What to expect on Lansing area stages in September

With Labor Day behind us, the local theater season is in full swing.

Musical lovers have an especially full calendar, with tickets available for Wharton’s “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” Riverwalk’s “Legally Blonde,” Peppermint Creek’s “Ride the Cyclone,” MSU Department of Theater’s “Taking Off” and Lebowsky Center’s “Jagged Little Pill.”

‘A Beautiful Noise’

Wharton Center kicks off its season with a jukebox musical featuring the music of Neil Diamond. With hits like “Sweet Caroline” and “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “A Beautiful Noise” tells the story of a Brooklyn kid who became an American icon.

The show is in town from Sept. 16-21. Told in memoir style, the musical traces the life of the pop singer.

Taking on the title role in the touring production is Nick Fradiani, who also played the role on Broadway for nearly two years. He was the 2015 “American Idol” winner and released a debut album in 2016 (“Hurricane”), featuring the hit single “Beautiful Life.” His second solo album, “Past My Past,” came out in 2022.

Related: Wharton Center’s Broadway series opens Sept. 16. Here’s what you should see and why

‘Legally Blonde’

In downtown Lansing, Riverwalk Theatre opens its season with the upbeat, fun musical, “Legally Blonde.” Running Sept. 11-21 and directed by Brian Farnham with musical direction by Angie Schwab, the show is based on both the novel and the 2001 movie.

The musical has enjoyed non-stop popularity with its positive message about a young woman who goes to Harvard in pursuit of love only to find she is more than the blonde stereotype she has lived under up until that point. And yes—there are dogs.

Playing the lead role of Elle in the production is Tess Klygis, a Riverwalk newcomer who hails from Chicago and the University of Michigan. Joining her are Nick Kreider as her ex-boyfriend Warner, Spencer Sullivan as the aide who believes in Elle, Kameron Going as the hard-nosed legal professor and Lindsey Parr Hemming as the hairdresser who convinces her not to become a brunette.

‘Ride the Cyclone’

Peppermint Creek Theatre Company opens its “Based on a True Story” season with a Canadian musical that first opened in 2009 and has been steadily growing in popularity and acclaim.

In the dark comedy “Ride the Cyclone,” six teenagers who were part of a chamber choir die in a roller coaster accident. In the limbo before the afterlife, they are offered an opportunity to return to life. A fortune-telling automaton, The Amazing Karnak, invites them to tell their stories with the prize being resurrection.

The show runs Sept. 19-27 at Stage One Performing Arts Center on Lake Lansing Road.

‘Taking Off!’

For one weekend only, the musical theater laboratory at MSU will present a workshop production of the new musical “Taking Off!” With a book and lyrics by Sonya Hayden and music by Matthew Lowy, the musical will be performed Sept. 19-21 in the Pasant Theatre.

Directed by Adam Yankowy with musical direction by Dave Wendelberger, “Taking Off!” features MSU theater students in partnership with the Institute for Arts & Creativity at Wharton Center. Set in the 1960s aboard a turbulent Panomorama Airlines flight, Amelia Darehart, a mechanic, trades her toolbox for a stewardess uniform, only to be disappointed by the lack of glamour. She navigates love, ambition and the absurd rules placed on women of the time.

Peppered with spilled drinks, a failed diamond heist and a dream ballet with terrible dancers, “Taking Off!” is performed in collaboration with the creators as they refine the musical for future performances.

‘Jagged Little Pill’

Opening Sept. 5 and running through Sept. 14, Owosso’s  Lebowsky Center opens its season with “Jagged Little Pill,” directed by the Center’s artistic director, Garrett Bradley.

Based on Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette’s third album, “Jagged Little Pill” centers on an imperfect American family grappling with challenges ranging from drug use to gender identity to sexual assault.

Encore

• The MSU Friends of Theatre is holding a weeklong fundraiser at Schuler Books through Sept. 6. A portion of all purchases will be donated to Summer Circle Theatre, free outdoor theater that has been offered at MSU for the past 60-plus years. Tell the cashier that you would like your purchase to benefit MSU Friends of Theatre or use the code MSUFRIENDS at online checkout.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing fall musical season: Wharton, Riverwalk, Peppermint Creek