Erinn Gustafson, a Lake Orion High School senior, will star in Charlotte’s Web, on stage at the Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak.
Gustafson has been performing since she was eight in roles such as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca Gibb in Our Town, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Pippi Longstocking and Alice in Wonderland.
She has also performed at Meadow Brook Theatre as Fan in A Christmas Carol and at LOHS as part of the Thespian Club.
She will be attending college next fall majoring in communications and cinematic Arts.
Charlotte’s Web is presented by Stagecrafters Youth Theatre. The show will run Dec. 10 through 13.
Considered one of the best-selling children’s book of all time, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web comes alive with the title characters of Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider setting the tale in motion. Audiences will take pleasure in the artful set design of the County Fair and the magical spider web, the homespun barnyard, creative costuming and delightful character antics.
Performed by Stagecrafters Youth Theatre (SYT) members, ages eight to 18, this version of Charlotte’s Web is by Joseph Robinette.
The story starts out on a farm that has just witnessed the birth of a litter of pigs and the runt, Wilbur (Andre Moon, of Royal Oak), is marked as dinner by Farmer John Arable (John Duffy Leo, of Pleasant Ridge). The farmer’s daughter, Fern (Emily Muench, of Huntington Woods), charges to the rescue of the small pig. Even after Wilbur goes to live with her Uncle Homer (Mitch Aiello, of Troy), she continues to keep him and the other barnyard animals as her playmates and friends.
The barnyard friends consist of a cast of colorful characters, such as the Silly Goose (Shelby Maurice, of Royal Oak) and Gander (Lucas Marselle, of Rochester Hills), rascally rodent, Templeton (Brendan Battle, of Royal Oak) and of course, caring and loyal spider, Charlotte (Erinn Gustafson, of Lake Orion).
Charlotte’s Web will run approximately an hour and a half. Audience members are welcome to stay after the show to meet and greet the characters and get autographs. Advance ticket purchase is recommended. Tickets for the show are $6 youth, $9 adult. Call 248.541.6430 for tickets. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. All seats are reserved. This show is recommended for ages five and older. No babes-in-arms, please.
Show dates and times are Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.
The matinee performance on Saturday will be an American Sign Language Interpreted Performance for the Deaf. Deaf patrons may contact Stagecrafters via email (vonniem@stagecrafters.org) or use Michigan Relay.