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News & Previews
HSRT's 42nd season: Michigan's destination for summer love
Join Hope Summer Repertory Theatre for its 42nd summer season as it embarks on a journey to define love. The season is laced with a variety of dramatic works that explore the universality of love. The main stage productions include the musicals "All Shook Up" and "The Light in the Piazza," the plays "The 39 Steps" and "Romeo + Juliet," and finally the bonus show, a world premiere musical revue, "I Am Woman." The Childrens Performance Troupe series will include "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful (and Her Dog)!" Continue..
Barn Theatre announces 67th summer season
The Barn Theatre, Michigan's oldest professional summer theater, announces its exciting 67th season lineup! Under the artistic leadership of Brendan Ragotzy, the 2013 summer season of plays and musicals to be presented at the landmark theater includes an array of family-friendly endeavors, seat-gripping dramas, and fun and fresh new musicals! Continue..
June 14-15: '50 Shades!' of steaming hot dinner & show packages
Broadway In Detroit and its participating restaurant partners have cooked up some very saucy Girls' Night Out dinner and show packages for performances of "50 Shades! The Musical" on June 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. The "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy has shattered sales records around the globe with more than 32 million copies sold in the United States alone and a 2013 Universal Pictures feature film release is sure to be a cinematic blockbuster. Continue..
Through the fourth wall: A critic's adventures in actor-land
PART 6: For a few cumulative hours last weekend, Lavender 52 was my best friend. Lavender isn't a real person, a fictional character, or even alive. She's the stage light pointed at my corner of the set of "Brimstone and Treacle," who I've spent enough time gazing into that I grew fond of her and assigned her vaguely human characteristics. She isn't the only device in my arsenal, but Lavender is thus far my favorite touchstone to help me through the cyclical repetition of performances. Continue..
The Acorn Theater celebrates its 10th anniversary with three amazing acts - and cake!
In celebration of its 10-year anniversary on Memorial Day Weekend, The Acorn Theater in Three Oaks presents an amazing hat-trick of music: favorite rock 'n' roller Cathy Richardson (Friday, May 24); James' brother folk musician Livingston Taylor (Saturday, May 25); and the amazing Rickie Lee Jones, Up-Close and Personal (Sunday, May 26). Oh, and in case these names make you salivate - free anniversary cake will be served each night for all! And enjoy the cake in The Acorn's new front lounge. Continue..
Children's Theatre Network closes season with 'Jamie and Jordan'
Jamie and Jordan
Performance Network
May 25, 2013
The Children's Theatre Network of Performance Network Theatre invites audiences to gather on Saturday, May 25 at 1 p.m. for the perfect family summer kickoff, "Jamie and Jordan," a baseball-themed musical about health and friendships with book and lyrics by Kim Carney and music by Gene Gaunt. This hilarious musical tale teaches children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and healthy friendships. Continue..
Blackbird celebrates 15th year with swank soiree
After 15 years of bold works for the stage, the Blackbird Theatre could use a drink. The innovative company is inviting the public to Frenchie's in Ypsilanti, in beautiful Depot Town, for a night of celebration. The event gets underway Friday, May 24 at 6 p.m. "It's a great way to kick off our 15th season," says founder Barton Bund. "Ypsilanti is where we started this company, and it's only fitting." The evening will be informal, a chance to catch up, and hear about plans for the new season. Continue..
Farmers Alley announces 2013-14 season
After five seasons of success, Farmers Alley Theatre's new sixth season looks to be the most exciting and music-filled season in its history! With four outstanding musicals, two Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights, and an exciting partnership with the Gilmore Festival, Farmers Alley Theatre looks to continue its excellence as West Michigan's only year-round professional Equity theater. Continue..
Follow us - and 'like us' - on Facebook!
Did you know that EncoreMichigan.com is on Facebook? So if you're a Facebook user, why not find us and follow us on Facebook? By clicking the "like" button at the top of the page, you'll become one of the hundreds of our friends who receive instantaneous notification when our reviews (and those of the New Monitor) are posted online, or when there's breaking professional theater news you need to know! Continue..
Subscribe to our e-newsletter and take advantage of special ticket offers
Are you a subscriber of EncoreMichigan.com's FREE, twice-weekly e-newsletter, Curtain's Up? If not, you don't know what you're missing including special discount ticket offers from many of the state's professional theaters made only to readers of Curtain's Up! So how can you subscribe? Click "continue" for full details! Continue..
MORE STORIES, NEWS BRIEFS & PREVIEWS:
Other Voices - News & Previews (posted 5/23/13)
Other Voices - News & Previews (posted 5/19/13)
Other Voices - News & Previews (posted 5/16/13)
Reviews
A family in crisis, a family divided
By John Quinn
"Life is very long" T. S. Eliot. "August: Osage County" is also very long and worth every minute. Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, it demonstrates that sometimes they do make things like they used to. Playwright Tracy Letts, a regular at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, takes hints from the playbooks of masters Eugene O'Neill and Edward Albee as he writes on one of the great classic motifs of tragedy, the dysfunctional family. Continue..
Modern morality play challenges cast and audience alike
By John Quinn
It is the nature of the job that theater critics work odd hours. At Encore Michigan, we also work an arbitrary "year," which ends today. I am experiencing a Zen-like completion, as my Metro Detroit wanderings bring me full circle to where my season began Planet Ant Theatre in Hamtramck. But "The Do Over," Margaret Edwartowski's little comedy of love's labor lost, is a polar opposite from Dennis Potter's "Brimstone & Treacle." But that's the Ant for you: a black box full of surprises. Continue..
OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest What A Do Theatre (posted 5/16/13)
August: Osage County The Ringwald Theatre (updated 5/17/13)
Brimstone and Treacle Planet Ant Theatre (updated 5/16/13)
The Mountaintop Performance Network Theatre (updated 5/23/13)
33 Variations The Purple Rose Theater Company (updated 4/18/13)
