Variety is the Spice!

The Central Lakes College (CLC) Theatre's Cultural Arts Series season for 2014-15 will be a buffet of entertainment, CLC Theatre Director and Cultural Arts Series Producer Patrick Spradlin said.

"We listened to our audience and put together a season full of variety and fun," he said.

All the productions begin at 7:30 p.m. and the series begins with "The Foreigner," a wild comedy based on the idea of: What if the people around you thought you couldn't understand English? Imagine the things you'd hear: Dark secrets, confidential plans, thoughts spoken out loud. This is what happens to Charlie, a Brit visiting the backwoods of Georgia. When the local citizens believe him to be from an exotic foreign country, Charlie finds himself in the middle of all kinds of comic mayhem. The production runs Oct. 2-4 and 9-11 in the Chalberg Theatre.

Solo performing artist Tim Mooney returns to Brainerd with "The Greatest Speech of All Time," 10 speeches, including Socrates, Frederick Douglass, Abe Lincoln and more. "The Greatest Speech of All Time" leads the audience through the words that shaped history, as they were being spoken. The performance is Oct. 21 in the Chalberg Theatre.

The Fabulous Armadillos and Collective Unconscious return with their tribute concert celebrating the music of The Eagles, "Takin' it to the Limit" on Oct. 24 in the Tornstrom Auditorium. This encore performance has played to sold-out audiences twice before in Brainerd and in Staples.

"Steerage Song," performed by Theater Latte Da of Minneapolis, was created by Artistic Director Peter Rothstein along with musician and writer Dan Chouinard and will be performed Nov. 7 in the Chalberg Theatre. This musical docudrama tells a story of the journey immigrants took from Europe to America through Ellis Island. It features 40 songs chosen from 30 different European countries, and includes lyrics in 15 different languages, but the driving force is the universal language of music.

"Band on the Run-A Tribute to Wings" - comprised of musicians familiar to local audiences through their appearances with Collective Unconscious, the Fabulous Armadillos, Rock n Roll Xmas Spectacular and others - will be performed Nov. 13 in the Tornstrom Auditorium.. Presenting their versions of the music of Paul McCartney and Wings, the lineup includes Stacy Bauer, Jeff Engholm, Muggsy Lauer and Tom Bard.

"Sweet Dreams & Honky Tonks" will take stage Nov. 20 in the Chalberg Theatre. It's a new revue that presents the best loved songs of classic artists, such as Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn along with stories of their colorful lives and careers.

International piano legend George Winston returns to Brainerd for a solo piano concert Dec. 6 in the Chalberg Theatre. Winston plays more than 100 solo concerts a year, featuring a variety of styles, including melodic folk piano, New Orleans rhythm and blues piano and stride piano. The "Rock 'n' Roll Xmas Spectacular" - which will take place Dec. 17 at Tornstrom Auditorium - is a Las Vegas-caliber, multimedia, rock and roll extravaganza that mixes funny stories with favorite holiday songs. The line-up of musicians are Paul "Stretch" Diethelm, Ted Manderfeld, Pamela McNeill, Stacy Bauer, Tim Haussner, Mike Zeleny, Mike Kreitzer and Billy Thommes.

Davina and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national blues scene with their high-energy live shows, sharp-dressed professionalism and Davina Sowers' commanding stage presence. They will take the stage on Jan. 9, 2015, in the Chalberg Theatre.

Transit Authority Band is the premiere tribute band to the historic music of Chicago, the iconic 'rock and roll band with horns.' This eight-piece powerhouse ensemble includes some of the Midwest's most talented musicians. Each show is a high energy, spot-on tribute to the greatest music of all time and they will perform Jan. 23, 2015, at Tornstrom Auditorium.

The CLC Theatre will present "The Mousetrap," the longest-running play in theatre history. Agatha Christie's classic mystery will run February 12-14 and 19-21 of 2015 in the Chalberg Theatre. A group of strangers is stranded in a boarding house during a snowstorm. One of them is a murderer. The bodies pile up deeper than the snow outside.

Stringfever of London is a group of four world class musicians playing custom made electric stringed instruments who will perform Feb. 26, 2015, in the Chalberg Theatre. Their internationally acclaimed version of Ravel's "Bolero" features the guys playing this well-known classic on one cello simultaneously. Listen to "The History of Music in Five Minutes" and be taken on a musical journey from classic to rock with 40 tunes in five minutes.

Second City, a comedy event, will take place March 5, 2015, in Tornstrom Auditorium.

The Second City takes on all the local news that's fit to twist and serves it up with a side of Chicago-style improv.

The Commonweal Theatre of Lanesboro, one of the nation's best interpreters of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, presents: Ibsen's "The Master Builder" on March 19, 2015, in the Chalberg Theatre.

The play is about architect Halvard Solness, who despite personal tragedy, including the death of his two sons, has risen to the top of his profession. With the entrance of Hilda Wangel, a young woman whom he met as a child 10 years ago, his life acquires a new focal point, one that will mean the end of him.

The Fabulous Armadillos will bring their mystery show on April 23, 2015, in the Tornstrom Auditorium. The group had not yet announced its season of themed shows. As producer

The CLC Theatre production of "Servant of Two Masters" concludes the season with comedy shows April 30-May 2 and May 7-9 of 2015 in the Chalberg Theatre. Hilarity abounds in this madcap Italian comedy of lovers, lawyers, servants and 27 plates of meatballs.

Tickets for any and all of the events can be purchased through the CLC Theatre Box Office at 855-8199 or online at clcmn.edu/arts. Ticket prices have decreased from last year and there will be a ticket service fee, with the higher fee charged to online purchases.