By Anne Kiley FERNDALE — Opening July 12 at The Ringwald Theatre is "Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical" that tells the famous rags-to-riches story. Debbie Benton has been invited to try out for the Dallas [...]
Picture it: Miami. 1987. A successful television show ends after seven seasons to everyone’s chagrin. Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia live on in all of our hearts as we watch reruns of "The Golden Girls" [...]
by David Kiley DETROIT — The producers of BoxFest Detroit have announced performance dates for BoxFest Detroit 2019, an annual theater festival that showcases and creates opportunities for female-identifying directors. BoxFest Detroit 2019 will run [...]
DETROIT — Based on the classic novel by John Steinbeck, The Michigan Opera Theatre will present Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera, "The Grapes of Wrath" May 11 through 19. This heart-wrenching opera in two acts, tells [...]
Robert Eads was 51 when he was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1996. Despite him immediately seeking medical help, more than a dozen medical providers rejected his case, feeling that taking on a transgender man would damage the reputation of their practice.
Diverse media representation has made great strides in recent decades, but most LGBTQ people can attest to the fact that they're still not regularly seeing themselves included in mainstream entertainment. And when it comes to [...]
"The House" follows the story of Martyn and Shanny, a couple looking to downsize, who strike a deal with a couple looking for a bigger place to stay, Lindsay and Fischer. Because their home is [...]
Presented through a special arrangement with New York City's Samuel French, Inc., this March, Slipstream Theatre Initiative presents the second show of their fifth season: "The Wolves."
Released in 1991, the album "Girlfriend" is the third studio album released by Matthew Sweet to critical acclaim. Years after that release, playwrights Todd Almond and Sweet reimagined the record into a full-length musical love story with an LGBTQ twist, a local production of which is slated to play at The Detroit Public Theatre from March 21 through April 14.
BY MARIN HEINRITZ CHELSEA — It is a rare experience, indeed, to witness live theater so moving it renders faces wet with tears both on stage and throughout the audience. Opening night of "Never Not [...]
Royal Oak’s Stagecrafters Second Stage Theatre will be holding auditions for the musical, "Southern Comfort" on Sunday, Jan. 27, and Monday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Baldwin Theatre, located at 415 S. Lafayette [...]
DETROIT– Rent has taken up residence in Detroit’s Fisher Theatre as part of its 20th Anniversary Tour. Written by Jonathan Larson, Rent originally debuted on Broadway in 1996, although Larson died suddenly before it opened [...]
FERNDALE – Cast members of the national touring production of "The Phantom of the Opera" — coming to Detroit Jan. 24 to Feb. 3 at the Detroit Opera House — will perform a special concert to benefit Affirmations and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Bittersweet Dramedy Explores Bakers, Cakes and Family Dilemmas
Bittersweet Dramedy Explores Bakers, Cakes and Family Dilemmas In July 2012, Colorado residents Charlie Craig and David Mullins approached Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips with a request to create a cake to celebrate their upcoming [...]
The Charles Dickens holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" has come back to Rochester's Meadow Brook Theatre for the 37th consecutive year. Tickets are now available for performances through Dec. 23. Following the story of Ebenezer [...]
The Detroit rendition of Handel's "Messiah" is a unique jazz-infused version of the holiday classic that this year will return to the Detroit Opera House on Dec. 1 at 7;30 p.m. "This soul stirring, toe-tapping [...]
DETROIT — "Evidence of Things Unseen" is about two sisters, Abigail — an investigative journalist and atheist — and Jane, a stay-at-home mom and born-again Christian. The play follows the duo's differing responses to grief, revenge, sorrow and faith. Written by Katie Forgette, it opened Detroit Repertory Theatre’s 62nd season last week, and will and run through Dec. 23.
BY JENN McKEE Regulars at the Matrix Theatre might not be surprised to learn that Rachel Lynett’s darkly comic play, “Well-Intentioned White People,” initially caught the attention of Matrix Theatre’s artistic director, Megan Buckley-Ball, by [...]
DETROIT, Mich. –— Michigan Opera Theatre, in partnership with the University Musical Society, will open its 2018-19 dance series with the Detroit Opera House debut of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company Oct. 27. The multidisciplinary company [...]
EAST LANSING — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind will speak at Wharton Center as part of Michigan State University's World View Lecture Series on Monday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cobb Great hall.
Over the Ledge Theatre is now featuring the play 'Dancing at Lughnasa' through Sept. 16. Winner of the 1992 Tony Award for best play, it was praised by the New York Times as being a "ravishing memory play" that "carries its characters and audience aloft." The story is said to be loosely based on the life of its writer, Brian Friel, and begins in Ireland's County Donegal in 1936.
If you’re a longtime theater fan – especially an LGBTQ theater fan – one thing you may have noticed over the years is that what’s popular one season may not be the next. Or that trends disappear as quickly as they arrive. That’s especially true of plays with LGBTQ themes and characters, which rise and fall and ebb and flow from one year to the next for no apparent reason.
What is it like being the executive director of the Detroit Actor's Theatre Company? Well, it is a lot of work, but it is work I am very passionate about. My job is to foster [...]
