Plays-in-Development
"Killing It" by Rebecca Kane
"The Following is Based on a True Story" by Meghan Barnes
"Discards" by Robert Weibezahl
"The Albino Woman of the Kaw River Valley (Dun Dun Daaaaa!) by Henry Bier and Ron Davis
"Places!" by Ellie Gray
SPECIAL EVENT - Each season, The Sauk searches for plays that are still in the development process. We match playwrights with directors and then actors to help workshop the play, making improvements to the script throughout the process. Then, public readings are held and the audience is invited to share their feedback. Playwrights leave the process with advice from a director, a cast and an audience. This year, we are adding a Saturday afternoon Plays-in-Development Jr. to the lineup featuring script written by local teenagers.
Directors TBA.
This production is sponsored by State Farm Agent Jason Adcock, Gossage Eye Institute & Optical, Hillsdale CASA, Don Toffollo of Edward Jones, Country Carpets and DJ Johnson & Associates. Plays-in-Development Jr. is sponsored by Walmart. A grant from the Walmart Foundation encourages local writers to inspire to get their work produced at The Sauk.
The Lion, The Witch
and The Wardrobe
Dramatized by Joseph Robinette
from the story by C.S. Lewis.
The intense action features chases, duels and escapes as the witch is determined to keep Narnia in her possession and to end the reign of Aslan. All the memorable episodes from the story are represented in this exciting dramatization: the temptation of Edmund by the witch, the slaying of the evil wolf by Peter, the witnessing of Aslan's resurrection by Susan and Lucy, the crowing of the four new rulers of Narnia, and more. The supporting characters are also here: the unicorn, the centaur and other forest animals, along with Father Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and Tumnus the Faun. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is a true celebration of life.
Directed by Tim Ambrose.
This production is sponsored by The Udder Side.
Adapted by Julie Jensen
from the National Book Award-winning novel by Kathryn Erskine
LOCAL DRESS REHEARSAL - Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
at The Sauk. This dress rehearsal is a "Pay What You Can" event.
STATE AACTFEST PERFORMANCE - Saturday, March 1 at 4 p.m.
at the Bay City Players, 1214 Columbus Ave. in Bay City, Michigan.
For competition tickets, visit baycityplayers.org.
SPECIAL EVENT - Caitlin is an 11-year-old girl on the autism spectrum. Not all things make sense to her. Emotions are mysterious and voices are almost always too loud. Suddenly, she must grapple with the unthinkable: a mass shooting has taken her brother away. He was the one person who helped her cope. Now she is alone with her grieving father and a cacophony of children at school. We see the world from Caitlin’s point of view. We struggle as she does. We also take comfort in the times when she finds a friend, draws a multicolored mockingbird and can finally cry for her brother.
This production was produced and designed by the teen cast members.
This production is sponsored by Grace Church Suite.
Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs
MAINSTAGE SEASON - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, setting the standards and rules of modern musical theatre. In a Western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey, as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road, contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination and the promise of a new land. FIRST SAUK PRODUCTION IN 25 YEARS!
Directed by Trinity Bird. Musical Direction by Kristi Gautsche.
This production is sponsored by Meijer. The 2025 Orchestra Sponsor is Moore Insurance Services, Inc.
Winnie the Pooh
By A.A. Milne
Adapted by Kathryn Schultz Miller
This play is a faithful adaptation of A. A. Milne's first book of Pooh stories: Winnie-the-Pooh. Welcome to Christopher Robin's "100 Aker Wood", home of all your favorite childhood friends: Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, Roo and of course that "hunny" loving bear, Pooh. Balloons, Heffalumps and Donkey-tails take the stage and everyone celebrates at a woodsy party. Happy Birthday to all of us and three cheers for the wonderful Winnie-the-Pooh!
Directed by Trinity Bird.
This production is directed by Southern Michigan Bank & Trust.
Sauk Shorts
A collection of short plays by Tom Block, Deirdre Girard, Sarah Gray, Scott Mullen, Tiffany Thatcher, G.M. (Bud) Thompson and Jacob Weldon
SAUKSECONDS SEASON - Our annual celebration of the short play. This year's collection will include four plays written for The Sauk's 24-Hour Theatre Project. This will help us celebrate the fifth aniversary of the project schedule for later this year. This collection of 10-minute plays include plays by local writers, Sauk favorites and two new-to-the-Sauk writers. A variety of plays for everyone.
Directed by Jennifer Ambrose, Tim Ambrose, Andy Anderson, Trinity Bird, Ellie Gray, Sarah Gray, Josh Hall and Kiralyn Nelson.
