October 12, 2026

Music and memories: SVSU production recalls summer of 1969 and the lofty dreams of the time

“A Trip to the Moon” runs Oct. 14-18 in SVSU’s Black Box Theatre

In 1969, popular culture was popping in the United States. While the dreams of our nation centered on the July moon landing, individual aspirations fueled people’s daily lives.

With its production of “A Trip to the Moon,” Saginaw Valley State University’s Theatre Department tells the story of people reaching for their dreams through eight vignettes, each named after an iconic song of the time. The play runs Wednesday, Oct. 14-Sunday, Oct. 18, in the Black Box Studio Theatre in Curtiss Hall.

In “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (Rolling Stones), a girl tries to convince her parents to let her go to Woodstock. “Bad Moon Rising” (Creedence Clearwater Revival) tells of a woman trying to get a job at NASA. A soldier gives the new guy a reality check in “Fortunate Son” (another CCR song), while protestors how a girl how to fight for what’s right in “Come Together” (The Beatles).
Told with humor and heart, these scenes and others remind us about who we were, reflect on who we could be and reinforce the idea that dreams are achievable if we reach for the stars.

“A Trip to the Moon,” directed by Lily Oddo, a pre-nursing major from Utica, is a Studio XP production. The cast includes:

• Page Bythewood, a psychology major from Cheboygan
• Clayton Collier, a theatre major from Tawas City
• Ben Hanson, a theatre major from Bay City
• Tyler Huskey, a theatre major from White Lake
• Owen Kurth, a theatre major from Lake Orion
• Tristan Quinn, a fine arts major from Clio
• Noah Ralph, a theatre major from Bay City
• Leo Schynk, a theatre major from Cologne, Germany
• Julia Showalter, a pre-occupational therapy major from Rochester Hills
• Brook Treynor, a theatre major from Saginaw
• Angel Ward, a pre-management major from Mt. Morris
• Addi Williams, a cell biology, molecular biology and biomedical science major living in Saginaw
• Amber Wissel, a pre-social work major from Dewitt

Performances of “A Trip to the Moon” will be Wednesday, Oct. 14-Friday, Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 17, at 3: p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m. All performances will be staged in SVSU’s Black Box Studio Theatre, Curtiss Hall 180. Tickets are $15 plus fees and can be purchased online here (https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/27468/svsuperforming-arts-center) or at the SVSU box office beginning one hour prior to showtime. There is no charge for SVSU students.