Livonia Community Theatre Opens With the Musical Carousel

Livonia Community Theatre’s presentation of the musical Carousel, set in an amusement park on the New England Coast, seems particularly appropriate to Pat Hutchison, the group’s Artistic Director. “Putting together a complete musical in six weeks feels a lot like running an amusement park,” Hutchison says. “But when everyone pitches in and works together, we can make it happen.” The show runs July 27, 28, and 29, 2017, 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, 27475 Five Mile Road in Livonia.

Livonia Community Theatre (formerly Paul’s Players) offers a family summer musical workshop every other year as a way for families to experience all aspects of musical theater together. Families like Rebecca Borsodi, (Redford) and her daughter Abby, who are performing on stage, while dad Dan Borsodi plays bass in the pit and helps built sets and the Kain Family (Livonia) where dad Michael supervises set construction as mom Rachel and son Austin perform their roles on stage. Katherine O’Donnell (Livonia) not only plays female lead Julie Jordan, she also works as one of the assistant directors, while her mother Tina, assists the group with business and communication.

The cast of includes nearly 40 residents of Livonia, Redford, and other surrounding communities, with an age range of 10 through 70. Many more work behind the scenes, including a group of artists from throughout southeastern Michigan who each took on the task of creating a horse for the carousel.

Tickets for Carousel are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students under age 18, and may be purchased online at livoniacommuitytheatre.org or Eventbrite; by calling 248-347-4134; or at the door. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical opened on Broadway in 1945, and will have a Broadway revival in 2018. It features some of the most well known musical theater songs of the 20th century, among them You’ll Never Walk Alone and June is Bustin’ Out All Over.

Livonia Community Theatre was founded in 2011 as Paul’s Players, and changed their name this year to reflect a commitment to the arts in the city of Livonia. LCT is a non-profit organization whose mission is to offer a quality theater experience that will entertain, enrich, and educate people of all ages. The group is housed in St. Paul’s Presbyterian church, but is not affiliated with the church and welcomes participation from anyone interested in exploring and participating in live theater.