The Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre presentation of the musical “Annie” continues this week with 7:30 p.m. shows Thursday through Saturday and a final 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday at Empire Arts Center.
I saw "Annie" last week and it’s got an appeal for all ages. Ali Nicolai as Annie and the little girls who play the orphans were adorable and talented. Plus there are two very cute dogs taking turns playing Sandy. Having said that, I had forgotten how political this show is. I’m surprised the same people who were incensed by "Hair" last summer haven’t noticed the political subtext in this one.
Tickets for "Annie" are $15 and $18 and you can get reservations by calling (701) 777-4090.
In the meantime, don’t forget the other live theater coming up in Grand Forks and the Red River Valley in the next couple of weeks. For example:
Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at UND Chester Fritz Auditorium you can see “The Wedding Singer,” a musical based on the 1980s movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. For ticket info, go to http://www.cfa.und.edu/.
The Lake Region State College Playmakers will present "The Diary of Anne Frank" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Robert Fawcett Auditorium at Lake Region State College, Devils Lake. This play is based on the true story of Anne Frank, 13, and her family, who hid from the Nazis in an attic for two years until they were found a few months before the end of the war. Tickets will be sold at the door.
Red River High School will present the comedy "Over the River and Through the Woods” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the RRHS Theatre, Grand Forks. Tickets are $6 and $3; call (701) 746-2411 for reservations.
Based on the Judy Blume book, “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” is coming to the Chester Fritz 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21. Ticket info: http://www.cfa.und.edu/
"Tragedy tomorrow! Comedy tonight!" North Dakota State University is presenting the musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 25-27, and Wednesday through Saturday, March 3-6, with a 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7, matinee at NDSU Askanase Auditorium, Fargo. Daniel Dutot of Grand Forks plays the boastful soldier Miles Gloriosus, to whom is promised the beautiful Philia, who also is the object of our young hero’s desires. I haven’t seen this show since the Zero Mostel movie version and I’m hoping to get to Fargo to see it again. For tickets, call (701) 231-7969.
“tick, tick… BOOM!,” a musical about a struggling young composer’s dream to write a successful rock musical, will run at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday thrugh Saturday, March 2-6, at UND Burtness Theatre, Grand Forks. Tickets will be $10 and $8; call the box office at (701) 777-2587. The music in "tick, tick…BOOM!" is by the late Jonathan Larson, the famous composer of the Broadway hit musical "Rent," but the show was written by a couple of Larson’s friends after his tragic death in 1996. I am looking forward to seeing this show for the first time, but may I say it has the dumbest title I have heard in a long time.
Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre will open “St. Bette’s,” written by Grand Forks playwright Kathy Coudle-King, at 7:30 p.m. from Thursday through Saturday March 4-6, March 11-13 and March 18-20, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees on March 7 and 14. The story is of a home for unwed mothers back in the day when women in that condition routinely hid themselves away (or were hidden away by their families) and will be presented at Fire Hall Theatre, Grand Forks. Tickets will be $15 and $18. For reservations or into, call (701) 777-4090 or go to ggfct.org.
Central High School will present the musical “Anything Goes” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday March 4-6 and 2 p.m. March 7 at Central High School auditorium, Grand Forks. Tickets will be $8 and $4. Call (701) 787-4075 for reservations.
Tobin is arts & entertainment reporter for the Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, N.D.
