Don Calamia
Curtain Calls XTRA
Review: 'Everybody's Talkin" Words hurt is moral of entertaining production by Mosaic Youth Theatre Everybody's always minding your business; everybody's talkin'. Leave it to the energetic thespians of the Mosaic Youth Theatre to strip one of [...]
Hello! Irreverent 'Book of Mormon' Accomplishes Its Mission At The Fisher
After a Mormon family moved in across the street from me many years ago, I became accustomed to finding smiling, neatly pressed and overly friendly pairs of handsome young men at my door offering to introduce me to Jesus Christ. I knew little about [...]
Curtain Calls
The importance of family is theme of one-man play visiting Detroit before opening in New York Steve Scionti is one of a rare breed. When the actor/writer gets ticked off about something, he doesn't simply sit back and bitch and moan about it. No, [...]
Lies Beget Laughs In Broadway Onstage Farce
Krista Schafer and Charles Davis in Broadway Onstage Live Theatre's "How The Other Half Loves." Photo: Broadway Onstage One of my mother's favorite quotes was "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." And had the three [...]
The Buzz About 'Extremities'
Amanda Sayers and Jeremy Strebendt star in "Extremities" at The Box Theater. Photo: The Box Theater One sure way to know a psychological thriller is succeeding is to have its patrons move back a row during intermission to get away from the intensity [...]
A Glamorous 'Night Music' At Performance Network
"A Little Night Music" continues at Performance Network Theatre through Dec. 30. Photo: Sean Carter The first time I listened to the soundtrack of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," I fell in love with it. A few years later, I saw the show [...]
It's All About Friends At The Ringwald
Growing up and finding your place in the world can be a very scary process. That's especially true if you're a 20-year-old kid from Iowa who shows up in Chicago with no place to live, no job, and no clue about your future. But luckily for Evan [...]
Puzzling script, Strong Production Continues UDM Season
One of the joys of being a theater critic after more than a decade is having an opportunity to walk into a theater and experience a decades-old play about which you know nothing. Such was the case with UDM Theatre Company's "The Empire Builders," [...]
Planet Ant Delivers Food For Thought
Hamtramck – A town almost completely surrounded by its much larger neighbor, Detroit – was once home to Southeast Michigan's Polish community. In 1970, 90 percent of its residents were of Polish ancestry. Today, the bustling 'burb is now the [...]
Art of Coexistence' Hits Speed Bump In 'God of Carnage'
As the saying goes: Boys will be boys. It's probably safe to assume that the first 11 year old boys to roam the earth probably played together, scuffled together, picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and went back to playing together without [...]
Williamston Serves Tangy Mix of Satire and Laughs
The wacky denizens of the tiny, redneck town of Tuna, Texas have returned to Williamston Theatre, and their visit was exactly what I expected: a delightful romp full of laughs and very quick costume changes. Given the pedigree of "Red, White and [...]
Third time's a charm for Epicenter
I suspect that in the days of the caveman, people used to sit around the campfire entertaining one another with stories about the foibles of love. Not much has changed over the millennia, as storytellers in every culture have spun countless tales [...]