Don Calamia
Everyone's 'beyond therapy' at The Acorn
John Bonner and Katie Dufresne play two lost souls fated or jinxed to cross paths in "Beyond Therapy." Photo: The Acorn Theater At some point in our lives, everyone has experienced a very bad or extremely weird first date – and that goes doubly true [...]
Against all odds
When faced with cancer for the third time, many people might give up hope. But not Stephanie Elaine Samuel, a longtime member of the Grosse Pointe Theatre. A popular singer, actress and choreographer, Stephanie has appeared in numerous musicals and [...]
Concepts of theater challenged by 'Susurrus'
Scottish playwright David Leddy's "Susurrus" is at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor through Oct. 3. Photo: Courtesy David Leddy As creative artists use the latest technologies to stretch the long-established boundaries of traditional [...]
The Box opens season with 'The Underpants'
Jeremy Strehendt and Bryan Braun enjoy the view in Steve Martin's "The Underpants." Photo: The Box Theatre Imagine you're an anonymous, low-level bureaucrat in 1910 Germany whose sole fear is to be discovered by his superiors and promoted. And then [...]
An update: It's women's time to shine at BoxFest
Each summer, women directors from throughout Southeast Michigan come together to showcase their talents in an annual festival called BoxFest Detroit. The event has morphed over the years from a one-weekend and six-play affair in Ann Arbor called [...]
Local theaters go gay
"Hot Summer De(z)ire" by art4artillery Theatre Company opens with a preview performance Aug. 19 at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit. Metro Detroit theatergoers have a choice to make this weekend when it comes to attending a production with [...]
Yes, sir: laughs and silence, too, at Go
Thursday nights at Ferndale's Go Comedy! Improv Theater, once the domain of your basic evening of improv, have morphed over time to become a showcase for original scripted comedies. It's a welcome change – and obviously a popular one – as it [...]
Dexter is alive with 'Sound of Music
For The Encore Musical Theatre's current production of "The Sound of Music," the question isn't so much "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria" as it is "How do you pack an abbey full of singing nuns, armed Nazi soldiers in search of a missing Navy [...]
It's women's time to shine at BoxFest - Part 1
Each summer, women directors from throughout Southeast Michigan come together to showcase their talents in an annual festival called BoxFest Detroit. The event has morphed over the years from a one-weekend and six-play affair in Ann Arbor called [...]
Life and death close season at Ledges
 A young woman, sitting in her bleak New York apartment, is watching television when the door buzzer sounds. To her surprise, it's her deceased husband's identical twin brother with whom she's been out of contact since Craig's death in Iraq [...]
A squirrelly comedy at Planet Ant Theatre
Twice a year improv troupes from all over Southeast Michigan come together at Planet Ant Theatre for "Colony Fest," an almost week-long battle to determine which group earns the privilege of writing and starring in a late night original comedy [...]
Murder opens the season in Eastpointe
A comprehensive history of professional theater in Southeast Michigan has yet to be written, but one supposed fact certainly seems true: that blue collar towns are not supportive of the performing arts. And if you think about it, that COULD explain [...]