The 2025 Summer Theatre Festival weekends at The Playhouse at White Lake begin this weekend, July 11-13, with a combination event - Bon Appetit, a comic opera celebrating Julia Child, and A Delicious Cabaret, which brings together a mix of food-themed Broadway hits. The event is taking place in partnership with the Muskegon Museum of Art's touring Julia Child exhibit, which is available at the museum through Sept. 1.
Bon Appetit is a 20-minute comic opera by Lee Hoiby that serves up a tribute to legendary chef Julia Child. It recreates two episodes of Child's TV show, The French Chef, featuring her famous chocolate cake recipe, complete with Child’s signature humor and flair,. Local actress Regina Schlaff stars as Child.
Blending drama, humor, and culinary artistry, the opera showcases Julia's words and gestures as she prepares the cake. The libretto, adapted by Mark Shulgasser, captures the essence of the chef’s charm.
The cabaret follows the Julia Child celebration, teaming a youth choir and professional lakeshore voices in various food-themed Broadway hits. Some of the songs included are Be Our Guest, Food, Glorious Food!, Vanilla Ice Cream, I Can Cook Too, Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm, Worst Pies in London, Whatever Lola Wants, Les Poissons, Empty Tables Empty Chairs, Drink with Me, Feed Me (Git It), It Couldn't Please Me More, Feed the Birds, The Ladies Who Lunch, What Baking Can Do, and Taylor The Latte Boy.
Tickets for the Summer Theatre Festival are available at theplayhouseatwhitelake.org, where you can also learn about the White Lake Youth Theatre, arts education for shoreline area students.
