AUGUST 7, 2025 • Vol. 41, No. 18
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SPOTLIGHT ON Auto dealers discuss BUSINESS / 6A the latest in the industry
Ridgedale Players to present ‘Spring Awakening’ BY SARAH WRIGHT swright@candgnews.com
TROY — The theater group Ridgedale Players has announced its next play. The rock and folk musical “Spring Awakening” will be performed Aug. 1-3, Aug. 8-10 and Aug. 15-17 at 205 W. Long Lake Road. Showtimes are 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $22 for adults and $20 for seniors. Featuring music by Duncan Sheik, and a script and lyrics by Steven Sater, the show is based on the play of the same name by Frank Wedekind. It’s a coming-ofage story focused on a group of teenagers in Germany during the 19th century as they come to terms with their sexuality and identity during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The mature tale also explores the roles that parents and other adults can play — for better or for worse — in guiding teens through this phase of life. “The adults don’t help, and multiple kids don’t survive,” said Lauren Neuwirth, the play’s director at the Ridgedale Players. “It’s pretty heavy and still poignant. There are systemic issues and the cycle of abuse, but there’s a message of finding the love you have with your fellow people.” The plot unfolds from the perspective of different children but mainly focuses on the characters of Melchoir Gabor, Moritz Stiefel and Wendla Bergmann as they See AWAKENING on page 11A
Photo by Liz Carnegie
The Ridgedale Players have been rehearsing for their August musical, “Spring Awakening.”
BY SARAH WRIGHT
swright@candgnews.com
TROY — The Oakland County Parks are waiting on the Michigan legislature to approve a $2.17 million grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund that will pay for the county’s acquisition of Turtle Woods Nature Preserve. The park is a 70-acre parcel located on the north side of Square Lake Road between John
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See NATURE on page 19A
Oakland County Parks intends to make Turtle Woods Nature Preserve part of its parks system with the help of a state grant.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
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Funding underway for nature preserve