Welcome to THE RUNDOWN, a quick hit highlight of what's on stage in Michigan. The weather is warming up and the stages are HOT. From Detroit to Dexter, Chelsea to Saugatuck this weekend is FULL of openings and closings, with a ton of new work on the horizon.
Big News! Another fascinating, scintillating, stimulating, spirit-stirring week!
PLACES PLEASE, THIS IS YOUR PLACES CALL!
Here's THE RUNDOWN for Thursday, March 13, 2025.
CLOSING THIS WEEKEND
A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD | Williamston Theatre | Runs Feb 6-March 16
Mid-Michigan’s award-winning professional theatre company, Williamston Theatre, continues the run of this acclaimed Michigan Premiere.
A Case for the Existence of God features newcomer to the Williamston Theatre stage Anthony Cason along with Ryan Patrick Welsh (Predictor, A Very Williamston Christmas - 2022 production). With humor, empathy, and deep compassion, this production intertwines two lives in a story about fatherhood, family, and friendship.
Written by: Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by: Jasmine Rivera
CONFEDERATES | The Detroit Public Theatre | Runs Feb 8-March 16
Detroit Public Theatre (DPT) continues the acclaimed run of CONFEDERATES, by DPT Executive Artistic Producer, MacArthur Genius award-winning, Tony nominated, Dominique Morisseau.
This searing and acclaimed play leaps back and forth in time to hold an unyielding lens to the racism and gender biases that plague America's institutions to this day.
Written by: Dominique Morisseau
Directed by: Goldie E. Patrick
KAIROS | Theatre Nova | Runs Feb 14-March 16
Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s resident nonprofit professional theatre, is thrilled to present this National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. “Kairos” tells the story of Gina and David, whose relationship is upended by a groundbreaking medical procedure that grants immortality to a select few.
Written by: Lisa Sanaye Dring
Directed by: Briana O'Neal
LIFE OF PI | The Wharton Center | Runs March 11-16
Wharton Center is pleased to announce that tickets for LIFE OF PI, the Tony Award® winning theatrical experience that has wowed audiences around the globe.
“The single greatest innovation in puppetry ever to hit the global stage.” —NY Daily News
Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class puppetry, and exquisite stagecraft, LIFE OF PI creates a visually stunning journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy. Martel’s extraordinary story of family, resilience and survival and the natural world combined with Chakrabarti’s brilliantly staged story speaks to every generation.
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OPENING THIS WEEKEND
A DRIVING BEAT | Flint Repertory Theatre | Runs March 14-30
FIM Flint Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere production of A Driving Beat by Jordan Ramirez Puckett, March 14 - 30 at FIM Elgood Theatre.
Developed in Flint Rep’s 2023 New Works Festival, A Driving Beat follows Mateo, a 14-year-old boy with brown skin, and Diane, his white adoptive mother, on a road trip from their home in Ohio to his birthplace in San Diego. Throughout the journey, they are forced to reconcile their differing identities and what it means to be a family.
Written by: Jordan Ramirez Puckett
Directed by: Courtney Burkett
TWO DETROITS | Teen Hype | Runs March 13-14
Teen HYPE is thrilled to announce its highly anticipated 19th annual theatrical production, Two Detroits. This dynamic play, with music set against the backdrop of Detroit, with three performances March 13th and 14th.
Two Detroits is an innovative, high-energy production that invites audiences to reflect on the contrasting realities faced by young people in Detroit. Through compelling youth performances, this thought-provoking play delves into the tensions between privilege and adversity, exploring how the systems that separate us also reveal the common humanity that unites us.
Written by: Mallory Childs
Directed by: Henri Franklin
ALIVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER | Detroit Opera | Runs March 14-16
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 2025 U.S. tour reaches Detroit March 14–16 during a season celebrating the life and legacy of Judith Jamison. The tour will feature four inspiring performances at the Detroit Opera House (March 14–16).
A Detroit highlight will be the 25th-anniversary staging of Ronald K. Brown’s Grace, depicting individuals on a journey to the promised land, bookended by Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday.”
Ailey Experience Detroit workshops will be offered March 8 and 9 at Wayne State University’s Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance (4841 Cass Avenue) for dancers ages 11 and up (no dance experience required).
Visit https://ailey.org/series/ailey-experience-detroit for more information.
