U-M Presents a Swirling, Perfect Staging of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music"

Fri, 04/19/2024 - 11:30am by strattonl

It always amazes me. 

Staff Picks: Caring for Your Home

Sun, 04/14/2024 - 6:52pm by lucroe

Now that spring is here, taking care of one’s home beyond just a general spring cleaning may be of interest. Here are a few books in our collection that will help in fixing or simply improving areas of your home or take a dive into home decorating and organizing.

How Your House Works by Charles Wing | Request Now
In How Your House Works, you will find dozens of illustrations of sink drains, septic tanks, and every type of wiring in this handy book illustrated by Charlie Wing, a world-renowned home remodeling expert and founder of two house-building schools. You’ll never have to think, “What’s this and what does it do?” when working on your home, and you’ll get tips on how to keep things working.

Encore Theatre hosts "Love Boat" vets in engaging, thoughtful "I’m Not Rappaport"

Sat, 04/13/2024 - 2:15pm by christopherporter

You remember The Love Boat? Sure you do.

U-M’s take on Anton Chekhov's "Cherry Orchard" balances an awkward blend of comedy and tragedy

Fri, 04/05/2024 - 12:30pm by christopherporter

Is it a tragedy or a comedy?

Mary Gaitskill Reflects on Her Latest Works and Extensive Career During U-M's Zell Visiting Writers Series Event

Fri, 04/05/2024 - 8:00am by strattonl

According to writer and University of Michigan alumna Mary Gaitskill, almost nothing is unbelievable and people are weird. Her work often reflects this notion with morally ambiguous characters, a gritty detailing of misconduct, and a complete rejection of clean-cut, black-and-white narratives. 

Susan Goethel Campbell’s “Garden Repairs” traverses the intersection of natural and man-made worlds

Wed, 04/03/2024 - 12:30pm by christopherporter

Not long before visiting Ferndale-based artist Susan Goethel Campbell’s Garden Repairs installation at the U-M’s Institute of the Humanities, I’d shared a photograph on social media of a cluster of snow-dusted daffodils in my backyard, shriveled and hunched over. I’d been struck by how often nature mirrors human gesture; how these flowers visibly conveyed what many of us were feeling that morning, as we pulled winter coats and gloves back out of our closets, just days after walking around in shorts. I’d wondered if the natural world shaped the way our physical bodies communicate emotion, or if this is all, in fact, subtle, visible evidence of our inter-relationship with each other.

Theatre Nova's "the ripple, the wave that carried me home" explores how a family deals with a long fight for social justice

Tue, 04/02/2024 - 10:00am by christopherporter

A social change agent who’s also a parent lives inside a paradox: Though they’re often driven by hopes of making the world a better place for their child, they must necessarily invest a vast amount of time and passion (that might otherwise be spent on the child) into their cause to even have a chance at moving the needle—and that child’s resentment can all-too-easily take root and grow.

Encore Theatre's take on Stephen Sondheim’s fairy-tale mashup "Into the Woods" is filled with powerhouse vocals

Wed, 02/21/2024 - 7:45am by christopherporter

It’s fitting that I watched Encore Musical Theatre Company’s new production of Into the Woods with my 12-year-old daughter.

Comic Duet: Theatre Nova's "Fortune" is a rom-com with expert timing

Mon, 02/05/2024 - 7:45am by christopherporter

This has been a chilly, wet, slippery, snowy winter, so it’s a perfect time to warm up with a rom-com—especially with Valentine's Day around the corner.

For Love and Money: U-M professor Scott Rick explores how couples navigate finances in "Tightwads and Spendthrifts"

Mon, 01/08/2024 - 9:30am by christopherporter

In my family, I’m the person who insists on setting apart the cans that can be returned for deposit, while my husband says, “What do you get, three dollars? Not worth it.”

Perhaps not. But different philosophies about money, at the macro and micro level, are all-too-common in marriage. I mean, there’s a reason that finances always make the list of “things couples fight most about,” right?