CLYBOURNE PARK
2019 Season
Past Seasons Shows
2022
ELEANOR’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS WISH – THE MUSICAL
The GhostLight Theatre will present its first holiday production Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish – The Musical written by Benton Harbor resident, Denise McGowan Tracy with music by Kathleen Butler-Duplessis and McGowan Tracy for the 2022 Holiday Season!
The 2019 critically-acclaimed world premiere that debuted at Chicago’s Greenhouse Theater and played 39 performances opened November 26 and runs weekends through December 11, 2022 at Southwest Michigan's regional theater.
Leading the cast—and recreating the title role she originated in the critically-acclaimed 2019 Chicago premiere—is Samantha Bonzi, who has appeared regionally at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, Timber Lake Playhouse,The Nordlof Center and Rockford’s Starlight Theatre. Her father, Todd Bonzi, plays Santa and has an extensive career as a producer, director and actor with professional credits at The New American Theatre, Shady Lane Theatre and through the production company he and wife Michelle founded. Kristen Wielenga appears in the role of Mrs. “Cookie” Claus with Trillium Falotico as Sprinkle, Sydney Swanson (who created the role of Noelle in the original cast) as Sparkle, Kady Roberts as Twinkle, Maureen Schlie as Clara/Holly and Elena Rupp as Noelle. Rounding out the company are Olivia Wielenga, Laura Gomez, Einra Lee Baker and Lane Alsup.
Violet
Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics and Book by Brian Crawley.
Based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts.
Directed by Paul Mow. Music directed by Joshua Goines.
Set in 1964 in the Deep South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, Violet follows the growth and enlightenment of a bitter young disfigured woman. In hopes that a TV evangelist can cure her, she embarks on a journey by bus from her sleepy North Carolina town to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Along the way, she meets a young black soldier who teaches her about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider.
Lewiston/Clarkston - Midwest Premiere!
An Immersive Theatre|Dining Experience
in partnership with Mason Jar Café
A Diptych - Two One-Act plays performed consecutively
A play by Samuel D. Hunter. Directed by Spencer Diedrick.
Alice and Connor sit by their roadside stand selling cheap fireworks while developers swallow the land around them. Promised a condo in the new development, their future is secure. Enter Marnie, Alice’s long-lost granddaughter, proposing to buy the land to save her family’s legacy. Marnie and Alice will become reacquainted with each other’s deeply held secrets, uncertain pasts, and hopeful futures. Hunter, a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship recipient, explores the emotional frontiers of a family struggling to make a home in the vastness of the American landscape with affection, poignancy, and a profound sense of empathy.
Jake meets Chris when they are assigned to the same night shift at Costco in Clarkston, Washington. Chris has a hard life; his mom is a meth addict, and living in Clarkston has forced him down a dead-end road. He has promise, but he’s “stuck.” Jake went to a liberal arts school, is gay and out, but fled his Connecticut town when he was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Wanting to see the ocean, he came to Clarkston, but was sidetracked by his illness. He and Chris form an awkward bond: both are gay, but have led completely different lives. Can they learn to help each other?
Significant Other
An American play written by Joshua Harmon.
Directed by Les Rorick.
The play concerns the lives of four friends in their late 20s and their search for relationships in 21st century New York City. Playwright Joshua Harmon explained the premise by saying: “How do you make life work for yourself when you feel that you’re not living the life you’re supposed to be living or want to be living? And how do you deal with that when the changes that you need to make are in some ways outside of your control?"
Little Women
Book by Allan Knee, Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.
Directed by David Ferrell, music directed by Marty Hesse.
Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868–69 semi-autobiographical two-volume novel, it focuses on the four March sisters— traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy,— and their beloved mother Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father is away serving in the military. Intercut with the vignettes in which their lives unfold are several recreations of the melodramatic short stories Jo writes in her attic studio.
American Son
A play by Christopher Demos-Brown, a Miami trial attorney.
Directed by Aaron Reese Boseman.
Frantic with worry, African-American Kendra Connor paces the waiting area of a Miami police station. Her 18-year-old son Jamal, a top student about to enter West Point, has not come home as planned. As she waits for her estranged husband Scott, Kendra is interviewed by Officer Paula Larkin, who assures her the questions about whether Jamal has priors, a street name, or gold teeth are strictly protocol and not racist. Larkin discloses new details regarding Jamal's whereabouts when Scott arrives, unaware that this white FBI agent is Jamal's father. As the three hash it out, urgent questions arise concerning the degree to which race, gender, and class play into police procedure.
TalkBack Sessions after each Sunday performance - Join us for open dialogue with residents of Benton Harbor and surrounding areas.
2021
Small Mouth Sounds
a play by Bess Wohl
directed by Les Rorick
In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward and insightful humor, Small Mouth Sounds asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.
The Light in the Piazza
a musical by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel
directed by Dan Maxon
music directed by Joshua Goines
Set in the 1950s, the story revolves around Margaret Johnson, a wealthy Southern woman, and Clara, her developmentally disabled daughter. The two spend a summer together in Italy. When Clara falls in love with a young Italian man, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara's future, but her own deep-seated hopes and regrets as well. The Light in the Piazza won six of eleven 2005 Tony Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, and won five of eleven Drama Desk Awards. OUTDOORS at The GhostLight Theatre
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
a play by William Rose
directed by Kecia Deroly
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, a present day contemporary adaptation of the wonderful film made in 1967. This play focuses on issues of racial and social status as well as cultural identity. A progressive white couple's sensibilities are put to the test when their daughter brings home her black fiance to meet them. With humor and insight, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner begins a conversation sure to continue at dinner tables long after the curtain comes down.
Much Ado About Nothing
a play by William Shakespeare
directed by Kristina McCloskey
Shakespeare comedy - timeless, classic, and hilariously funny!
As the title suggests, there’s a lot of fuss over nothing. Claudio and Hero fall in love and plan to get married, but the villainous Don John slanders Hero with false evidence. Much silliness ensues, with twists and turns that only the brilliant Shakespeare could create.