Don Calamia
Some men, some stories at The Ringwald
Splash some male nudity on stage and it's a guarantee that gay men will pack the house. But wrap the goodies in a compelling work that traces the development of gay rights – and in particular, gay male relationships – since the early 20th century, [...]
Theaters struggle, but innovate in 2008
As the credit, banking, housing and auto industries crashed and burned in 2008, Michigan's performing arts troupes proved once again that when times get tough, theaters innovate. And while rumors of impending doom swirled throughout the community, [...]
2007: A fabulously queer year in theater
Gays and theater: You can't have one without the other. Whether it's behind the scenes or in the spotlight, we can be found in pretty much every theater – oftentimes unbeknownst to the people around us. Yet there we are – building sets, making [...]
Excuse my diatribe: But I hate Thursdays
I hate Thursdays. Not any PARTICULAR Thursday, but ALL of them, because that's the day I have to get my Theater Events and Art & Around listings done each week. You wouldn't THINK that it would take me pretty much ALL DAY to update those two [...]
Performance Network Theatre extends 'The Baker's Wife'
ANN ARBOR – Due to overwhelming demand, Performance Network Theatre's smash hit musical "The Baker's Wife" has been extended for three additional holiday performances: 8 p.m. Dec. 28-29 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 30. "The Baker's Wife" was written by Joseph [...]
Laughs plumbed from Second City's vaults
Whenever a collection is entitled "The Best of," its creators run the risk of being proven wrong. After all, what one person thinks are the best episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," for example, will more than likely be somewhat different from [...]
Matrix manipulates 'Puppet Scrooge'
Walk into most any theater, and what will you find? Actors hanging around, of course. Walk into the lobby of Detroit's Matrix Theatre, which is also serving as the backstage area for its latest production, and that's EXACTLY what you'll see: half of [...]
Mismatched couple works it out at the JET
Sure, they wrote many of the songs the whole world sang, but could neurotic composer Vernon Gersch and free-spirited lyricist Sonia Walsk make beautiful music together as a loving couple? That's the question Neil Simon, Marvin Hamlisch and Carole [...]
Ho-ho-ho meets ha-ha-ha at the Gem Theatre
Sure enough, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas – that wonderful time of year when sugar plum fairies and ghosts of holidays past return to local stages for yet another season of yuletide entertainment. But what's one to do if you'd rather [...]
In a holiday pickle at Planet Ant Theatre
A priest, a dog trainer and a magician stroll into Bronner's Christmas Wonderland to buy some ornaments. No, that's not the opening line of a cheesy joke. Rather, it's the basic premise of an original holiday comedy at Planet Ant Theatre, and what [...]
The Lion Sings Tonight' to benefit APM
AIDS Partnership Michigan, a leading multi-service HIV/AIDS organization serving southeast Michigan, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the nation's leading industry-based, AIDS fundraising and grant making organization, will be recipients of [...]
A whole new America post 9-11: Or is it?
A grainy photo. An ex-girlfriend with an ax to grind. A Koran. A book about guns. And a porn magazine featuring a naked woman posing with a cow. Could such items be proof that an Arab-born, struggling American writer was part of a terrorist group [...]