July 2019
Jasper Jones is a coming of age story about Charlie Bucktin, a bookish boy of 14. On the night that Jasper Jones, the town’s mixed race outcast shows him the dead body of young Laura Wishart, Charlie’s life is changed forever. Entrusted with this secret and believing Jasper to be innocent, Charlie embarks on a dangerous journey to find the true killer. Set over the scorching summer holidays of 1969, Charlie defeats the local racists, faces the breakup of his parents and falls head over heels in love as he discovers what it means to be truly courageous.
TICKETS ARE NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT
Films in this series are intended for mature audiences.
Purchase TicketsSeptember 2019
Acting Black
Demystifying Racism
Preregistration required: alicem@kootasca.org or call 218-999-5883
Part spoken word, part stand-up comedy, part TED Talk, Acting Black is a critically acclaimed 60-minute solo show created to inspire open and honest conversations about race and diversity.
Using the power of art to investigate difficult concepts Acting Black takes us to the roots of American racism and its consequences for all of us by exploring the evolution of the Black stereotype, tracing the birth of its beginning from a single individual on a specific night in Louisville, Kentucky in 1828 to the racial conflicts we still endure to this day.
Writer/performer Carlyle Brown is a playwright-artist-thinker whose body of work through the years continues to bring fresh and riveting insights into the experience of race in America. Carlyle guides audience discussion following this powerful theatrical solo performance where he encourages personal and actionable solutions.
“Acting Black investigates the social construct of race and provides a way to talk about issues in a context in which it is safe to be uncomfortable. This experience is not about guilt but about understanding.” -Audience Member
“Acting Black is not really a play. The prolific Brown has written and performed in plays for one actor, in which he takes on characters and puts himself in a narrative context. Not this time. In the first half of Acting Black, Brown appears as a lecturer, using a PowerPoint presentation to explain the notion of “acting black,” its origins, as framed by the entertainment industry, and the scars it has caused and continues to inflect on American society. His lecture is performed without notes, very polished, laced with humor, anecdotes and descriptive imagery, but the man on stage is not playing a character—he is quite himself, speaking directly to us, the audience.” -Arthur Dorman, Talkin’ Broadway
Based in Minnesota, but with roots in Tennessee, Chastity grew up surrounded by country and soul music. In the full gospel church of her childhood, she played saxophone and drums and found her singing voice and a passion for music. Her first show was in Knoxville, TN, and then it was on to Minneapolis. Since then, she’s been featured on NPR’s “Favorite Sessions,” CMT, American Songwriter, the London Times, Paste Magazine and others.
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Larry is an actor, two-time World Champion Fancy Dancer, an Eagle Dancer, and is from the Meskwaki Nation in Tama, Iowa. His repertoire includes
performances at the Olympics, The Kennedy Center, and the Smithsonian Institute. This show is in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Includes a pie social following the program!
$10 per ticket | Tickets: boxoffice@reifcenter.org
(218) 327-5780
Open to senior living facilities and groups, as well as the general public. This show is part of the 2019-2020 Reif Senior Series.
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Steve Fossen and Michael Derosier, bassist and drummer for the band Heart during the 1970s and early 1980s, are now touring as Heart By Heart. “Our mission is to perform the classic Heart music as faithfully as we can,” Fossen says. The band features vocalist Somar Macek, guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Lizzy Daymont and guitarist Chad Quist. Heart By Heart presents a powerful, dynamic show that includes all the favorite Heart hits as well as deep album cuts that fans will love.
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October 2019
Feelin’ Alright! is an entertaining musical variety show that pays tribute to Woodstock 1969 – a historic event that defined a culture but could
never be duplicated. With the songs we love from Woodstock and riveting back stories that take you behind the scenes, this unique show will blast you back to the past. Performed by the award-winning band, Pat & Donna Surface and American Pie – this show includes humor, compelling video, and a Woodstock Trivia segment with prizes.
The electrifying trio of Glen McDaniel, Nick Villalobos, and Zack Clark, together known as Simply Three, has been captivating audiences worldwide with high-octane performances since 2010. Acclaimed as “having what it takes” (Boston Philharmonic) and “highly imaginative and well played” (Maine Today), Simply Three continues to receive praise for their ability to impress listeners with a multitude of genres that span from artists and composers such as Adele, Gershwin, Coldplay, Twenty One Pilots, and Ed Sheeran.
Oct. 11, 12, 18, 19 at 7:30. Sunday, 2:00 matinees are Oct. 13 and 20. Tickets are $15.
The Grand Rapids Players invites you to Deathtrap, directed by Steve Jaeger, Oct. 11-20 at the Reif Center. Two acts, one set, five characters– a sharp thriller spun as a play-within-a-play, Ira Levin’s hit Deathtrap will surprise even the sharpest connoisseurs of murder mysteries. Written by Ira Levin in 1978, this 2-act play is known as one of the biggest hits on Broadway, running for four years with almost 1800 performances.
Playwright Sidney Bruhl (John Peterson), once one of the brightest lights on Broadway has spent the past decade in the grip of the world’s worst case of writer’s block, and finds himself in the depths of despair — until he receives a package from his former student Clifford Anderson (Nate Pace). Inside is an unproduced script that’s better than anything Sidney has written in years. At the urging of his wife, Myra (Susie Mogan), Sidney undertakes a plan to lure Clifford to his country home and, through fair means or foul make that script his own. But shortly after Clifford arrives, it’s clear that things are not what they seem. Even Helga Ten Dorp (Marina Whight), the eccentric psychic/author from next door, and Porter Milgram(Greg Tuttle), Sidney’s observant attorney, can only speculate where the line between truth and deception lies.
Deathtrap was a 4-time Tony Award nominee for Best Play, Featured Actor, Featured Actress, and Best Director. With Deathtrap, playwright Levin received his second Edgar Award, for Best Play, as well.
Deathtrap is presented with special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY.
“What’s Going On” is a concert experience that incorporates live music, narration and video to provide the audience a multi-media deep dive into the 60’s and early 70’s and the Vietnam War. Through song and imagery this concert examines the time period, but concludes on a note of inspiration and hope for a better tomorrow. A must-see Fabulous Armadillos production.
We’re thrilled to share that HomeFront Resource Center received a grant from USA TODAY NETWORK’s A Community Thrives initiative! With this $25,000 grant they are offering Veteran’s and Military a BOGO (buy one-get one free) ticketing program for the show. Coupon code: VETBOGO at check-out.
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Full intensity living without a second to waste or take for granted — that is Mary Bue’s m.o. After moving to Minneapolis in 2016, she has found herself with a new band of her dreams and a new album in the works to share her high intensity life philosophy in its title track The World is Your Lover.
A prolific songwriter with 7 albums under her belt, Mary’s music touches upon archetypal themes of the human condition: love, loss, triumph, dreams, and the natural world. A longtime student of yoga and psychology since her early teens, Mary weaves sacred subject matter into her songs with inquiries into the spirit, the seeking of deeper levels of consciousness, and deep concern for the environment all mixed into her sometimes crass, real-world hue. For the early half of 2017 Mary was an Artist in Residence at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM – spending time creating in solitude, along the Rio Grande river gorge and Sangre de Cristo mountains. She released her 7th project The Majesty of Beasts in May 2017 which landed on 2017’s Best of Minnesota Music lists for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and #3 in the City Pages. Mary’s long-time support of PAVSA (Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault) as well as the release of this EP was also recognized, honoring Mary with 2017 Community Ally of the Year.
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