MOUNT CARROLL, IL - The Tony Award winning musical comedy Hairspray will open the 54th summer season at Timber Lake Playhouse on June 4th.  The 2002 stage adaptation of the John Waters film has become an enormous song and dance hit around the world, and TLP brings the show to Mount Carroll for the first time ever to launch a season dedicated to dreaming big.

Hairspray tells the story of plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad, whose hair is bigger than everything but her dream to dance on TV. When those dreams come true, she's transformed from social outcast to star, using her newfound popularity to dethrone the reigning teen queen, integrate a television network and change the world. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the show, which has been called, "exhilaratingly funny" and "a musical triumph," is piled high with laughs, romance, and spectacular dance numbers to the sounds of the 60s.

Amelia Jo Parish of Nixa, MO was chosen to play Tracy out of over 1200 hundred people who auditioned. Chicago actor Tommy Bullington plays Tracy's mom Edna, a comedic tour de force that won Harvey Fierstein a Tony Award. Lili-Anne Brown, Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, returns to TLP to direct the show. Zachary L. Gray provides choreography and Cindy Blanc is the musical director.

TLP Artistic Director James Beaudry says, "Hairspray is that rare musical that makes you laugh so hard it hurts, makes you smile bigger than you thought you could, inspires you to get up and dance and ultimately fills your heart with excitement and hope. It's a feel-good show with enough energy to blow the roof off."

"In casting the show, we've kept our tradition of bringing in established pros along with the absolute best students from colleges around the country?many of whom are excited to call TLP their first professional contract. The talent on that stage is jaw-dropping and we're very grateful they've chosen to spend the summer with us in Northwest Illinois."

The 2015 season at TLP is filled with shows that inspire audiences to "dream bigger." Following Hairspray, the playhouse presents The Big Meal, a stunning, big-hearted play about modern families by Dan LeFranc. Peter Pan, Greater Tuna, Big Fish and Big River round out the lineup. The Magic Owl Children's Theatre at TLP will also present a stage adaptation of James and the Giant Peach.

Subscribers can see all six mainstage shows for $119, which is less than $20 a ticket. Regular tickets are $25 with discounts available for groups, students, seniors and active duty military personnel.

For subscriptions, tickets to Hairspray or any shows in TLP's 2015 season, visit www.timberlakeplayhouse.org. You may also call the box office at 815-244-2035 or visit them at 8215 Black Oak Rd. in Mount Carroll during business hours. All performance dates and times are available online.

THEATRE CLASSES & CAMPS
Come join Davenport Junior Theatre for a fun-filled summer of learning, exploring, and imagination!

The Theatre Summer Session starts: JUNE 1ST
We offer classes for kids ages 3-18, so you are sure to find class that works perfectly for you!
Visit www.davenportjuniortheatre.org to register and to find more information!
As we approach the Memorial Day Weekend, we remember the courageous men and women who volunteered--and sacrificed-- to defend our freedom in times of peace and in times of war. We would like to share with you this touching tribute by The Texas Tenors.
Let's also remember the heroes who are currently serving.

Do you have a loved one who is deployed overseas?  Click here and we will send them an Operation Gratitude care package.

For those of you who want to honor someone serving far from home today, please consider writing a letter of appreciation.  We will send your kind words in our next round of care packages.
To our deployed Troops, Veterans, Wounded Warriors, New Recruits, Military Families and First Responders:
Thank you for all that you do to make our Nation great. God bless you, and God bless the U.S.A.

With appreciation,
Operation Gratitude

Amana- The Andrews Brothers, opens June 4 and runs through June 28 on the Old Creamery's Main Stage, with shows on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 2:00 pm and on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm.

A USO show is threatened with cancellation when a certain famous trio of singing sisters fails to appear, and it's up to three earnest and determined stagehands to go on with the show! Mistaken identities and madcap adventure along with the music of an entire generation highlight this wonderful valentine to the heroes of World War II. The Andrews Brothers is written by Roger Bean.

The cast includes Ali Foley, Ryan Gaffney, Vaughn Irving, and Zack Steele. The musicians include Tim Daugherty and Derek Dreier. Sean McCall is the director.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $18.50 for students, with a

$12 special student rush rate for students purchase their tickets 30 minutes before the performance begins.

Sponsored by Rockwell Collins. Media sponsors are: The Pulse, CBS2, and FOX 28. The Andrews Brothers is rated Theatre G.

Call the box office for tickets and more information

319-622-6262 or visit us online at www.oldcreamery.com.

The Old Creamery Theatre is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1971 in Garrison, Iowa. In 2015, the company is celebrating 44 years of bringing live, professional theatre to the people of Iowa and the Midwest.

