Don Calamia
By Zeus! Program thy GPS to The Ringwald
New play, one-act and staged reading festivals have been springing up all over the place in recent years – beginning in earnest, if memory serves me correctly, with the Heartland Theatre Company's much lauded efforts in the 1990s. Such events offer [...]
Love, religion and the law at the Network
For centuries, science and religion have been at odds with one another. So too have religion and homosexuality. Mix the three together, and the result is "Next Fall," an intelligent and thought-provoking dramedy now playing at Ann Arbor's [...]
Gutsy choice serves as opening of Epicenter Theatre Group
A week ago I had never heard of the Epicenter Theatre Group. Yet there I was last night at the opening performance of its first-ever production. Although new additions to Metro Detroit's ever-exploding professional theater scene are popping up on a [...]
MOT kills with 'Rigoletto'
James Valenti in "Rigoletto." Photo: John Grigaitis I have to come clean about something: It's been so many years since my last visit to the Michigan Opera Theatre that I have no clear memory of which opera I attended or how many years ago it was. [...]
Don't wait for Godot to head to The Abreact
With little character background, only a vague sense of time and place, and a far-ranging discussion that covers a multitude of philosophical, religious, psychological and political topics, it's no wonder Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" is [...]
Intelligence and laughs at Andiamo Novi
Men. We're simple creatures, really. If you feed us, pat us on our heads occasionally and tell us how wonderful we are, and take care of certain carnal needs, we're yours for life. Or so the popular theory goes. Robert Dubac expands on that a bit [...]
Two new Thursday night hits at Go Comedy!
If nothing else, Metro Detroit's improvisers are a creative bunch – and Ferndale's Go Comedy! Improv Theater has established a cool niche for itself by scheduling a slate of original scripted shows on Thursday nights. And as expected, local [...]
An enlightening world premiere at the Rep
The absurdity of political correctness in 21st century America comes under the microscope in the world premiere of William Missouri Downs' "Forgiving John Lennon" at the Detroit Repertory Theatre, a very insightful script that will likely have [...]
Cabaret dances into Detroit
Fans of cabaret will be thrilled to learn about Cabaret Detroit, an exciting new endeavor that will return this popular form of entertainment to Metro Detroit beginning April 7. Set initially to perform every Thursday and Sunday in Royal Oak [...]
A near perfect game rolls in Williamston
Williamston Theatre presents the warm and touching "While We Were Bowling" through April 17. Photo: Chris Purchis Back in my early teens, my family and my sister's soon-to-be in-laws did what legions of working class families enjoyed on a Friday [...]
Broadway Cares in Ferndale
For the past several years, theatergoers throughout the state have been asked to donate to an organization called Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS – but I suspect many in the audience haven't a clue what the organization does and what happens to [...]
Groovin' and laughin' at Meadow Brook Theatre
It came as no surprise that after tallying the box office results for last season's "Boeing-Boeing" and basking in the glow of positive feedback from critics and customer alike, the powers-that-be at Meadow Brook Theatre scheduled another French [...]