“Pando” reviews are rolling in: “It’s a must-see”

An actress raises her hand in triumph while pretending to drive a cart onstage during a dress rehearsal.

Reviews are rolling in for Kellogg Community College’s world-premiere run of the Brad Poer original “Pando.”

Still haven’t seen it? There are three more shows this weekend, March 22-24, in the Binda Performing Arts Center, on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek. Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday show starts at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $10 each for students, KCC faculty and staff and seniors, and $15 each for the general public. They can be purchased onsite before each show or reserved in advance through the KCC Theatre Box Office by calling 269-965-4154.

Here’s what fans are saying about the show!

“Y’all GOTTA go see it”

Curtis S. Arnold says on Facebook, “Never have I ever been to a show that made me feel like this one did. Y’all GOTTA go see it. It’s cheap, it’s fun, it’s supporting local artists and students, seriously, if my opinion means ANYTHING to you, you’ll go see this show. Saturday and Sunday this weekend and all next weekend too! Check it out!!!”

“I highly recommend it!”

Also on Facebook, Carrie Marie Zamora says, “Went to watch this last night and was not sure what to expect because I had heard it was about video games but yet not so I wasn’t sure I’d get it. (Not much of a gamer) But let me tell you!! I am so very proud of my friend Brad Poer who happens to be the playwrite and director of this show. I am so very proud of the cast of this show who I am also friends with and have acted with the majority of them. I laughed a TON and also nearly cried more than once. This show goes beyond video games. It talks about life. I am thankful I had the opportunity to see this as there were some things that even I needed reminding of. …I highly recommend it!”

“It’s a must-see”

Comfy Man on TikTok calls “Pando,” “one of the most original plays ever made.”

“I just watched an incredible experience, an amazing performance, a wild and raucous bunch of actors and artists, an original stage play, the first ever play that all the concepts are surrounded about video games. It’s the first ever play that captures the nuance of two people playing a multiplayer game and talking about life while doing random things in the game. It’s the first play that asks, what if the characters in there are alive? What if this is all kind of this simulator of life itself? It is the first stage play I’ve ever seen that has a cart racing game live. Not someone playing a game live, but performers acting out a racing game being played by someone. Do you understand? It is the first stage-performed video game thing. I don’t even know what to call it. … It is amazing. It is heartfelt. It is sad. It is hilarious. It is mostly hilarious. It talks about bugs. It criticizes the game industry. It has ridiculous moments inside of an RPG character creator. It also has interactivity between the audience and the performance. It’s amazing. It’s amazing. It’s the only thing I’ve ever seen like this, and it’s only in one place in the world: It’s at Kellogg Community College. And it’s in Battle Creek and it’s at the Binda Performing Arts Center. And you should watch it if you can, and you should bring your kids too and just have a time. If you play games, if you’ve ever played a co-op game or if you’ve ever played a cart-racing game or a choose your own detective story kind of game or any kind of game, you will laugh your butt off at this show. And then, when you’re caught off guard, they’ll hit you with some deep, deep questions about life and remind you of that conversation you had with one of your best friends while you were thousands of miles away from each other but playing the same video game at the same time. You have to watch it. It’s a must-see.”

Proceeds from “Pando” ticket sales will go toward defraying the cost of travel for those participating in the August 2025 KCC Theatre trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, where a shortened version of “Pando” will be performed for international audiences.