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'Steel' Powerful

10/24/2012

 
Picture
By Mary C Cusak for the Lansing City Pulse
Published October 24, 2012

Starlight Dinner Theatre founder Linda Granger must have had nerves of steel to
not only stage a community theater production of “Steel Magnolias,” but direct and star in it as well. And, thanks to some quality acting, it’s a challenge that paid off.

The exposition-heavy story takes place entirely in a small-town Louisiana beauty shop. It begins with preparations for wedding and, 31 months later, ends with preparations for a funeral. In between, the ladies of Truvy’s (Granger) beauty shop deal with all manner of life issues.

The acting styles of the cast members don’t always mesh perfectly, yet each performer had her strengths. Granger, who played Truvy eight years ago, is completely comfortable in her role. She is every bit the sweet and funny stylist with whom one can while away an afternoon.

Marci Balogh is outstanding as Shelby Eatonton Latcherie, beginning the story as a self-absorbed, pampered bride and transforming into a completely selfless mother. Her chemistry with the rest of the cast is so solid that one would never guess that she wasn’t there from day one of rehearsals.

The real surprise is Tina Brenner as Shelby’s mother M’Lynn. Brenner’s performance is low-key throughout most of the play, but when she finally has her breakthrough breakdown, it is so unexpected and emotionally raw that it leaves the audience stunned.

While the piece is undeniably the stage version of a chick flick, the “other half” will be engaged nonetheless. After all, the setting of a beauty shop as a haven where women can speak freely is no different than the barbershop where men do the same. To believe that men don’t talk about family, life and loss is naïve and sells
them short.

“Steel Magnolias” Oct. 19- 27 Waverly East Intermediate School 3131 W. Michigan Ave. Lansing Fridays and Saturdays: dinner 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m. Dinner & show: $33 general/$28 seniors,students/$20 children Show only: $15 general/ $10 children (517)-243-6040 starlightdinnertheatre.com

This show was marvelous.

7/19/2012

 
Posted by Jim Fordyce

"Friday night we went to see A Murder Is Announced at the Starlight Dinner Theater. This show was marvelous. The cast was great and included Winfred Olds as Miss Marple. She is Mid Michigan’s version of Helen Hayes and Angela Lansbury all rolled into one lady who we all love."

Starlight takes the 'Cake'

5/17/2012

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Picture
Zany 'Red Velvet' is a country-fried crowd pleaser

by UTE VON DER HEYDEN for the Lansing City Pulse
Published Thursday, May 17, 2012

“I’ll tell you exactly how, Miss Sour Britches! Oh, I’m hosting this reunion all right, and it’s gonna be the best one in Verdeen family history. And it’ll be a really good time for a change, unlike the constipated snooze-fests you throw every year. And you know what? I’ll bake Uncle Aubrey the most incredible red velvet cake he’s ever laid tongue to! And you’ll just have to shut your yap and accept it.”

If you’re planning a family reunion and want to tell off your own real-life version of the insufferable Aunt LaMerle Verdeen Minshew addressed above, go see Starlight Dinner Theatre‘s  production of “The Red Velvet Cake War” and get a lesson or two from Gaynelle Verdeen Bodeen.

Gaynelle (Marni Darr Holmes) and her cousins Peaches (Colleen Patten) and Jimmie (Jan Ross) are at the center of the action in Sweetgum, Texas, as they make plans to throw a family reunion.

Their timing couldn’t be worse. Bully matriarch Aunt LaMerle (Lee Helder) is against it, and the women’s past antics have made them the talk of the gossipy town. Gaynelle has just “accidentally” crashed her minivan through the bedroom wall of her husband’s girlfriend’s doublewide, and she is being psychiatrically evaluated; Peaches, the sexy mortuarial cosmetologist, wants to have her long-absent trucker husband declared dead so that her “luscious lips” can once again be kissed; and rough-edged Jimmie Wyvette, manager of Whatley’s Western Wear, is turning herself inside out to win the affections of Sweetgum’s newest widower. To top it off, it’s the hottest day in July — and the middle of tornado season.

