Tempo

  The Ringwald Theatre, which did not renew its lease amid the pandemic, will launch its next stage at Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center, where it plans to renovate the community room. Affirmations, 290 W. Nine Mile Road in Ferndale, will help The Ringwald launch its new season this fall, tentatively, inside the center. Following its June 1 announcement, Ringwald Theatre staff launched its Comeback Campaign to outfit its new theater space, with a $50,000 goal, to purchase essentials. Donations may be made on its … [Read more...] about Ringwald Theatre to reopen this fall at Affirmations

  Laughter will stream on-demand beginning June 11, when the Players Guild of Dearborn offers a filmed version of the stage comedy “Is This Seat Taken?” written by Brian Townsend of Dearborn. The show, which debuted in 1995, with additional productions in 1998 and 2008, features a series of rapid-fire bar scenes, where phrases like, “The usual, please,” “Bottoms up,” and “What’s your sign?” accompany a series of first drinks, first dates, fancy cocktails, bad pickup lines, relentless romantics, awkward dancing and … [Read more...] about Players Guild of Dearborn to stream Townsend comedy ‘Is This Seat Taken?’

  A filmed, streaming version of the William Finn and James Lapine musical comedy “A New Brain” will be available on-demand June 5 to 20, a collaboration of Theatre NOVA and the Ringwald Theatre. From Finn and Lapine, the Tony Award-winning creators of “Falsettos,” “A New Brain” was inspired by Finn’s frightening experience with an arteriovenous malformation in his brain, and the resultant healing power of his musical creation. The show premiered off-Broadway in 1998, and has since been revived in the United States, … [Read more...] about Theatre NOVA and Ringwald Theatre to stream filmed musical comedy ‘A New Brain’

With a generous blend of humor and pathos, P.S. Center Stage Players perform Brad Slaight’s “Middle Class,” an ensemble piece about teens navigating the treacherous waters of middle school. Directed by Penny Lynn Siler, the show follows the tribulations of young teens in middle school, or what used to be known as junior high. The ensemble cast, each of whom perform multiple roles, offer insight into the challenges young people face as the try to forge their own identity, form relationships, understand status, weather … [Read more...] about P.S. Center Stage Players present ‘Middle Class, a play about modern middle school

  The new musical “Trivoya Gold” will be delivered online April 30 to May 2 by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University, blending individual live performances with pre-recorded pieces. The show, with book and lyrics by Alana Jacoby and music by Scotty Arnold, is directed by Jill Dion, with Danielle Wright as musical director. “Trivoya Gold” is set on a small island off the coast of Norway, where it is so cold that human bodies do not decompose after death, and, as a result, its … [Read more...] about Death, nationalism and Olympic curling: WSU presents the musical, ‘Trivoya Gold’

In a parody-pairing of two cultural icons, the Ringwald presents “Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime,” streaming virtually with the inimitable Jessica Fletcher and pop princess Britney Spears in an affectionate tongue-in-cheek comedy. The parody was penned by pandemic playwrights Vince Kelley and Matthew Arrington, who wrote the “quaran-teeny” parodies “The Golden Girls” and “Facts of Life,” as well as “Have Yourself A MISERY Little Christmas.” Brandy Joe Plambeck directed the show, which features Richard Peyton as Jessica … [Read more...] about Parody perfected: Ringwald streams, ‘Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime’

  The house lights aren’t dimming, you aren’t in the hushed house and the coronavirus is still among us, but the creative minds of the theater world continue to make streaming shows available until the day when we can see them once again in person. The new British musical “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” by Richard Hough and Ben Morales Frost, explores the extraordinary world of a sorcerer and his rebellious daughter as she discovers her magical powers. Set in Northern Ireland, in a small town pushed to its limits by … [Read more...] about New musical ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ now streaming

  With theaters still in pandemic mode, Go Comedy! Improv Theater has expanded it streaming lineup through spring, while the Open Book Theatre Company is continuing its virtual offerings while planning its second season of Driveway Theatre. Go Comedy! of Ferndale recently announced it is expanding its lineup of streaming shows this spring, with the theater’s anchor show, “The Go Comedy! All Star Showdown” joining the two current streaming shows, “Showtime Tonight” and “Reality Check.” Streaming tickets, which start at … [Read more...] about Go Comedy! streams into spring; OBTC plans more virtual and driveway theater