Sept. 27, 2011

Cooley-Sponsored Annual Lansing Theater Series Announces 2011-2012 Shows

Organizers of Stages of the Law, the annual theater series sponsored by the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, announced shows for the upcoming sixth season.

"Cooley and the Lansing area share a strong history of support for the arts," said Don LeDuc, Cooley Law School’s president and dean. "We're thrilled to bring a sixth season of legal-themed plays to the community. Stages of the Law is considered a very unique collaboration among community theatres and a law school."

Cooley Law School President Don LeDuc talks about the upcoming shows for Stages of the Law.

Theaters featured in the fifth annual Stages of the Law series include:
• Riverwalk Theatre (Oct. 20-30) with Conspiracy
• Lansing Community College's Dart Auditorium (Nov. 4-12) with The Shrike
• Mid Michigan Family Theatre (Dec. 2-11) with The Goblins & the Gravedigger
• New to the series this year, Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts (Jan. 27-28) with The Exonerated
• And Stormfield Theatre with Race in Fall of 2012

Tickets for performances can be purchased at the individual theater's ticket office.

Stages of the Law will also feature "Talk Back" sessions for audience members after performances on scheduled "Talk Back" nights, with a Cooley Law School professor explaining areas of the law featured during each play. Theater performances on the nights of "Talk Back" performances also feature discounted pricing (buy one ticket, get another ticket free).

"Talk Back" sessions are scheduled for:
• Saturday, Oct. 22 at Riverwalk Theatre at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 5 at Lansing Community College's Dart Auditorium at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 10 at Mid Michigan Family Theatre 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 28 at Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts at 8 p.m.

Summary of theater performances:

Conspiracy
Riverwalk Theatre (Oct. 20-30)
Written by: Loring Mandel
Directed by: James Houska
Description: 1942, Wannsee, Nazi Berlin, 14 Reich Ministers and S.S. functionaries meet with S.S. General Reinard Heydrich, to discuss and implement plans for the "final solution." In less than two hours the fate of over six million innocent lives is to be decided.

The Shrike
Lansing Community College's Dart Auditorium (Nov. 4-12)
Written by: Joseph Kramm
Directed by: Paige Dunckel
Description: This Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a chilling melodrama about an intellectual trapped in a mental asylum by his wife's manipulations. As Jim recovers from a suicide attempt, he realizes the power of institutional law, and that recovery doesn't necessarily guarantee release. 

The Goblins & the Gravedigger
Mid Michigan Family Theatre (Dec. 2-11)
Description: Goblins help to connect the meanest man in town with three loving orphans who desperately need a home, in this heartwarming Christmas tale.

The Exonerated
Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts (Jan. 27-28)
Directed by: Kristine Thatcher
Description: The Exonerated tells the true stories of six people sent to Death Row for crimes they did not commit. Based on three years of extensive research, this dramatic reading is the winner of 2003 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.

For more information, visit http://www.cooley.edu/stages.

About Thomas M. Cooley Law School:
Thomas M. Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation.  Founded in 1972, the private, nonprofit law school operates its Juris Doctor program, Joint Degree programs, and Master of Laws programs across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. Cooley recently announced a new Tampa Bay, Florida-area campus, with courses beginning in May 2012.  Cooley has more than 15,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and offers enrollment three times a year in January, May and September. Cooley is an independent law school, accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. Additional information can be found at cooley.edu.