Author Archives: jcarpen

Eye on Arts ReviewLoissa Elizabeth Harrison-ParksCentral Michigan University A fun, vibrant and quirky production of a classic children’s book awaits theatergoers at Saginaw’s Pit and Balcony Community Theatre. Set in the humble, rural South, Joseph Robinette’s adaptation of “Charlotte’s Web” successfully transports the audience into the heart of E.B White’s famous book about a barnyard friendship between a pig and a spider. Shall we say the cast and crew spins a beautiful rendition of this classic tale. The setting, as […]

by Janet I. Martineau  A word of warning if you venture forth to see Pit and Balcony Community Theatre’s production of the musical “Legally Blonde,” running through Oct. 16. There are three scene stealers – make that show stealers – who so overshadow everything else that you go home chuckling and chortling about them and tend to dismiss all else in the show.  That’s not not really a good thing in a production, given that a cast is supposed to perform […]

Thank you so much for opening up the theatre to our group from Carrollton High School. I apologize for not being able to stay for the talk-back following the show as some of our students are required to leave campus in the afternoon and needed to be back at the school. It was such a great opportunity for them to see such a well-crafted piece of local theatre. My students walked away with a wonderful appreciation of the power of […]

by Janet I. Martineau In two weeks time they’re going to be dead. Every single one of them. Due to total exhaustion. That’s my prediction for the cast, and probably the crew too, involved in Pit and Balcony Community Theatre’s production of “Noises Off” — which opens appropriately on April Fool’s Day. Saw the final dress rehearsal of the frantic farce, and it is one of the most physically demanding shows ever with the nine-member cast doing the same scene […]

By Janet Martineau Tonight (Feb. 5), Pit and Balcony Community Theater opens its production of “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl. Prepare yourself, it is a doozy. Charming yet wacky. Playful yet serious. Set back in the time of mythology yet totally contemporary. Off-the-wall yet intensely human. So full of color and wild costumes and inventive special effects that sometimes you miss the equally wonderful words. In a nutshell, Ruhl rule has taken the story of Orpheus, a legendary musician, poet and […]