Things to Do: Pulp Event Roundup for November

Thu, 11/10/2022 - 9:30am by strattonl

To fill up your November calendar, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of arts-related events, exhibits, and more throughout Washtenaw County. Check out some local cool happenings in music, visual art, theater and dance, and written word and film.

U-M's production of the musical tragedy "Bernarda Alba" mixes period costumes and an abstract set to confront contemporary issues facing women

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 3:30pm by christopherporter

Fredrico Garcia Lorca wrote The House of Bernarda Alba in 1936, shortly before he was murdered by a nationalist firing squad during the Spanish Civil War. Michael John LaChiusa shortened the title to Bernarda Alba when he set the play to music and added lyrics; he made some changes to the play while keeping the essential story: 

Fox on the Run: U-M Department of Voice's "The Cunning Little Vixen" was a feast for the eyes and ears

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 9:00am by christopherporter

For the weekend of November 3-6, the Power Center at U-M was transformed into a magical, wooded wonderland for the Czech opera The Cunning Little Vixen. The U-M Department of Voice and the University Symphony Orchestra came together to present this whimsical tale composed by Leoš Janáček, with the reduced version arranged by Jonathan Dove. 

Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" gets a contemporary update with new music at Ann Arbor Civic Theatre

Tue, 11/01/2022 - 10:00am by christopherporter

"Therefore play, music."

Mystery Train: Concordia Theatre takes the audience for a ride on the Orient Express

Tue, 10/18/2022 - 8:30am by christopherporter

On October 10, the intimate Black Box Theatre at Concordia University was a warehouse full of pianos for a used piano sale. By the end of the month, the 200-seat theater will transport an audience across a winter landscape from Istanbul to central Europe on the legendary Orient Express.

"Mummy" Issues: The Penny Seats Theatre Company's world premiere of "The Mummy Queen" wraps Ann Arbor in a spooky London tale

Mon, 10/17/2022 - 2:00pm by christopherporter

There is a long list of plays and musicals that deal with monsters such as vampires, witches, and Frankenstein. Mummies, however, are scarcely represented on stage.

Jeff Daniels' “Pickleball” serves up intense characters and a faulty narrative

Wed, 10/12/2022 - 12:30pm by strattonl

When I was 8, I performed at a dance recital with my tap classmates. As the girls around me on stage made a few mistakes, I glared at them (according to my amused parents), furious that they were ruining my moment.

"North Country" Fare: The 40th-anniversary edition of Jay Stielstra's folk opera sails into The Ark

Mon, 10/10/2022 - 7:00am by christopherporter

Forty years ago, Jay Stielstra was playing his songs to enthusiastic listeners around Ann Arbor, mostly at Mr. Flood’s Party, a bar that once stood on 120 West Liberty. Bouyed by the response to his tunes, the folk singer decided to write some continuity and put them together in a play, North Country Opera. 

U-M Department of Musical Theatre's "Sophisticated Ladies" is jumping with talent

Fri, 10/07/2022 - 2:45pm by christopherporter

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!

Chekhov's "Three Sisters" gets a risqué update in U-M’s "Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow"

Fri, 09/30/2022 - 2:30pm by christopherporter

Playwright Halley Feiffer had the clever idea of taking Anton Chekhov’s play Three Sisters and kicking it into the 21st century.