Author: Darryl Schmitz

Singers on the Grand brings “Fifties Favorites,” to the Wilson Center Auditorium in St. Johns on Saturday November 9. The 12 singers and 8 band members will take you on a musical journey through familiar pop and jazz standards, Broadway and spiritual numbers.

Enjoy iconic music from the 1950s like songs from American Bandstand and the Everly Brothers as well as songs “That’s Amore,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Whatever Lola Wants,” and many other favorites. Includes full ensemble performances, solos and duets and small group numbers. Don’t miss the opening performance of their 2019-2020 season, so order your tickets today!

Saturday, November 9, 7:00 pm show (doors open at 6:30 pm).

General admission seating.

Wilson Center Auditorium, 101 Cass St. St. Johns, MI 48879

Tickets are $12 and available by calling 800-838-3006, online at https://sotg.bpt.me , or at the door.

For more information, visit the event link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/603718343492664/

Successful businessman Joe Benjamin has admittedly had a wonderful life. He has a successful business selling boxes while living with his family in their beautiful Long Island mansion. Joe, being a devout religious man, attributes all of his success and happiness to the big “G” himself: God. But when an eccentric messenger from God visits Joe all hell breaks loose! Joe, God’s favorite servant, is being put to the test; he must either renounce his faith in God or suffer severe consequences. The jokes and tests of faith fly fast and furious as Neil Simon spins a contemporary morality tale like no other in this hilarious comedy.

This play will feature the first use of the Wilson Center Auditorium’s NEW house and stage lights!

Friday and Saturday, September 27th and 28th at 7:30pm
Sunday, September 29th at 2:00pm
Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th at 7:30pm

General admission at the door is $15.  Students and 55+ are $10.

The FINAL PHASE of the Wilson Center Auditorium Renovation Project – the installation of modern house and stage lighting – has begun!

A major matching grant application approved by the Capital Region Community Foundation gives us the opportunity to fully fund the remaining costs to purchase and install updated wiring and lights. Removal of the old wiring, transformer-based power switches and faders has begun with funds already raised to date, but we need to appeal to you one last time to make the lighting at the Wilson Center Auditorium state-of-the-art:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIGHTING PHASE VIDEO ON THE FUNDRAISING PAGE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A DONATION FORM

We are getting closer to the long-anticipated and much-needed upgrade of the Wilson Center Auditorium stage and house lighting system!!
Our renovation committee, led by Bill Tennant, our lighting consultant Jim Lorenz and lead electrician Doug Haviland have targeted mid-August for beginning the removal of the decades-old backstage high voltage transformer-driven equipment and the installation of an energy-efficient, computer-controlled LED system. The project is expected to take 4 to 5 weeks.
In the meantime, a $52,000 matching grant was approved!! We have already raised over half of the money that can be matched, and we’ll be appealing to the community to help us raise the remainder of what is needed to complete the entire scope of what has been planned.
Watch this page for more details soon!

“Music for Everyone” is the title of this wonderful program, which will take place on Tuesday, May 28 starting at 7:00 p.m. in the beautiful historic Wilson Center Auditorium. This special concert will feature our St. Johns Community Band, the St. Johns High School Jazz Band, both under the direction of Roy Davis, along with two rock bands, “Nobody But Us” and “Synergy” made up of high school seniors.
A free will offering will be taken with all of the proceeds going to the Wilson Center Auditorium lighting project!
The Wilson Center Auditorium is located at 101 W. Cass St. in downtown St. Johns, just south of the courthouse.

Coming soon to Wilson Center Auditorium in St Johns,“Red Carpet Melodies: Movie Music for the Young at Heart” – a Starlight Dinner Theatre encore presentation…

Experience the magic of favorite movie music throughout the decades as Starlight Theatre presents a special encore of their Red Carpet Melodies revue, May 11 at Wilson Center Auditorium. (The revue originally ran February 8-10 at Starlight’s home venue in Lansing and is directed by Dan Templin and Kelly Sandula-Gruner). The cast of vocalists will salute Hollywood with award-winning songs from the American Film Institute’s Top 100: Moon River, Over the Rainbow, As Time Goes By, 42nd Street, Singin’ In the Rain, Luck Be a Lady, All That Jazz and many more! Classic movie snippets are shown before many of the numbers, sure to stir nostalgia and smiles. Featured singers: Colleen Runyan Bethea, Chris Bethea, Kelly Skehan Bitz, Bill Henson, Ellen Marco Hoard, Alaina Humphrey, Elizabeth Welch Johnson, Charlie Russel Martin, Kelly Sandula-Gruner, David Sincox, Dan Templin and Martin Underhill. Choreographer Fran Norton Ludington shows off her dancing skills on several numbers, along with Michael Chan – affectionately dubbed “Lansing’s Gene Kelly”. Pianist James Geer leads a talented group of instrumentalists: Tess Miller, flute; Jack Mumma, upright bass; and James Flanagan, drums. Don’t miss this special night of fun and movie memories! The show begins at 7:00p and follows the Eat Healthy–Eat Local festival in downtown St Johns.

Admission is $10, at the door.

The Mint City Singers will be presenting their Spring, 2019 concert, “How Can I Keep From Singing” at the Wilson Center Auditorium on Friday, May the 3rd at 7:30pm.

Traditional choral anthems, folk songs and favorite pop tunes will be featured, including:
Love Will Keep Us Together
I Will Always Love You
Somewhere Out There
Some Enchanted Evening
Imagine

The director is Ellen Hoard, piano accompanist is Jeff Richards, percussionist is Scott Harding, and Tess Miller will be featured on flute.

The Lansing Children’s Choir under the direction of Megan Higle will be special guest performers.

There is no admission charge, but a free will offering will be gratefully accepted at the door.

The elite brass band the Mountain Town Brass is made up of some of the premier brass players in the State of Michigan. Based in St. Johns, this exceptional group will be presenting its annual Spring Concert with guest soloist Philip Sinder, professor of tuba and euphonium at Michigan State University on Sunday, March 24 at 7:00pm at the Wilson Center Auditorium, 101 W. Cass St. in downtown St. Johns, just south of the courthouse.
There is no admission charge – free will donations will be graciously accepted at the door.

Auditions for the Wilson Center Auditorium production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” were short of the minimal number of performers necessary to go forward with the program.
It has been decided to delay the production of this show until a later date, when weather and performers’ schedules are more accommodating.
Thank you to all of the auditionees for your interest!

Celia makes a fortune selling gourmet chocolate. Gibby loves his wife, but wishes her successful career left a little more time for him. Suzannah loves her husband, but wishes he would pick up his dirty socks. Margo and Hank are unhappily single, but can’t stand each other. Enter Beth. She’s efficient, a fabulous cook, and handy with tools. Can she be too good to be true?

“’Til Beth Do Us Part” is a sweet, sassy comedy by the writing team Jones, Hope, Wooten. It’s a perfect confection for a winter weekend. Starring Marci Balogh, Susan DeRosa, Bob Murrell, Jan Ross, Darryl Schmitz, and Beth Webb.

Join Homegrown Productions for the comedy romp, “’Til Beth Do Us Part” February 22 and 23 at 7:30 pm and February 24 at 2:00pm at the Wilson Center Auditorium, 101 W. Cass St., St. Johns. Tickets are $10 at the door. Profits from this production support renovation of the auditorium lighting system.