Welcome

Dear Friends,

On behalf of our artists, staff and Board of Trustees, welcome to Great Lakes Theater’s 61st season!

Our mission, “to bring the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience,” guides our mainstage productions and our educational programming. We believe theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, and provide our student audiences a glimpse of a broader world and the wellspring of learning made possible through the arts.

We open this season with the campy, comical, cult-classic, Little Shop of Horrors. Directed by Victoria Bussert, Little Shop of Horrors promises an exhilarating experience for new and returning audiences. As always, Ms. Bussert’s staging will bring audiences directly into the action of this delectable musical comedy, highlighting the intimacy of our Hanna Theatre home. Enjoy this deliciously delightful romp as it kicks off an extraordinary season this fall!

As the curtain rises on our 61st season, we offer special thanks to the Kulas Foundation, which has sponsored our musical productions for the last several years as part of the Kulas Musical Theater Series at Great Lakes Theater. As you read your program and look around the theater tonight, you will see the names of many friends, partners, corporations and foundations whose support makes all of this possible. We encourage you to join these donors by becoming a Donor Member of the Great Lakes Theater family with your gift. We extend our sincere gratitude to all of our sponsors and Annual Fund Donor Members, with continued appreciation to our partners of over 40 years at Playhouse Square, and the tireless efforts of our Board of Trustees, dedicated administrative staff, gifted artists and the tremendous generosity of this community.

We hope to see you in our audience again soon.

Charles Fee Producing Artistic Director Bob Taylor Executive Director