The Theatre Department of Schoolcraft College recently dropped the curtain on a very successful fall season with all six performances of Leonard Gershe’s “Butterflies Are Free” playing to sold-out crowds. Four local performers made up the cast of the very popular comedy. Alexander Freeman, a resident of Garden City, played the role of Don, a handsome young bachelor who wants a place of his own away from his over-protective mother, played by Rebecca Himm of Northville, so he moves to a cramped cold-water flat. His kooky neighbor, Jill, who was played by Stephanie Lee of Westland, wants to live a life free of commitment and responsibility; and after meeting the bachelor, she proposes to remove the connecting door to their two apartments.  When the young man’s mother and the girl next door meet, the two simply do not mix.  Throughout this wonderful romantic comedy, which also included Vernon Spiker of Romulus in the role of Ralph, audience members enjoyed a great deal of laughter and the opportunity to connect with the cast of characters as they discovered independence, commitment, love, and each other.

Now the Theatre Department’s focus turns to Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”Auditions for the play will be held Tuesday, January 12 and Wednesday, January 13 at 7 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Theatre on the college’s main campus in Livonia, Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Roads. Auditions are open to all students, faculty, staff and the general public. There are more than 30 roles that will need to be filled for “King Lear.” For more information about the auditions, please call 734-462-4440 ext. 5270.

Tickets for “King Lear” are already on sale, and extremely popular as well. Dinner Theatre performances will be Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 and Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27. The evening will begin with a delicious dinner in the VisTaTech Center at 6:30 p.m. and the play will begin at 8 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Theatre. Tickets for the Dinner Theatre performances are $24 per person. The final two performances of “King Lear” will be Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10 at 8 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Theatre. Tickets for the play only are $12 per person. Tickets for “King Lear” can be purchased in person at the Schoolcraft College Bookstore, at www.scboxoffice.com, or by calling 734-462-4400 ext. 4596.

“King Lear,” one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, is another play about family relationships. In it, one father with three daughters and another father with two sons all deal with love, friendship, loyalty and treason, common and relevant themes even today. This edited version of “King Lear” is easy to understand, and the grand-scale production and memorable scenes are sure to excited and entertain all who attend.

Schoolcraft College is a public two-year college, offering classes at the Livonia campus, Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Roads, at the Radcliff Center in Garden City, and online at schoolcraft.edu.