Welcome to our website!

July 31, 2024

New site coincides with several other online enhancements

Welcome to our new website!


This redesign has been in the works for over a year and we are excited to raise the curtain on our new site. In addition to a more modern and dynamic layout, you’ll find more features, in depth information about shows, and see a lot more of your friends and neighbors highlighted throughout the site.


“One of the first things on my goals list for Theatre Lawrence when I started was to enhance our web presence,” Jamie Ulmer, TL executive director, said. “This is such a dynamic organization and we needed a website that reflected the quality of work happening on stage.”


The redesign coincides with several other online changes for TL. We have switched to a new ticketing system. The new system is easier to navigate, and should provide a faster and more robust experience when you purchase tickets online.


Along with tickets, the new software will handle volunteer management. You just need to fill out an online volunteer application, then once approved you’ll be able to sign up for opportunities like ushering, tending bar, or other behind the scenes roles. We are still in the transition process with volunteer management, so please excuse any little unexpected bumps in the road.


Finally, the new box office system integrates donor management and email marketing – bringing together what had been four different systems that didn’t communicate with each other under one platform.


We are very excited to debut this and many other exciting enhancements to our community.

Theatre Lawrence News & Announcements

A summer filled with JOY

By Jamie Ulmer • July 20, 2026
Joy. That's the only word I can think of to describe the feeling that has been radiating from the TL stage over the past several weeks. First came the joy of our annual Penguin Project production. Seeing youth with special needs take the stage and experience the audience's warm appreciation each night is nothing short of magical. This year's production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. proved it with time-obsessed rabbits, murderous Queen of Hearts, and ever-growing and shrinking young Alices. That was followed last weekend by our sold-out run of Guys and Dolls SR ., our very first Vintage Players senior musical. The joy was written on the face of every cast member, some of whom were appearing in their very first show (one made her acting debut at 83!). That joy carried over after each performance as friends, children, and grandchildren eagerly waited to congratulate the cast.  There's one more weekend of summer joy on tap as we present two youth productions, Willy Wonka KIDS and The Aristocats KIDS , playing in repertory this Friday and Saturday. Sharing joy like this makes all the schedule juggling, rehearsals, and investment of resources worthwhile. It reminds us why we support community-based, locally produced theatre. There is truly nothing like it, and we're thrilled to have been bringing that joy to our community for 50 years. Our exciting 50th Anniversary Season is about to begin, and we can't wait to share that joy with you! Jamie Ulmer TL Executive Director
Purple poster with a skull-and-crossbones and the title “PIRATES! Penzance the Musical”

CAST LIST: Pirates! The Penzance Musical

July 17, 2026
View the cast list for 'Pirates! The Penzance Musical.' Tickets go on sale August 3. Check it out!

Announcing the first Striving Artists Project recipient

July 1, 2026
Theatre Lawrence is pleased to announce the first recipient of the Louise ImMasche Striving Artists Project is Anj Marie Riffel and her musical Chasing Nirvana . The show will receive a production at Theatre Lawrence Oct. 2 and 3, 2026. Information about auditions and participating in the first staging of this original musical will be available in the coming weeks. Anj Marie Riffel wears a stack of hats professionally and passionately — including writer, editor, designer, and songwriter — with an enduring love of artistic expression. Her short plays have been featured on stage at Theatre Lawrence for New Works Night. When she’s not searching for her missing iPhone or the meaning of life, Anj can be found wading heart-deep in creative pursuits and loving her people. The Striving Artists Project honors the legacy of Louise ImMasche and the art they created by fostering a space and providing resources to small artists with big shows. This project aims to provide an opportunity to kinder those like Louise – unyielding in their dreams, a need to tell their stories, and looking to go big with the chances they are provided. About the show: Travel back to the heyday of Gen X, when twentysomethings were trying to figure out who they were beyond the walls of Shermer High School—and discovering that reality does indeed bite. Presley Martin is an endearingly awkward, hot mess of a musician who’s hoping her band might be the next Nirvana. While reaching on tiptoe for the stars, she loses her balance and winds up flirting with rock bottom instead. With the resurgence of 1990s culture, CHASING NIRVANA feels simultaneously nostalgic and current. Driven by catchy 90’s alt-rock music, the story appeals to a multi-generational audience, as it examines life’s big questions: Who will love me? Why am I here? What really matters? Packed with heart, humor, and a healthy dose of pop-culture wisdom, we follow Presley’s journey as she navigates a Bermuda love triangle and risks losing herself in the void between two very different dreams. Will she find her own sense of nirvana?
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