THEATER

High school musical promises lots of light-hearted fun, along with new faces both in front of and behind the curtain

Local residents who would like to be part of a fun holiday show at the Historic Holmes Theatre are invited to audition for 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,' which will be presented at the theater on Dec. 2-3. Auditions will take place Sunday, Oct. 2, starting at 1 p.m., with rehearsals starting Oct. 8. A variety of adult and children's roles are available.

The final two performances of "The Music Man Jr.," set to take place tonight (July 22) at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 23 at 2 p.m. in Detroit Lakes' Historic Holmes Theatre, have been canceled "due to COVID," according to Holmes Theatre director Amy Stoller Stearns. A makeup date of Wednesday, July 27 has been scheduled, with tickets from both the canceled shows to be honored for the 7 p.m. performance.

A total of 35 kids signed up for the summer theater camp at Detroit Lakes' Historic Holmes Theatre this year — which means that the cast of "The Music Man Jr." will be the largest for the Holmes' summer musical to date. Three shows are planned between July 21-23 on the theater's main stage.

There may be just two more concerts on the Historic Holmes Theatre's spring concert schedule, but that doesn't mean the theater's staff is taking the summer off. Three summer theater camps for children will be held, along with some free theater workshops, art classes and the annual Tuesdays in the Park summer concert series at the City Park.

“I’ve seen kids open up more with their personality,”said Mike Swan, a member of the Native Advisory Board at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. “The kids take the lead in their drama camp production. It might be a fairy tale with castles and knights. They are expressing their creativity to let that out in new ways. Some kids never knew they could do something like that.”

The actor, a star of Academy Award Best Picture winner "CODA," returned home to an exuberant celebration and a mayoral declaration at the DECC on Monday.

Detroit Lakes Public Schools will present the classic children's tale, "Alice in Wonderland" this weekend at George Simson Auditorium. Three performances are set.

"The world is changing," Durant said about the rising representation of the Deaf community onscreen.