Don Calamia
Love, sex and vengeance at the Blackbird
There's a reason – several, actually – why Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending" is so rarely produced. Considered a failure after a 68-performance run on Broadway in 1957, the three-act, three-hour tragedy (based on an earlier work, "Battle of [...]
Third time's a charm at Dexter's Encore
In baseball, three strikes and you're out. At Dexter's Encore Musical Theatre, however, it's just the opposite: The company's third-ever production scores a home run. Most brand-new theaters struggle for awhile to find their groove – and Encore is [...]
From 'Band Fag' to 'Drama Queer'
NEW YORK – Lightning can strike twice – or at least it did May 26 with the release of "Drama Queers!," the second novel by Hazel Park native Frank Anthony Polito that explores gay teen life in the 1980s. "Band Fags!," Polito's first [...]
A silly habit at Meadow Brook Theatre
I have a confession to make. After surviving 15 years of Catholic school education – I went "public" for kindergarten and my first year of college – I've developed a soft spot for Dan Goggin's Little Sisters of Hoboken. Apparently, so too have [...]
Love and laughs on Thursdays in Ferndale
Ferndale's newest hotspot is on a roll. Recently named Best Comedy Club by both Metro Times and Real Detroit Weekly, Go Comedy! Improv Theater has quickly become the region's home for quality improvisational comedy. With unbridled enthusiasm and [...]
Kyle Holton goes to war - and starts a theater
DETROIT – From the outside, the Russell Industrial Center on Detroit's east side seems to mirror much of Detroit's once-fabulous, but now-decaying manufacturing infrastructure. But a walk through the main gate and onto the complex reveals a secret [...]
An Everyman's journey through 18 songs
Alone in our beds in the dark of night, thoughts of past loves and losses, fears and dreams often drift in and out of our consciousness. And like the wrinkled sheets and fluff-less pillows scattered around us, the countless flashbacks offer little [...]
The devil's in the details at the Network
Moments into the opening night performance of "Fences" at Performance Network Theatre, actors Lynch Travis and James Bowen entered as Troy Maxson and his best friend Jim Bono, and the two commiserated about work, women, baseball and the devil. It [...]
Goat' challenges theaters, theatergoers
More than a living room is wrecked in The Abreact's current production of "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?" by Edward Albee. So too are the lives of acclaimed architect Martin Gray, his devoted wife Stevie and their 17-year-old son Billy – all because [...]
Lear' exits, Grossman enters at the Network
What inspires a person to become an artist? There is no definitive answer. But for 24-year-old Athol Fugard, an actor and budding playwright in apartheid South Africa, it was the relationship with a legendary, but fading star that greatly influenced [...]
MAPP introduces The House of Prevention
FERNDALE – A cutting edge, youth-oriented HIV/AIDS education and prevention program dropped two years ago because of funding cuts will return next week with a fresh, new look and approach. "And none too soon," said Craig Covey, chief executive [...]
Theater Events for the period April 24-May 3, 2008
PROFESSIONAL THEATER/OPERA: Cobb A fascinating play that examines the life of one of the greatest baseball players of the 20th century: Ty Cobb. Planet Ant Theatre, Hamtramck. Thu.-Sun., May 2-24. $15. 313-365-4948. http://www.planetant.com The [...]