio. For information on donations and seat reservations, visit http://theactorstheatre.org

New Vision Dance Co. presents their fourth annual weekend of dance at the historic Garden Theater in the Short North. Take Root with us in Act 1 as we plant twisted tales of love, obsession and the dark side. We invite you to stay grounded for Act 2 as we open up to the light side with whimsical and lovely pieces created by Melissa Gould. When: 7/21 at 8:00 pm ; 7/22 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Where: The Garden Theater, 1187 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201. Admission: $15 general admission, available at www.shortnorthstage.org

Here is Rydell High's senior class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding 'Burger Palace Boys' and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking 'Pink Ladies' in bobby sox and pedal pushers, evoking the look and sound of the 1950s in this rollicking musical. Head 'greaser' Danny Zuko and new (good) girl Sandy Dumbrowski try to relive the high romance of their 'Summer Nights' as the rest of the gang sings and dances its way through such songs as 'Greased Lightnin',' 'It's Raining on Prom Night,' and 'Sandy'. Performances for the Lancaster Festival is on July 23rd at 2:00 & 7:00.  More performances run August 3, 4, 5 at 7:00 and August 5, 6 at 2:00 pm.  For tickets:  (740) 681-3353 or online at:  https://commerce.cashnet.com/oul-theatre.  Ohio University Lancaster - Wagner Theatre, 1570 Granville Pike, Lancaster, Ohio. 

The beloved musical Fiddler on the Roof follows, Tevye, his family, and the other residents of the tight-knit Jewish community of Anatevka as they strive to hold on to their family, values, and traditions in the changing world of Czarist Russa. Join us for the music, love, laughter, and tears as we balance like a Fiddler on the Roof! Performances run July 21 thru July 30th at Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington, 777 Evening St., Worthington, Ohio.  For tickets and more information, visit http://www.worthingtoncommunitytheatre.com

Two bantering, scheming 'women of fashion' have long lived together on the fringes of upper-class society. One becomes the mistress of a wealthy man, from whom she has received an enormous emerald and an income to match. One is infatuated with a respectable young lady but the young inamorata's sudden appearance sets off a crisis that puts both the valuable emerald and the women's futures at risk. Directed by Mark Phillips Schwamberger and featuring Vicky Welsh Bragg, Kathy Sturm and Kathy Hyland. Performances are July 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29 at 8 PM; July 23 at 2 PM. Columbus Performing Arts Center, 549 Franklin Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215.  For tickets or more information, visit:  http://evolutiontheatre.org/

My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady. Grandview Carriage Place Players puts a unique spin on this beloved tale with costumes and set in the steampunk design! Performances are at the Grandview High School, 1587 West Third Avenue, Grandview, Ohio.  July 14th & 15th at 7:00 and July 16th at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door.

Pickerington Community Theatre presents ANNIE. Annie will be performed at the Heritage Theatre (100 North East Street, Pickerington, OH 43147). Performances run July 14 thru July 23rd.  Shows are 8:00 PM on Friday and Saturday nights and 2:00 PM on Sundays. Tickets to Annie may be reserved by calling our box office at 614-508-0036 or you can purchase tickets online at pctshows.com.

Guys and Dolls features music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure" - two short stories by Damon Runyon, - and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories - most notably "Pick the Winner". Performances are July 14 & 15 at 8:00 pm and July 16 at 3 PM.  Hilliard Memorial Middle School, 5600 Scioto Darby Rd., Hilliard, Ohio  43026.  For tickets or more information, visit:  http://hilliardartscouncil.org/guys-and-dolls

Actors' Theatre of Columbus presents The Emperor of the Moon by Aphra Behn. Adapted by Jennifer Feather Youngblood, Directed by Michelle Batt. July 20 - August 6, 2017. Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm, Schiller Park Amphitheatre, German Village

Guys and Dolls takes us from the heart of Times Square to the cafes of Havana, Cuba, and even into the sewers of New York City, but eventually everyone ends up right where they belong. Performances run July 7 thru July 16th at Memorial Hall, 165 E Main Street, Circleville, Ohio.  Call 740-474-5856 to order tickets by phone, or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rtp-presents-guys-and-dolls-tickets-34437506509?ref=ebtnebtckt to order tickets online.

Jane Austen's enduring novel of romance, class, and society comes to stage in the popular Jon Jory (Actors' Theatre of Louisville) adaptation. The play is a delightful take on the novel, complete with all of the wit, love, and charm of the original. Performances are June 22 thru July 16, 2017. Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm. Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage, Columbus, Ohio. For information on donations and seat reservations, visit http://theactorstheatre.org

Actors' Theatre of Columbus presents Pride & Prejudice, directed by Mark Mann, adapted for the stage by Jon Jory, running June 22 - July 16, 2017 (Todays through Sundays at 8pm) at the Schiller Park Amphitheatre, German Village. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in character below!

Join us in the park! Curtain Players is pleased to present Ara Vito's ALICE: A variation on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland in partnership with Westerville Parks & Recreation. Alice: A Variation on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is a new take on Carroll's classic tales crafting a story of a young girl named Alice Pleasance Liddell and the relationship she develops with Charles Dodgson (alias Lewis Carroll). Overcoming her parents' stifling indifference, Alice discovers her creativity through adventures on the other side of the looking glass, conquering her fears as she approaches a vision of her true self.  The play is framed within a conversation between Carroll and Liddell, who was the inspiration for the fictional Alice character. Performances run June 15th thru 24 th at 8:00 pm.  Bring lawn chairs and/or blankets as it's all free lawn seating (donations accepted). Parking will be available in the park along Alum Park Drive (accessible from W. Main Street) and on the lawn near the amphitheater (as accessed from Alum Park Dr.)  Please visit www.curtainplayers.org.

In Seminar, a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting Broadway comedy. Seminar performs June 9th thru 18th at the The Garden Theater, 1187 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43201.  Purchase tickets at:  http://shortnorthstage.org/calendar/v/619

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony® and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance! The 39 Steps performs June 9th thru 18th at the Columbus Performing Arts Center, 549 Franklin Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215.  For more info visit http://www.srotheatre.org/