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Monday, June 1

Where:  Quad Cities Prayer Center, North Park Mall, Davenport

Free admission, and open to everyone!

 

"God's Not Dead" is a mini musical drama full of biblical truth, and the songs you love to sing and worship to including God's Not Dead, We Believe, and more!

At the end of the performance, you will be given an opportunity to monetarily help launch a new ministry in the QCA - J53 Outreach. J53 is comprised of a kids choir, and an adult band & community choir. If you are interested in having us come and perform at your church or event, or if interested in joining with us, please contact Sheila Heubach: Sheila77@me.com

 

J53: Reaching people for the Lord through song & worship

Judges 5:3 "I will lift up my song to the Lord, the God of Israel"

Mount Carroll?Timber Lake Playhouse, the professional summer theatre of Northwest Illinois, will open its 54th consecutive season on June 4th. Tickets for all six mainstage productions will go on sale Monday, May 18th at 10:00 a.m. online and at the theatre box office. Subscriptions to see all six shows at a discounted rate are already available.

The season to "Dream Bigger" begins with the Tony Award winning musical Hairspray. It's 1962 Baltimore, and the lovable plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire?to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star, using her newfound power to dethrone the reigning teen queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a TV network, all without denting her 'do. A newcomer to TLP, Amelia Jo Parish, will star as Tracy Turnblad and TLP favorite Grant Brown returns to play Corny Collins.

Chicago theatre recognizes its best work each season with the Joseph Jefferson (Jeff) Awards. TLP brings four Jeff Award winning guest artists to Mount Carroll this summer. They include Hairspray director Lili-Anne Brown and actor Tommy Bullington, who will star as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role that won Harvey Fierstein a Tony Award. Jeff Award winner Brigitte Ditmars will play the Female Authority Figure in Hairspray and star in The Big Meal, which is directed by Chuck Smith, another Jeff Award winning director in his 14th consecutive summer at the playhouse

The Big Meal, which premiered in Chicago in 2011, tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary family. Somewhere in America, in a typical suburban restaurant on a typical night, Sam and Nicole first meet. Sparks fly. And so begins an expansive, heart-warming tale that traverses five generations of a modern American family. Judy Knudtson returns to TLP for The Big Meal, along with newcomers Cullen Rogers, Paige ManWaring, Matt W. Miles and Brian Pauley. Pulitzer Prize Winner Annie Baker recently called The Big Meal, "The greatest play ever written."

In July, for the first time ever, TLP will present the Broadway musical Peter Pan starring scene stealer Cody Jolly as Captain Hook and Rose Upton in the title role made famous by Mary Martin. The playhouse will offer additional matinees of the productions to accommodate families. Zachary L. Gray, who began his career at TLP playing Baby John in West Side Story returns to direct and choreograph the show.

The fourth show (and second play) of the season is Greater Tuna, a comedy about the third smallest town in Texas, where the Lion's Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. Matt Webb and Cody Jolly, who have become the playhouse's greatest comedic duo in shows like Young Frankenstein, Rumors and The Music Man, reunite to play all of the citizens of Tuna, Texas -- men, women, children and animals. Chicago director and choreographer, Stephen Schellhardt, stages the madness.

Opening July 30th, Artistic Director James Beaudry stages the stunning new musical adaptation of Big Fish. Based on the novel and the acclaimed Tim Burton film from 2003, Big Fish stars long time TLP favorite Karl Hamilton and Elizabeth Haley in the roles of Edward and Sandra Bloom, made famous on film by Albert Finney and Jessica Lange. The two are also married in real life. Samuel Leicht of Appleton, Wisconsin plays their son Will Bloom, and Daxtun Heier of Sterling, Illinois play's young Will.

Big Fish tells the story of Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman whose incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him - most of all, his adoring wife Sandra. But their son Will is determined to find the truth behind his father's fantastic tales. Overflowing with heart, humor and spectacular stage magic as Edward's stories come to life, it is an extraordinary new musical that reminds us how great stories can give us an experience richer, funnier and bigger than life itself.

The final production of the 2015 season will be Roger Miller's Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, directed by longtime TLP favorite Courtney Crouse. Propelled by an award winning country, bluegrass and gospel score, this journey down the Mississippi is a celebration of pure Americana. Twain's timeless classic is performed by actor-musicians with Grant Brown starring as Huck and John Chase returning as Pap Finn. Charles Benson, of Lansing, Michigan will play Jim.

TLP's 54th professional resident company includes 72 performers, musicians and designers chose from over 1,200 people who auditioned in six cities around the country. The programs at Timber Lake Playhouse are partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, as state agency, through federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The programs are also subsidized by hundreds of private, foundation and corporate donors from the region.

