Tempo

  As winter continues its cold, gray hold on southeast Michigan, local theaters offer an escape, with Southgate Community Players offering the Noel Coward classic “Blithe Spirit,” Barefoot Productions performing the original farce “Gianni Schicchi,” the Downriver Actors Guild presenting “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr.,” and the Detroit Mercy Theatre Company producing Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” SÉANCE SUMMONS SPIRITS IN SCP’S ‘BLITHE SPIRIT’ Seances, spirits and astral bigamy take center stage in the … [Read more...] about Local theaters whisk audiences away from winter’s grip

From the barren cold expanse of a beloved Disney story to the brightness of the red carpet, local theater groups are turning up the heat and warming the hearts of thespians, as the Dearborn Youth Theater presents Disney’s “Frozen Jr.,” and the Southgate Community Players roll out the red carpet with its live broadcast of the Academy Awards Feb. 9 at MJR Southgate Digital 20 Cinemas, 15651 Trenton Road, Southgate. DEARBORN WINTER YOUTH THEATER PRESENTS ‘FROZEN JR.’ The modern Disney classic “Frozen Jr.,” performed by youth age 11 … [Read more...] about Local theater groups are ready to thaw hearts

From local high school students testing their mettle at local competitions, to an award-winning North American touring musical, the lure of the theater is in the air. DEARBORN AREA STUDENTS EARN THEATER HONORS Theater teachers from Dearborn, Edsel Ford and Divine Child high schools proudly shared their students’ received achievements in local theater and vocal competitions. The 2019 Michigan High School Thespian Festival, held at the TCF Center and Music Hall in Detroit Dec. 13 and 14, offered a two-day festival of … [Read more...] about Local high school students earn theater awards

Whether in the Manhattan moonlight or poolside in Palm Springs, the choices and risks one takes in life and love offer a fascinating glimpse into the human heart and mind, as Open Book presents “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” and the Ringwald launches “Bright Colors and Bold Patterns.” OPEN BOOK THEATRE PRESENTS ‘FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE’ “Clair de Lune,” or “moonlight” is the soul-searching and emotionally risk-taking setting of Terrance McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” the next … [Read more...] about Life, love and choices take center stage

Whether you seek a musical or a drama, local theaters offer a glimpse at what might have been, as the Downriver Actors Guild presents “Forever Plaid,” a musical about a singing group who posthumously receive a chance to perform the show of which they dreamed, while Slipstream Theatre Initiative’s “A Doll’s House Part 2” looks at what happens when Nora returns to the family she left behind. When the members of a 1950s male vocal quartet, who dream of recording their own album, are in a life-ending crash while on their way to a … [Read more...] about DAG’s ‘Forever Plaid,’ Slipstream’s ‘A Doll’s House Part 2’ look at what might have been

From outrageous auditions to disastrous opening nights, the Players Guild of Dearborn’s production of the comic farce “Laughing Stock” will have the house howling in amusement as theatrical mayhem ensues. The show runs 8 p.m. Jan. 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 and 25, and 2:30 p.m. Jan. 12, 19 and 26 at the theater, 21730 Madison, Dearborn. “Laughing Stock” follows a summer repertory theater which schedules a season of “Dracula,” “Hamlet” and “Charley’s Aunt,” and follows the company from auditions, through rehearsals and technical … [Read more...] about Theater company farce presents comic mayhem in Guild’s ‘Laughing Stock’

Fundraisers help local theaters DATA Cabaret night funds scholarships; donations at DAG’s ‘Cinderella’ to fund new lighting and Salina theater program The generosity of theater patrons took center stage in early December, as the Dearborn Area Theatre Association Cabaret Night Dec. 6 replenished its scholarship fund, and the Downriver Actors Guild’s production of the musical “Cinderella” drew donations to replace the theater’s lighting system and to launch a theater program for students at Salina Intermediate School in … [Read more...] about From the Front Row

Theaters deck the halls with ‘A Christmas Carol,’ ‘A Very Golden Girls Christmas’ Whether you treasure the traditional holiday tale of “A Christmas Carol,” or you prefer the irreverent parody of “A Very Golden Girls Christmas,” local stages are ready to set the stage for holiday happiness. BONSTELLE PRESENTS ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ Don’t miss a chance to see “A Christmas Carol” on the Bonstelle stage before Wayne State University’s launches its new Gateway Performing Arts Center by Old Main and begins its restoration of the … [Read more...] about From the Front Row

  You don’t have to be a Jane Austen fan to enjoy the Open Book Theatre Company’s production of “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly” – romantics who enjoy Hallmark movies with a blend of “Downton Abbey” will definitely leave with a smile on their face. Which is not to say it is a stage version of a “chick flick,” so fellows, don’t shy from taking your leading lady to the Open Book Theatre Company through Dec. 14: The acting is superb, the pacing quick and the story clever and entertaining. The show continues its run 8 … [Read more...] about OBTC’s ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley’ provides a Hallmark fix with a ‘Downton Abbey’ flair

The Dearborn Symphony, achieved a great performance, just in time for the holiday season Nov. 22 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. The symphony, under the expert baton of Music Director and Conductor Steven Jarvi, along with guest baritone Jonathan Lasch, highlighted the music of Leonard Bernstein, George Walker, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. “I want the audience to remember that America has its own distinct musical tradition now in the 20th and 21st century full of beloved and beautiful music,” Jarvi … [Read more...] about Dearborn Symphony continues season of New Beginnings with American Masters