This may not be the most engaging storyline or the wittiest script Starlight has ever tackled, but under the direction of Lisa Sodman Elzinga it’s nevertheless a sure-fire crowdpleaser. Making this happen, in addition to Darr Holmes, Patten, Ross and Helder, is the high-energy, high-spirited cast of Harlow Claggett, Susan Chmurynsky, Susan DeRosa, Carl Sodman, Michael Hays, Mary Herrbach, Bob Murrell and Winifred Olds, ably portraying various madcap Sweetgum inhabitants.

Legendary community theater veteran Olds, armed with a glorious golden wig and her effortless comic timing, is a treat as always as the wry-humored hostess of a local TV show.

“As age creeps up,” Olds has written in her program bio, “theater is a place to ‘live.’”

The script for “Cake War” comes from playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, whose television writing credits include “Golden Girls,” “Designing Women,” “Night Court” and “Murphy Brown.”  Often described as three of the most widely produced comedy playwrights in America, they are also the authors of “The Hallelujah Girls,” produced by Starlight earlier this season.

Linda M. Granger, Starlight founder and artistic director, reports that in 2013 Starlight will stage the world premiere of a new Jones/Hope/Wooten play. Jones called recently and offered it to Granger, requesting only that three seats be saved for them opening night. What a coup for Granger, who has worked tirelessly since 2005 to make Starlight the success that it is.

‘The Red Velvet Cake War’
Starlight Dinner Theatre
Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19
Waverly East Cafetorium, 3131 W. Michigan Ave., Lansing
Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30. Dinner reservations are required 48 hours in advance.
Show and dinner: $33 adults; $28 seniors and students; $20 children 12 and under
Show only: $15 adults, seniors, students; $10 children 12 and under  [email protected]


www.StarlightDinnerTheatre.com


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Starlight Shines

3/15/2011

 
By Tom Helma for the Lansing City Pulse
Published March 15, 2011


A success is announced: 'Murder' is fast-paced and enjoyably played.

Return with us now to those thrilling moments of yesteryear — no, it is not the Green Hornet and not the Lone Ranger either, but rather Miss Marple of Agatha Christie fame, as presented in the Starlight Dinner Theater's production of “A Murder is Announced.”

While the notion of murder is more chilling than thrilling, Starlight Theater and director Lisa Sodman Elzinga have done a quite good job recre- Review ating the genre and timing of 1930s murder mysteries.

At the heart of this particular suspenseful tale is veteran actor Susan Chmurynsky as the formidable Letitia Blacklock, seemingly the intended victim in this twisty plot.

Chmurynsky is on stage for virtually every scene and, with measured speech and clear articulation, brings the entire production together. She's consistently focused and attentive to each of the other 10 characters in the play.

The rest of the cast comes on stage in Act One with a dizzying, off-to-the-races speed-read that enlivens what otherwise might have been a dullish nightmare.

Veronica Diebold as the ditzy Hungarian maid is way over any top, with a frenetic and angry performance that is so extreme it is delightfully, ridiculously funny. Legend in her own time Winifred Olds, as the meddling Miss Marple, demonstrates that she has not lost any of her extensive acting chops.

There are no dull, inarticulate performances in this production. All 11 actors have been dressed in appropriate era costuming by Gwendolyn Conartan and Sarah Fowler. Thanks to Sodman Elzinga’s fastpaced direction, the plot moves along, steady-as-you-go, with nuanced and often comic performances by all.

Sodman Elzinga shares set design honors with Bill Woodland, but this set would be an empty shell if not for the careful placement of antique objects by property designers Althea Phillips and Diane Erley.

Rarely does a production excel in all aspects. Starlight has taken an antique play and polished it to a spit-shine with 21st-century zip.

'A Murder is Announced'

Starlight Dinner Theatre Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, through March 18 $30 for dinner and show; $25 for seniors and students with valid ID $15 for show only Waverly East Middle School, 3131 W. Michigan Ave., Lansing (517) 243-6040 starlightdinnertheatre @yahoo.com www.starlightdinnertheatre.com

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