Tickets are $25.00 each. Senior, student and active duty military discounts are available. Six show subscriptions are $119 for adults and only $68 for students.

The box office will be open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. beginning May 18th. Timber Lake Playhouse is located at 8215 Black Oak Road in rural Mount Carroll, Illinois. Box office hours expand when the season opens in June.

Tickets may be also be purchased online beginning May 18th at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org or by calling 815-244-2035 during box office hours . The playhouse appreciates your patience, as call volume is always high during the first week of ticket sales.

LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE

by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephrom

A benefit performance with "Dress for Success Quad Cities"

May 15, 16, and 17

A special reception 1/2 hour before each performance!

Follow this link for reservations: http://qctheatreworkshop.org/current.html

Amana- Churchill, opens May 28 and runs through May 31 on the Old Creamery's Studio Stage, with shows on Thursdays and Sundays at 2:00 pm and on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 pm. The Old Creamery Theatre's Studio Stage is an intimate venue that features classics and new, exciting, and fresh material as well? located in Middle Amana at 3023 220th Trail. Churchill will return to the Old Creamery Theatre's Studio Stage October 1-4, 2015.

This is a gripping one-man play about famous British statesman, author, orator, journalist and soldier Sir Winston Churchill.   It is April 1955. Churchill, aged 80, after entertaining the Queen and Prince Philip for dinner at No. 10 Downing Street, agonizes in his wartime bunker below London whether to finally resign as Prime Minister as the Cold War gathers pace. He is old, tired and losing his grip. As he tries to decide, he rolls back the years and reviews his uniquely eventful career, filled with history-changing events and famous people, glorious speeches, pithy comments, funny stories, and all the wit and wisdom that has made Churchill beyond merely one of history's greatest figures into an imperishable legend. Written and performed by Andrew Edlin.

"Andrew Edlin is spellbinding as Winston Churchill...fascinating, hilarious and dramatic...a truly remarkable play!"

Tickets are $30 for adults and $18.50 for students. Churchill is Rated PG. The 2015 Studio Stage Season is sponsored by John and Peg Slusher. The Media Sponsor of Churchill is VALPAK. Call the box office for tickets and information 319-622-6262 or visit us online at www.oldcreamery.com.

The Old Creamery Theatre is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1971 in Garrison, Iowa. In 2015, the company is celebrating 44 years of bringing live, professional theatre to the people of Iowa and the Midwest

Mount Carroll, IL-- The Magic Owl Children's Theatre at Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP) presents an 50 minute production for kids of all ages, The Commedia Pinocchio, based on the classic tale Wednesday, May 6 through Saturday, May 9. Performances are at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. All tickets are only $6.00 and are available at the door.

The Magic Owl Children's Theatre programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, through federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The children's theatre at Timber Lake Playhouse has introduced three generations of young people to live theatre in Northwest Illinois. Support from the Arts Council keeps the cost of tickets low.

The Commedia Pinocchio tells the Pinocchio story in the classic commedia style featuring a troupe of five players performing all the roles in the story including Geppetto, the blue fairy, the whale and more. The production is a high-energy comedy appropriate for all ages.

On Saturday, May 9th the playhouse will co-present Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos Show at the theatre at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20.00 and a cash bar will open at 6:30 p.m.

Henry's Double K in Mount Carroll will be taking separate reservations for a pre-show all you can eat buffet at the restaurant that evening. The $15 buffet will include roast pork, chicken breasts, cheesy potatoes, vegetable, salad bar, rolls and coffee. Contact Henry's Double K at 815-244-0810 for more information. Sievert's Steaks & Stuff in Mount Carroll will offer 10% off pizzas between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Timber Lake Playhouse is located at 8215 Black Oak Rd. in rural Mount Carroll, IL. Tickets are available at the box office or by calling 815-244-2035. Tickets for Dueling Pianos are also available at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org.


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We've added to our run!
The reviews have been pouring in and tickets have been flying out the door, so we added an extra weekend (INCLUDING Thursday) so everyone can have a chance to see the "enchantment blossoming on Cherry Tree Lane!"

"This sweeping show is the perfect way to introduce children to theater and to reawaken the inner child in adults." -Diana Nollen, Hoopla
ADDED MARY POPPINS DATES
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 7:30 pm
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 7:30 pm
SATURDAY, MAY 30, 7:30 pm
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 7:30 pm


You're receiving this exclusive news about added Mary Poppins dates because you've signed up to receive email news and updates from Theatre Cedar Rapids. To us, you're friends, and we want you to know our big news first!

Use this head start to pick your very favorite seats in the house!

THESE ADDED DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED TO GENERAL PUBLICMonday, May 11

CATCH HER WHILE YOU CAN!

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