HYSTERICAL! | The Detroit Repertory Theatre | Runs March 14-May 4
The Detroit Repertory Theatre presents Hysterical! Inspired by true events, the play tells the story of a school cheerleading squad and what they think will be the "best year ever"... until chaos strikes. One by one, each of the girls begins to suffer from uncontrollable tics and outbursts as a mysterious illness ravages the squad. Featuring laugh out loud hijinks and epic choreography, this is a story so crazy it has to be seen.
Written by: Elena Stauffer
Directed by: Leah Smith
RIPCORD | Open Book Theatre | Runs March 14-April 6
Open Book Theatre Company in Trenton will ignite the stage March 14 through April 6 with a production that promises equal measures of riotous humor and genuine heart in Ripcord, a play by David Lindsay-Abaire.
The story follows prickly Abby, who is forced to share her room at Bristol Place Senior Living Facility with the sunny and chipper Marilyn. What begins as a seemingly harmless bet between the two quickly escalates into hilarious battles and a wild adventure that unveils unexpected depths and surprising friendships. The show features Connie Cowper and Linda Rabin Hammell as the warring roommates.
Written by: David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by: Kevin T. Keller
ENGLISH | Tipping Point Theatre | Runs March 12-April 6
Tipping Point Theatre’s (TPT) 17th theatrical season continues with English, by Sanaz Toossi, another Michigan premiere! In an Iranian classroom for adult English learners, the teacher, Marjan, leads four students through a linguistic playground as they
prepare for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam.
Will “English only” expand or limit what they truly want to say? This comic and heartfelt play about language and identity won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize.
Written by: Sanaz Toosi
Directed by: Suzi Regan
NOW PLAYING
SENSE & SENSIBILITY | The Encore Musical Theatre Co. | Runs Feb 27-March 16
The Encore Musical Theatre Company is proud to present the Michigan premiere of Sense & Sensibility, a romantic new chamber musical based on the novel by Jane Austen. Fresh from critical acclaim and multiple awards in Chicago, where it was lauded for its lush score and elegant storytelling, Sense & Sensibility brings Jane Austen’s timeless novel to life. Chicago critics hailed it as “mesmerizing” (Chicago Tribune) and “utterly charming” (Chicago Sun-Times), with the production earning accolades for its nuanced adaptation and emotional resonance.
Book, music, and lyrics by: Paul Gordon
Directed by: Matt Bogart
DOUBLE TAKES | Planet Ant Theatre | Runs March 7-22
Planet Ant Theatre presents Double Takes, a world premiere dark comedy brought to you by Michele Harte and the Planet Ant Farm Team.
Two crestfallen strangers find themselves in peculiar situations after they each have separate, unsuccessful suicide attempts. In a world where every time someone takes their own life, another dies too, they each realize that it could be best to form a suicide pact with someone else who craves death. After setting out to find the perfect person for their pacts, they find each other. Through devising the perfect plan to seal their fates, they form an unforeseen emotional connection.
Written & Directed by: Michele Harte
COCK |The Ringwald Theatre | March 7-31
The Ringwald Theatre is proud to announce its production of Mike Bartlett’s seminal play Cock (aka The Cockfight Play), playing the Ferndale venue Fridays-Mondays from March 7-31, 2025.
John has been in a stable relationship with his boyfriend for several years. But when he takes a break, he accidentally falls in love with a woman.
Torn between the two, filled with guilt and conflicting emotions, he doesn’t know which way to turn.
Written by: Mike Bartlett
Directed by: Joey Bailey
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COMING SOON
DETROIT '67 | Detroit Public Theatre | Runs March 18-27
Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ‘67 is back for 5 performances only following a short week-long tour.
It's 1967 in Detroit. Motown music is getting the party started, and Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours joint. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives, the siblings clash over more much more than the family business. As their pent-up feelings erupt, so does their city, and they find themselves caught in the middle of the '67 riots.
Tickets are only $25, and availability is limited!
Written by: Dominique Morisseau
Directed by: Brian Marable
MY MOTHER AND THE MICHIGAN/OHIO WAR | The Purple Rose | April 3-March 25
The Purple Rose Theatre Company announces the third production of their 34th season, My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War a World Premiere comedy written by Paul Stroili.
Izzy’s history buff husband Freddy had a dream: a full-scale reenactment of The Michigan-Ohio War. But when a bizarre papier-mâché accident leaves Izzy a widow, she calls on her Wolverine daughter and Buckeye son to see Freddy’s vision realized.
Written by: Paul Stroli
Directed by: Susan Angelo
LOVE, WAR, AND JAZZ | AUXmedia | Runs March 29, 2025
A new staged concert by Detroit Music Awards winner Tracy Kash will premiere in Kalamazoo on March 29, 2025. Love, War and Jazz is a new musical by Detroit
playwright and filmmaker Heather Buchanan that is based on a true story.