What is it like being artistic director with the Matrix Theatre Company? Serving as Matrix Theatre Company’s Artistic Director is both exciting and challenging. Matrix’s staff is quite small, so we’ve all become accustomed to [...]
What is one of your greatest challenges as the managing and artistic director at Monster box Theatre? One of the greatest challenges of directing a live performance theater is always funding. Finding funds to support [...]
FERNDALE — In honor of Matthew Shepard, 20 years after his murder, The Ringwald presents a four-show engagement of "The Laramie Project," a landmark play by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. [...]
Slipstream Theatre Initiative spurs discussion with ‘St. Sebastian’ beginning June 16 As more and more young people from Detroit’s suburbs find jobs in the city and settle into some of its historic black neighborhoods, longtime [...]
Will the opportunity to spend an intimate evening of song and music with cast members from the national touring production of “On Your Feet” motivate enough people to jump to their feet on the evening [...]
Thinking of opera, one might imagine a knight in shining armor, a damsel in distress or Brunnhilde — a woman with a viking helmet and blonde braids belting out some massive vocal power. And, in many ways, opera is still representative of those traditional characters, but it's also an ever-changing medium that is growing with the times.
Although the audience never sees it, a scene change in a musical performance is the product of a well-engineered and well-oiled machine. Many crew members must seamlessly perform dozens of specific actions to set scenery [...]
"Dog Act" is a capstone thesis production by Liz Duffy Adams which features the 2018 Masters of Fine Arts acting candidates. The production, which will be presented on March 16 and 17, follows the traveling [...]
DETROIT, Mich. – Lauded by the Huffington Post as “Broadway’s fastest-rising soprano," Birmingham-native Alexandra Silber returns to her hometown in a performance called "Coming Home: Alexandra Silber in Concert." She will make her return to [...]
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – The Michigan Five, featuring some of the most outstanding and creative dance talent from colleges and universities throughout the state, will take center stage at The Berman Center for the Performing [...]
In 1981 George Furth and Stephen Sondheim collaborated to refresh a classic 1934 play "Merrily We Roll Along" by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The '80s reboot has themes of "friendship, compromise and the high price of success," according to its press release, and will be playing at Ferndale's Ringwald Theatre now through March 19.
Birmingham, Mich. - The Village Players of Birmingham opens its fourth production of its 95th season with James Lapine’s tribute to a life in the theater: “Act One.” The play is based on playwright Moss Hart’s autobiography of the same title.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - After nearly a decade of bringing dancers together from across the world, the Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers presents the ninth annual Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival or RAD Fest. The Festival will be held at the Epic Center and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts on March 9 through 11.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Theatre NOVA is Ann Arbor’s professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights. Now, coming to its stage is “The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith” by Angelo Parra and Miche Braden.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A night of jazz comes full circle onto the Pasant Theatre stage when the renowned Birdland All-Stars featuring Tommy Igoe come to the Wharton Center on Saturday, Feb. 24.
FERNDALE — The Ringwald Theatre’s Sondheim Spring begins with a five-week run of “Merrily We Roll Along” on Feb. 16, playing through March 19.
DETROIT—The Theatre Company at UDM will present A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter, from Feb. 9 through 25 at The Marlene Boll Theatre.
FERNDALE — The Ringwald Theatre’s Sondheim Spring begins with a five-week run of Merrily We Roll Along on Feb. 16, playing through March 19. Merrily—aka the show they were doing in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird [...]
DETROIT—The Theatre Company at UDM will present A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter, from Feb. 9 through 25 at The Marlene Boll Theatre. A Bright New Boise will be performed at 7:30 p.m. [...]
BY ENCORE MICHIGAN STAFF WILLIAMSTON—Williamston Theatre starts 2018 with the world premiere of "Our Lady of Poison" by Joseph Zettelmaier. Performances begin Thursday, Jan. 25 and run through Sunday, Feb. 25. It is Rome in [...]
By EncoreMichigan.com ROCHESTER — Nana’s Naughty Knickers runs January 10 through February 4 at Meadow Brook Theatre on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester. Tickets range from $28 to $43 and are available by [...]
by Patrice Nolan, Encore Michigan FERNDALE – Slipstream Theatre Initiative has created an original, home-grown theatrical experience that explores the unique aspects of pursuing an acting career in the Pure Michigan manner. Tales from the [...]
Usually horror and romance don't mix, but they blend perfectly in the classic Swedish story, "Let the Right One In." Originally a novel, the story has been adapted into two films, a television show and [...]
FERNDALE – Assembly Line Theatre Company is kicking off the new year with a staged reading of the musical, “The Seven Castaways” by Sean Paraventi. The performance is a fundraising effort to help the 501(c)(3) [...]
NORTHVILLE, Mich.–In the program notes for Tipping Point Theatre's "Office Hours," one of the actors mentions being proud to help “you escape into genuine laughter” during these stressful times. And sheer silly escapism is exactly [...]
BY TANYA GAZDIK, ENCORE MICHIGAN FERNDALE - It's hard to go wrong with a classic like The Rocky Horror Show and The Ringwald's treatment does not disappoint. If you've seen the movie at a theatre [...]
