Grand Rapids Civic Theatre kicks off its 90th season with a stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American classic, “The Great Gatsby.” Civic began running its community theater shows in the Roaring ‘20s, the same era in which “The Great Gatsby” was published. That said, it’s only fitting that Civic begins its 2015-2016 milestone season with this title, a story full of extravagant celebrations. This presentation is a trimmed-down stage adaptation, so while the production is a little less glitzy and glamorous than what the novel and the movies portray, the story still stands. Included in this version is much of the original dialogue, a bonus for fans of the literature.
Out of this season’s nine shows, seven of them have never before been performed on a Civic stage, making this 90th season one to be remembered. Following “The Great Gatsby,” which runs from Sept. 11 to Sept. 27 of this year, is “Sleepy Hollow,” a modern-day spin-off of the classic story and one of this season’s youth musicals. Then, at the end of November, Civic celebrates the Christmas season with “A Christmas Story” making its debut on their stage, the final show of the year.
Continuing the 2015-2016 season at the beginning of the new year, in mid-January, Civic will present “Barefoot in the Park”, a light-hearted romantic comedy about newlyweds in their New York apartment. Following this will be their first musical of 2016, the ever-famous “Sister Act” and then the stage adaptation of the book “Freckle Face Strawberry,” a sugar-sweet children’s musical about embracing your differences.
Civic Theatre will end their regular season in June with the musical “Caroline or Change,” a heartwarming story set in 1963 Louisiana that faces the subject of Civil Rights, a time of major social and political change.
Though the regular season ends in June, that’s just the beginning for their annual Summer Repertory Theatre, their summer series for actors ages 14-19. This year’s SRT consists of a play and a musical. Returning to the stage is “Into the Woods Jr.,” always a favorite fairytale for musical theater fanatics. Simultaneously, the 2015-2016 season will finish off with the silly “Sideways Stories from Wayside School,” based on the zany children’s book of the same name.
