It's Time for "Mudge's Follies!"
It‘s
“Celebrate The 70‘s!“ when “Mudge’s Follies” performs its 36th annual variety show on Thursday and Friday,
June 23 & 24, 7 p.m. at the Grand Ledge High School Auditorium. “Mudge’s Follies” is a troupe of all-volunteer local musicians, singers, and dancers of all ages - 4 years old and up - in celebration of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday and our freedom.
In partnership with the Grand Ledge Public Schools, all proceeds from the show will go to “GLEAP,” the Grand Ledge Emergency Assistance Program. This worthy organization provides counseling and aid for anyone in the Grand Ledge School District who needs help with medications, housing, transportation and more. As of last year, the Follies has raised $25,800, all of which is used for their mission. At this time each year their funds have dwindled, so our donation is timely for their work.
“Celebrate The 70‘s!” features a wide variety of songs from that decade, including disco (of course), pop and rock. Musical highlights performed by jazz, tap and ballroom dancers, plus talented singers and our great band will be “I Will Survive,” “We Are Family,” “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,’ “Take It Easy,” “Superstition,” and “Blue Bayou.” On hand will be crowd favorites “The Grand Ledge Bums,” “The Yankee Doodle Tappers,” and “Take Note” barbershop quartet.
The evening ends with our traditional Fourth of July “Patriotic Finale,” a musical celebration of our freedom, patriotic songs and a tribute to all of our veterans with their service songs, ending with “God Bless America.”
Beginning in 1980, the variety show was performed outdoors on the city’s Second Island for 20 years during “Yankee Doodle Days.” “Mudge’s Follies” is named after a 3-story round building erected at the east end of the Island in the late 1800s by entrepreneur J.S. Mudge during Grand Ledge’s resort age. It was damaged by an icy flood in 1893 during its final stage of construction when the mechanical devices for the planned revolving tower were destroyed. The unique building remained until the 1920s, but was thereafter known, in local lore, as “Mudge’s Folly.”
Tickets are available now at Ace Hardware, MacDowell’s Hearth & Flowers, and the Opera House, all in Grand Ledge. Admission is adults $8.00 pre-sale or $10.00 at the door; all kids 12 and under are $5.00 at the door. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Come have fun with the Follies Gang for great family entertainment, a Fourth of July celebration of our freedom, a salute to our vets, and help our neighbors who are having a tough time!
If you have any questions, please call Libby Brandon, (517) 627-2715. The Grand Ledge High School Auditorium is an air-conditioned, barrier-free facility with convenient parking.
