Center Stage Theatre

Midland Center for the Arts is excited to announce the hiring of Willie E. Jones III as the new Manager of Produced Theatre and Theatre Education. With a distinguished background in both performance and arts leadership, Jones brings a fresh perspective to the Center’s community theatre and youth theatre education programming.

Next week, Midland Center for the Arts will present its Rising Stars production of Disney’s Newsies, taking place from June 26 - 29, 2024, at 8:00 PM on the Outdoor Stage on the Center’s campus. Based on the 1992 Disney film, this musical features a celebrated score by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid) and Jack Feldman, alongside a compelling book by celebrated actor and writer, Harvey Fierstein.

Center Stage Theatre announces auditions for the Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize®-winning rock musical Next to Normal at Midland Center for the Arts on March 6 and 7, with performances scheduled from May 17 to 26. Tommy Wedge, Assistant Professor of Theatre at SVSU, will direct the production, with music direction by Jim Hohmeyer. The Center is searching for actors aged 16 and up to fill the six roles in this electric production. Auditions are scheduled for Wednesday, March 6, and Thursday, March 7 from 6:30 – 9:30 PM at the Center.

Get ready to embark on a Halloween adventure like no other as Midland Center presents a new adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, featuring Youth Theatre actors from the Great Lakes Bay Region and directed by Travis Kendrick. This imaginative play is written by Christopher Castanho, and adapted from the classic Washington Irving story. Performances are from October 27 - 29 and promise spine-tingling excitement for audiences of all ages. Midland Center will offer complimentary children’s books to all kids who attend a public performance of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to connect reading and literacy with live theatre.

Center Stage Theatre proudly presents the compelling and thought-provoking play Doubt: A Parable by the renowned John Patrick Shanley. Don't miss this captivating production, which will be performed at Midland Center for the Arts from October 12 - 15. Directed by Elaine DiFalco Daugherty, this Pulitzer Prize® and Tony Award®-winning play promises an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Center Stage Theatre is hosting auditions for Doubt: A Parable written by John Patrick Shanley at Midland Center for the Arts for performances on October 12 - 15. The Pulitzer Prize®  and Tony Award®-winning play will be directed locally by Elaine DiFalco Daugherty.

Midland Center for the Arts’ Center Stage Theatre will present the regional premiere of the hit musical comedy, The Prom on August 2 - 11, 2023. The musical debuted on Broadway in 2018, with a book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, Elf: The Musical) and Chad Beguelin (Disney’s Aladdin, Elf: The Musical, The Wedding Singer), music by Matthew Skylar (Elf: The Musical, The Wedding Singer) and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. The Center Stage Theatre production is directed by Bill Anderson Jr., with choreography by Gina Kearly and music direction by Matthew Conley.

Midland Center for the Arts Unveils Spectacular 2023/24 Season

‘The Radium Girls’, as we know them today, are remembered for the monumental changes for women’s and workers’ rights. Midland Center for the Arts’ Center Stage Theatre will dramatize their quest for justice in These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich on April 14 - 23, 2023. The Midland Center production is directed by Susie Polito and will be presented in the round with audience members on all four sides of the stage in the Little Theater.