The Ringwald presents the Michigan premiere of Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” June 7 to July 1, with Garrett Michael Harris (left) as Dracula and Rashna Sarwar as Lucy, at Affirmations, 290 W. Nine Mile in Ferndale. For tickets and more information, go to theringwald.com.
The Ringwald Theater kicks off summer with the Michigan premiere of Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” June 7 to July 1, while the Dearborn Area Theatre Association honored local youth theater participants and supporters both onstage and off May 21 at the Crestwood High School auditorium.
RINGWALD PRESENTS ‘DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS’
The Ringwald Theater provides a summer show to “sink your teeth into” with the Michigan premiere of “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” June 7 to July 1 on the Affirmations stage in Ferndale.
The show is an irreverent combination of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” with the comedic flavor of Mel Brooks and Monty Python in a quick-paced, 90-minute, laugh-out-loud comedy.
When Mina falls ill, Jonathon Harker and his fiancée Lucy Westfeldt enlist the help of famed female vampire hunter Dr. Jean Van Helsing to find the dangerous and alluring Count Dracula.
The gender-bending romp features clever wordplay and quick-change antics in a hilarious parody of the literary classic.
Directed by Brandy Joe Plambeck, the cast, who play multiple roles, includes Miles Bond as Harker, Melissa Beckwith as Westfeldt, Rashna “Rashi” Sarwar as Lucy, Joe Bailey as Mina and Garrett Michael Harris as Dracula.
Tickets are $25 for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows and $15 for the Monday performances. The Ringwald is a cashless venue, but credit cards will be accepted at the door. To order tickets online, go to theRingwald.com.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. June 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 21, 22, 24, 28 and 29 and July 1, and 3 p.m. June 9, 16, 23 and 30 at Affirmations, 290 W. Nine Mile Road in Ferndale.
DEARBORN AREA THEATRE ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES EXCELLENCE IN YOUTH THEATER
The Dearborn Area Theatre Association honored excellence in youth theater May 21 at the Crestwood High School auditorium, honoring outstanding achievement both onstage and behind the scenes.
Four local high schools with theater programs – Crestwood, Dearborn, Divine Child and Edsel Ford – were adjudicated for the high school awards, while the Players Guild of Dearborn summer youth theater shows were recognized as well.
Seven high school seniors were awarded DATA scholarships: Crestwood’s Lara Elhajj, Dearborn’s Ava Assenmacher, Ava Nasser and Eliana Quesada, and Divine Child’s Phoebe Morris and Allysha Potts.
In addition, Stan Guarnelo, a longtime member of the Players Guild of Dearborn, was posthumously inducted into the Dearborn Theatre Hall of Fame.
The high school shows adjudicated included Crestwood’s “Puffs,” “Anastasia,” and student-directed scenes; Dearborn’s “Lend Me A Tenor,” “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” and student-directed scenes; Divine Child’s “Clue” and “Shrek – the Musical,” and Edsel Ford’s “Caught in the Act” and “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
The complete list of nominees, as well as an extensive list of student theatre design awards, is on the DATA Facebook page.
Crestwood received 10 awards for “Anastasia:” Lydia Smith, featured actress in a musical; Carl Littlejohn, featured actor in a musical; Jake Woldanski for lighting design; Gilda Cameron for property design; Delaney Singleton for makeup design; outstanding ensemble musical; Mina Haidi, choreography; Cayla Kolbusz for both direction and production of a musical; and Fay Bazzi for lead actress in a musical.
Kelsey Genga was honored for lead actress in a play for Crestwood’s “Puffs.”
Dearborn received four awards for “Lend Me A Tenor:” Eva Hammoud and Amany Sayed (in double-cast roles) for featured actress in a play, Julius Owens and Alex Sassanelli (in double-cast roles) for featured actor in a play, outstanding ensemble in a play, and Greg Phillip Viscomi for direction of a play.
Dearborn’s “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” received two awards: Lisa Goddard and Jeanine Katona for costume design, and Julius Owens for lead actor in a musical.
Divine Child received four awards for “Clue:” Robert Bush for outstanding scenic design, Kori Bielanic for direction of a play, Robert Bush as producer, and Alex Tar for lead actor in a play.
Divine Child received two awards for “Shrek:” Robert Bush and Paul Abbott for orchestral direction, and Paul Abbott for musical direction.
Edsel Ford’s Mathias Herman in “Caught in the Act” was honored as a featured actor in a play, while Scott Carscadden and Geoffrey Kelm were honored for sound design for “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
The Players Guild of Dearborn summer theater recognitions went to two shows directed by Nathan Vasquez: “Madagascar Jr.” in 2022 and in 2023, “The SpongeBob Musical Youth Edition.”
Honorees for “Madagascar” went to Liz Downe and Daniel Tyler, with Sofia Castrillon-Ibarra and Steven Gullet-Peets recognized for their roles in “SpongeBob.”