“This musical is a highpoint of my career,” Kash said, “allowing me to explore a full range of musical possibilities to tell this story.”
The production features Detroit producer/director Grover McCants, vocalists Angela Celeste May & Smada Adams.
COSI FAN TUTTE | Detroit Opera | Runs April 5-13
Detroit Opera will present three performances of Così fan tutte, in a new staging by Artistic Director Yuval Sharon, April 5, 11 and 13.
The production is a futuristic take on Mozart’s dark comedy about human relationships—an exploration of artificial intelligence, with Don Alfonso’s “school for lovers” recast as a laboratory where the four lovers are his robotic inventions, created with the support of Despina. Will this laboratory of lovers lead to a breakthrough for “Humanity 2.0,” or are human habits of jealousy and deceit hardwired into us?
Conductor: Corinna Niemeyer
Director: Yuval Sharon
DRESS REHEARSAL, THE SHOW | Planet Ant Black Box | Runs March 28-April 5
What do you do when your lead actor quits the night before the big show? In this case, you throw in a brand-new one—completely unprepared.
Dress Rehearsal is a must-see for fans of live improv, unpredictable comedy, and interactive theater. Each night, a different special guest is thrown into the lead role with no script, no rehearsal, and no clue what’s coming next.
Written & Directed by: Robyn Whitelaw
ECLIPSED: THE SUN, THE MOOD, AND GLADY'S ATKINSON SWEET | Theatre Nova |
Runs April 11-May 11 | www.theatrenova.org
Theatre NOVA is thrilled to present the World Premiere of ECLIPSED, a play documenting the all-too-real 1925 case of an African American married couple and their friends charged with first-degree murder following the attack on the Sweet's Detroit home by over 700 white neighbors. Although much has been written about Dr. Sweet and the two Sweet trials, litigated by Clarence Darrow, this play imagines the perspective of Gladys Sweet and the women who populated her life. It is about what women do, and have always done, in the shadows.
"Years of research, writing, and workshopping have finally resulted in an experience that I think audiences will find both moving and edifying." - D.L. Patrick
Written by: D.L. Patrick
Directed by: Bryana Hall
CHERRY BOMBS & BOTTLE ROCKETS | Saugatuck Center for the Arts | Runs May 22-23
The Saugatuck Center for the Arts is enthusiastically welcoming everyone's favorite raunchy redhead, tupperware slinging, storyteller - Dixie Longate to the stage for her final tour.
Cherry Bombs & Bottle Rockets, the new show from DIXIE LONGATE is a web of storytelling and laughs that only America’s favorite southern redhead can create.
A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN | Farmers Alley Theatre | Runs April 3-20
Farmers Alley Theatre presents the Kalamazoo premiere of A Jukebox for the Algonquin, a brand-new comedy with heart.
At a senior living community in the Adirondack region of upstate New York, a small group of residents decide they’re not quite ready to go “gentle into that good night.” This band of displaced former city dwellers from Brooklyn and The Bronx devise a plot to prove that “old” is not a New York state of mind.
Written & Directed by: Paul Stroili
THE WHARTON CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS
TWO TRAINS RUNNING | March 22 | ONE NIGHT ONLY
Experience The Acting Company’s vibrant new production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running: an unforgettable exploration of community and identity during the civil rights movement.
“Perfection … a work by a writer at the peak of his powers.” —Variety
The Tony® nominated production captures the joy and perseverance of an urban community navigating transformation demonstrating why Wilson remains one of America’s essential voices.
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER'S NEW ORLEANS SONGBOOK | March 25
Prepare to be transported to the lively streets of New Orleans with Jazz at Lincoln Center PRESENTS, New Orleans Songbook: an evening of soul and Mardi Gras spirit celebrating the composers and inspired songs of the Crescent City.
Luther S. Allison, pianist and music director for Jazz at Lincoln Center's New Orleans Songbook, earned his Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University in 2019. He also won a Grammy Award in 2024 as an accompanist for Samara Joy on her album Tight. He’ll be returning to East Lansing as part of the New Orleans Songbook tour, with a performance at Wharton Center on March 25, 2025.
AND THAT'S THE RUNDOWN! There is so much going on across the state, and WE KNOW this isn't a comprehensive list. So, if you think there's something we missed, please reach out.
Until Next Time. Break Legs!
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