Community theaters / Downtown Lansing (Grand River)
Riverwalk Theatre
Lansing's all-volunteer community theater lives in a converted bus garage on the Grand River. Two stages, improv and radio plays: Season 38 runs from Come From Away to Mean Girls.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1989
- Resident companies
- Riverwalk Theatre (Community Circle Players) · Bare Bones Improv · Audio Air Force
- Formerly
- Community Circle Players (company founded 1958)
What makes it special: Two spaces: the Rotary Main Stage and the Dart Black Box Studio (opened 2009).
01 / Playbill
Now on stage
Announced lineup
What the venue announced on its own site when we last checked (2026-09-26). Click through for exact times and tickets.
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The company started in 1958 as Community Circle Players, in a small warehouse on Sheridan Street. From 1964 to 1986 it played in the Okemos Barn Theatre, until the barn was torn down. After raising more than $500,000, the group turned an old bus garage by the river into Riverwalk Theatre, which opened its first show on October 22, 1989. It bought the building in 1999 and has put nearly $2 million into renovations since; the Black Box studio opened in 2009, and shows now alternate between the Rotary Main Stage and the Dart Black Box. Season 38 (2026-27) brings Come From Away, Clybourne Park, Nine and Mean Girls, plus Bare Bones Improv nights and Audio Air Force radio plays.
- Two stages: Rotary Main Stage and Dart Black Box
- The Maltese Falcon radio play: October 2, 2026
- Bare Bones Improv: October 3, 2026
Plan your visit
Riverwalk is at 228 Museum Dr in downtown Lansing, right on the Grand River. For tickets, call (517) 482-5700 or check the website. A Charlie Brown Christmas plays for kids on December 12, 2026.
Theaters nearby
Back to theaters ↗
Campus stages / Lansing
Lansing Community College Performing Arts
Lansing Community College's theatre, dance and music programs put on more than 30 performances a year on the downtown campus, plus free shows under the stars every summer.
Kids’ & puppet theater / Lansing
All-of-us Express Children's Theatre
A Lansing youth theatre where kids and teens ages 6 to 18 perform for the community: four main productions a year, with meet-and-greets after the show.
Professional companies / Lansing
Peppermint Creek Theatre Company
A Lansing company staging classic and contemporary plays about social issues since 1995. The 2026-27 season plays at the new Stage One Performing Arts Center.