Don Calamia
Fine ensemble delivers holiday cheer at Go Comedy!
Time flies when you're having fun, which helps explain why it doesn't seem possible that Go Comedy! Improv Theater recently celebrated its first anniversary in Downtown Ferndale. Launched in the midst of a statewide economic depression by Pj [...]
A doggone good time at the Fox Theatre
Rachel York as Cruella de Vil and the Company of "The 101 Dalmatians Musical." Photo: Joan Marcus The longevity test for any family-friendly play or musical is not so much whether or not the parents like it, but how well it grabs and holds the [...]
Hospital comedy tickles the funny bone
As soon as the house lights went down and the theme music from the 1980s television series "St. Elsewhere" started, I laughed – and I continued to laugh, chuckle and grin throughout the entire world premiere performance of the comedy "Causa Mortis [...]
Get ready: It's 'Spelling Bee' season
Dynamic Stage Productions, a new community theater, is the first to stage "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" in Southeast Michigan. Photo: DSP Dust off your dictionaries and polish those spelling skills, because you're invited next week to [...]
The Box: Sophomore show lacks laughs
Relax. Take a deep breath. Slow down. And have fun! That's what kept running through my mind during the opening night performance of the Neil Simon comedy "I Ought to be in Pictures" at The Box Theatre in Mt. Clemens. From the moment the show [...]
JET lets go with fine season opener
Sarab Kamoo and Naz Edwards in "The Blank Page" at The Jewish Ensemble Theatre. Photo: Yakov Faytlin When asked what show I was looking forward to most this month, the answer was the world premiere of "The Blank Page" by Kitty Dubin at The Jewish [...]
A 'happy day' at Matrix - but is it really?
One of the few downsides of being a theater critic over a long period of time is that we often review the same play multiple times – albeit in different venues and with other faces on stage. So when the rare opportunity arises to critique a rarely [...]
A dreamy season opener at the Blackbird
There are a number of impressive elements to the Blackbird Theatre's season-opening production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" – but none more so than this: Director Barton Bund tells the Bard's popular, but complicated masterpiece with only five [...]
Thursday changes at Go Comedy!
Over the past several months, Thursday nights at Go Comedy! Improv Theater have morphed into a night of original comedies. It's a great proving ground for creative talent to explore their abilities and to fine-tune their ideas – and as you might [...]
A tasty, delightful 'Sweeney' at Encore
Theater groups that decide to produce "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" should have their collective heads examined. With one of the most difficult scores to sing in all of musical theater and a bloody plot that turns some stomachs [...]
Boy-meets-girl musical meets the Hilberry
Jason Cabral as Matt and Christina Flynn as Luisa in 'The Fantasticks' at the Hilberry Theatre. Photo: Kelly O'Connor Eyebrows were raised when Detroit's Hilberry Theatre announced plans to open its 47th season with "The Fantasticks." Long [...]
Old friends, new loft for The Abreact
Familiar faces populate the world of 'Bogosian V(5): The Christening.' Photo: The Abreact Way back in August 2000, a new theater opened its doors in a second floor loft on the fringe of Detroit's Greektown with "A Night of Bogosian," a series of [...]