By Anne Kiley
Continuing its inaugural season, Detroit Public Theatre will offer audiences Michigan native Eric Gutman in his autobiographical one-man musical journey "From Broadway To Obscurity" Jan. 22-Feb. 20.
Dreams collide in this hilariously revealing confessional from Michigan's own Broadway "Jersey Boy." With well-known songs, dead-on celebrity impressions and a heart-warming narrative, Eric Gutman's autobiographical one-man musical journey "From Broadway To Obscurity" intimately details the rocky road to "making it," from sweating bullets auditioning face to face with Frankie Valli himself, to rollicking backstage secrets, to his eventual life-altering change of heart. And when getting what he wants isn't all it's cracked up to be, Eric's internal compass points him back to the values of his community.
Tickets ($35-100) for performances at the Robert A. and Maggie Allesee Rehearsal Hall inside the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center are on sale now online at www.detroitpublictheatre.org, by phone at 313-576-5111 or in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office.
Detroit Public Theatre's mission is to produce world-class plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors and designers in the heart of Midtown's thriving cultural district. The company produces bold plays that are relevant to Detroit audiences and illuminates the joys, thrills and challenges of our shared human experience.
Founded by Courtney Burkett, Sarah Winkler and Sara Clare Corporandy, Detroit Public Theatre is bolstered with board and advisory members including theater luminaries from across the nation and Detroit. These include Nina Essman, general manager of the 2015 Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home and GM and Executive Producer of Wicked; Christopher Burney, associate director of New York City's Second Stage Theatre; and Tony Award nominated actors Kathleen Chalfant, Detroit-born Celia Keenan-Bolger and many more. Burkett is formerly the director of theater programs for Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and co-founder of Breathe Art Theatre Project; Winkler is a recent transplant from New York where she was a producer and ensemble member of the award-winning Off-Broadway theater company, Epic Theatre Ensemble; and in addition to founding Detroit Public Theatre, Corporandy has served as Managing Director for Pig Iron Theater Company in Philadelphia and also currently serves as the Managing Director of Chautauqua Theatre Institute in Southwest New York.
"It has been truly affirming to see the support DPT has already received from audiences, donors and the artists themselves; we cannot wait to bring them even more of the kind of entertainment they have come to expect, as well as to exceed their expectations," says Corporandy. With support from many of Michigan's theater leaders, Detroit Public Theatre will strive to bring more local and national attention to the work of the area's brilliant theater community.
"We have an incredible opportunity to bring Detroit in league with cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Washington, DC, with a great regional theater that contributes to our culture and artistic vibrancy," states Burkett. "Our area has an extraordinary pool of Michigan-trained theater talent and a very sophisticated audience." Winkler adds, "We want to keep more artists and audiences here at home rather than losing them to New York, Chicago and elsewhere."
