It’s almost October, which means fall is nearly here. With the hot days of summer winding down, Michiganders find themselves returning indoors for activities. Local residents have plenty of opportunities to be entertained and educated all season long at the
Midland Center for the Arts.
This fall, the lineup features something for everyone, from Broadway shows, global cultural perspectives, community theatre, educational and art workshops, comedians, concerts, and more.
![]()
Rob Schwimmer will perform at the MSO concert on October 7.
Alex Woody, Midland Center for the Arts communications and public relations manager, says the season kicks off on Oct. 7 with the Midland Symphony Orchestra
Spooky Symphony event.
“This is going to be an incredible night of spooky themed music,” Woody says. “We’re going to have a theremin virtuoso Rob Schwimmer, who’s going to perform selections for Alfred Hitchcock’s films ‘Spellbound,’ and ‘Vertigo.’”
Other concerts this fall include
The Gavilán Brothers, Afro-Cuban pianist and violinist, on Oct. 13.
“These are two brothers who were separated during political conflict growing up in the 70s, but were reunited as adults, both as acclaimed musicians. They're coming together to perform a little bit about their heritage and background,” Woody says.
![]()
The Gavilán Brothers will perform at the MCFTA on October 13.
The local community theatre, Center Stage, will be performing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, ”
Doubt, A Parable” on Oct. 12-15. The gripping story focuses on religion, truth, consequences, and morals.
![]()
“At the end of October [Oct. 27-29], we have our youth theatre performing ‘
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’ This is a new adaptation written by a member of our marketing team, Christopher Castanho, and this is local kids from the Great Lakes Bay Region putting this on. It’s a show-within-a-show, a group of kids are exploring an attic and they find an old copy of
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and over the course of Halloween night, the kids put on their own production of it in their grandmother’s attic. It’s very cute,” Woody says.
Aside from performances, the Center for the Arts also hosts hands-on workshops to learn new art techniques and forms. Many of the fall
Studio School for Adults classes and workshops are already full, but a few photography and drawing classes still have seats available, according to Woody.
The Center also opened up two new pop-up exhibits, including the Down to Earth exhibit in the
IFF & Dupont STEM Exhibit Space, from now until Nov. 12. The exhibit is recommended for kids PreK through fifth grade, and peels back the layers of Earth, exploring volcanoes, earthquakes and geological records.
![]()
On the art museum side of things, the Center is showcasing Master Drawings from Northwood University’s Collection from now until Nov. 12. “This is going to be some of the oldest works that we’ve featured since the 2020 flood in our museum space,” Woody says. “This is featured throughout the lobby spaces, with drawings from artists including French, Italian, Dutch, and German artists from the 1500s to the 1800s.”
There’s a free art reception on Sept. 29 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to celebrate this exhibit, followed by a
Beyond the Exhibit Guest Lecture on Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. featuring Clare Rogan, a curator from the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Woody says the season’s diverse lineup of events reflects on the Center for the Arts’ mission. “We really pride ourselves on being a cultural hub for the Great Lakes Bay region, so it is very important to feature art, science, history, music, theatre, and dance all housed under one roof,” he says. “It’s incredibly important for us to celebrate and be a haven for artists within our community, to chaperone different viewpoints, and really educate and embrace the cultural background of the region.”