This production is sponsored by Sandi Miller.
This production is part of our SaukSeconds Season.
The 24-Hour
Theatre Project
Six short plays written, cast, designed, rehearsed and performed in 24 hours!
SPECIAL EVENT - Join us for an evening of original theatre created in just 24 hours. The fun begins Friday evening when six playwrights are paired with directors and given a theme. Then, auditions begin. The playwrights chose who they want to write for and the writing begins. The writers have until Sunday morning at 7 a.m. to write an original 10-minute play. Then, rehearsals begin. Performance time is 8 p.m. Saturday night. This is a "Pay What You Can" fundraiser for The Sauk! This is the fifth anniversary year of this unique, fun event.
Directors and writers TBA.
This production is sponsored by State Farm Agent Jason Adcock and Drews Place Assisted Living Communities.
The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company production of
Richard III
By William Shakespeare
SPECIAL EVENT - Our friends from the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company (Michigan's only year-round professional touring Shakespeare company) return to The Sauk with their production of Richard III. The play charts the rise of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a cold-blooded and dastardly villain who slaughters his family and even marries his victim's widow to become king. One of Shakespeare's history plays, the play is not necessarily true to fact. We hope you join us for their special event.
This production is sponsored by Saucy Dog Barbecue and Olivia's Chop House.
Previously This Season
Girls' Weekend
By Karen Schaeffer
SAUKSECONDS SEASON - In this lightning-quick farce, four women travel to Dot’s Northwoods cabin to consume copious amounts of wine, laugh at their lives, trade stories and chat about their book club’s latest selection. However, after the third case of wine comes through the door, it becomes clear there will be more stewing than reviewing. Carol, who is monitoring her temperature for the best “window of opportunity” to get pregnant, gets a ride to the cabin from her husband, Rick, who is hoping the “time is right” for a quick tryst. She sends him home, frustrated, in a snowstorm, only to discover that her temperature shows she IS ready, and calls him to drive back and hide out in a shed until she can sneak him in with a special porchlight signal. Meg, recently widowed, is having a secret affair with Dot’s son, only to find he has shown up at the cabin unexpectedly and wants to further their relationship in stealth. Meg sends him to hide in a boathouse until he sees her special porchlight signal and the coast is clear to rejoin her in the cabin. Ellie, the youngest and Meg’s daughter, would rather not be a part of the weekend with her “elders” and meets a young townie, inviting him to hide out in a barn. When he sees her special porchlight signal, he climbs into her bedroom window and sneaks her out to a local bar after the other ladies retire. The only obstacle to each of the ladies’ secret endeavors is Dot, who wants to stay up all night and party with the girls. So they make sure they ply her with plenty of party favors, and Dot proceeds to pass out. The ladies move Dot’s lifeless body from floor to closet to room, as the bottles tip up, the secrets spill out and the men sneak in. The madcap, door-slamming chaos comes to a head when Dot wakes up and discovers her girls’ weekend is full of men!
Directed by Christina Dube.
This production is sponsored by Hillsdale CASA.
This production is part of our SaukSeconds Season.
By Bess Wohl
SAUKSECONDS SEASON - In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward humor, this strange and compassionate new play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.
Directed by Bruce Crews. Intimacy Direction by Katherine Mayberry.
This production is sponsored by DJ Johnson & Associates.
This production is part of our SaukSeconds Season. This production includes strong language and adult situations that may not be enjoyed by all audiences.
The Outsiders
Adapted by Christopher Sergel.
From the book by S.E. Hinton
MAINSTAGE SEASON - The Outsiders is a searing story of real kids in real situations with real consequences seen through the eyes of young Ponyboy. Territorial battles between the have-it-made rich kids — the Socs — and Ponyboy’s tough, underprivileged “greaser” family and friends are just a part of life. But even in the midst of urban gang warfare, somehow Ponyboy can’t forget a short poem that speaks to their fragile young lives. This heroic story of belonging, friendship, and maintaining hope in the face of struggle is a powerful reminder of what young people encounter every day.
Directed by Trinity Bird.
This production is sponsored by State Farm Agent Jason Adcock.
Jesus Christ Superstar
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
MAINSTAGE SEASON - What’s the buzz? The first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be produced for the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar has wowed audiences for over 50 years. A timeless work, the rock opera is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Superstar follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Gethsemane.” FIRST TIME AT THE SAUK!
Directed by Trinity Bird. Musical Direction by Kristi Gautsche. Choreography by Sarah Kilgore.
This production is sponsored by the Jonesville Rotary Club. The 2025 Orchestra Sponsor is Moore Insurance Services, Inc.