Tag Archives: Good People

The Weekend Edition: Things to do for Sept. 22 – 25

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Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

It might be a little cloudy this weekend, but that should not stop  anyone from venturing out. And there is plenty to do with ArtPrize rolling in this week.

 

So to help fill your weekend calendar, here are just a few things we spotted that we thought you might enjoy:

 

ARTPRIZECP15Thursday, Sept. 22: ArtPrize kicked off on Wednesday and you have until Oct. 9 to see it all. The radically open international art competition is mostly located in downtown Grand Rapids and is walkable. New are eight ArtPrize Hubs serving as welcoming centers and voter registration. The hubs are Center City Hub @ GRAM, 101 Monroe Center NW; Heartside Hub @ UICA, 2 W. Fulton St.; Hillside Hub @ Women’s City Club, 254 E. Fulton St.; Rumsey Street Hub @SiTE:LAB, 333 Rumsey St. SW; Monroe North Hub @ DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave. NW; Westside Hub @ the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, 303 Pearl St. NW; Meijer Gardens Hub, 1000 E. Beltline NE; and the ArtPrize Hub/Headquarters at 41 Sheldon Blvd SE.

Round one voting ends Oct 1 with the final 20 announced Oct. 2. (Note only two entries per venue will be allowed to advance to the top 20.) Round 2 voting ends Oct. 6 with the winners announced Oct. 7. For more information, visit artprize.org.

 

witter

Friday, Sept. 23: The Grand Rapids Symphony kicks off its Pops season with the concert “The Piano Men,” featuring pianist Jim Witter. The concert, which is at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, will feature some of the most popular hits of Billy Joel and Elton John accompanied by a multi-media musical journey. Tickets are $90 – $15. For more information, visit grsymphony.org.

 

Courtesy of @grcivictheatre instagram
Courtesy of @grcivictheatre instagram

Saturday, Sept. 24: David Lindsay-Abairee’s play “Good People,” about the struggles of the lower middle class, wraps up its run at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre this weekend. Showtime for tonight is at 7:30 p.m. at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, 30 N. Division Ave. The last show is Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $28 – $16. For more, check out the review by Susanne Ablaitis or visit grtc.org.

 

Of you can head over to Caledonia for the Harvest Festival from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hosted by the Caledonia Area Chamber of Commerce, this family-friendly event includes a hayride, pumpkin decorating, a hay maze, face painting, games, music, an antique tractor display, food samples from area restaurants and a baked goods sale by the Caledonia Women’s Club.  There is also a Scarecrow Contest. For more information, visit www.caledoniachamber.com/harvestfestival.

 

Sunday, Sept. 25: Loren Barrigar and Mark Mazengarb bring their “One to One” tour to Grand Rapids Wealthy Theater, 1110 Wealthy St. SE. Barrigar and Mazengarb share a musical chemistry and stage presence seldom found around musicians. The duo’s repertoire constants of original and arranged music of guitar instrumentals and vocal duets. They have been influenced by Americana, Jazz, Country Western, and Classical music. The two perform at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit Wealthy Theatre’s website.

 

BONUS EVENT: Dorr’s New Salem Corn Maze will be hosting its annual Wusrt Festival Ever this weekend with lots of music and fun. This Friday is the country/southern bands No One’s Home, Double Barrel and Dani Jamerson. Saturday, gates open at 11 a.m. with a host of activities such as the Human Hamster Ball Race and live music starting at 4 p.m. The Outer Vibe caps off the two-day event with a performance from 9:30 p.m. to dusk. Tickets are $5/Friday and $10/Saturday. Also all the haunted attractions start that weekend as well. For more information, visit www.newsalemcornmaze.com.

Fate and Free Will cross at Civic Theatre’s ‘Good People’

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Courtesy of @grcivictheatre instagram
Courtesy of instagram: @grcivictheatre

susanne_albaitisThere’s the age-old debate, fate vs. free will. Margie has made choices in her life, or was it really just her fate?

 

Good People, running September 9 – 25 at Civic Theater, takes a look into the life of Margie, a single mother who loses her job in the first scene. Her boss Stevie is no tyrant, rather the son of a friend who is only trying to keep “corporate” happy. Margie is chronically late to work, leaving the young man no choice but to let her go. When Margie pleads with Stevie to keep her, we begin to see a glimpse of how Margie’s life has reached this point.

 

Margie grew up in South Boston, a working class neighborhood where getting out was more the exception than the norm. Like many of her friends, Margie remained in South Boston after she got pregnant in high school. Her baby, Joyce, was born with special needs. This made finding and keeping a job difficult for Margie because there were days where she was unable to leave on time if Joyce was upset. She often relied on friends, who proved to be inconsistent, for daycare. And college? Forget about it. Margie’s parents did not encourage her to try in high school, college was never an option.

 

But there was someone who made it out of South Boston, Mike. Mike became a doctor, a fertility specialist and he moved to a big house in Chestnut Hill. He married a younger woman, Kate, and together they had a daughter. Margie knew Mike in high school, they even dated for a few months before Mike left for college.

 

Margie and Mike’s past begins to unfold when Margie seeks out Mike for a possible job in his office. Margie takes it one step further when she shows up at his home for a party that he had explained was cancelled.  Part heart-felt reunion, part awkward culture clash, the evening revealed and kept many secrets.  It also made you wonder, was Margie’s, or anyone’s, station in life the result of their decisions, or just their fate?

 

This small cast delivered a huge performance. From the accents to emotions, the cast had it covered. There were a lot of laughs too. The three ladies, Margie, Jean and Dottie are South Boston’s version of Monica, Rachel and Phoebe. They bicker, go to bingo and you can tell there’s a lot of love for each other in there too. Kate’s tenderness balanced Mike’s tough, but understandable attitude toward Margie. She is the voice of reason when the evening of the party takes an uncomfortable trip down memory lane.

 

Good People, a thought provoking, dramedy, is a must see start to Civic Theater’s amazing 2016-2017 season. Visit the Civic Theater website for more information.