Deep in the Woods: "The Man Beast" is haunted, moody, and anxious

Tue, 10/10/2023 - 1:30pm by christopherporter

’Tis the season for witches and werewolves.

Spirit Animal: Theatre Nova’s “Mlima’s Tale" explores the costs of human greed

Wed, 09/20/2023 - 10:00am by christopherporter

At the start of Theatre Nova’s production of Lynn Nottage’s Mlima’s Tale, the four-person cast enters in a line, stomping and breathing deeply in unison, mimicking the movements of an elephant.

Make the Trek: "Return to the Forbidden Planet" reimagines "The Tempest" as a campy sci-fi musical

Tue, 08/15/2023 - 6:30pm by christopherporter

If you’re drawn to the idea of outdoor theater and goofy jukebox musicals that combine elements of Shakespeare and Star Trek—well, Scotty, the Penny Seats Theatre Company is currently staging a show in Ann Arbor's Burns Park that will likely beam you right up.

Action Pain-ing: The ghost of painter Jackson Pollock is a conflicted priest's confidant in Theatre NOVA's "SPLATTERED!"

Wed, 04/26/2023 - 11:00am by strattonl

Turn Down for What?: U-M’s production of “Rent” brightened the corners of the play's darker edges

Tue, 04/18/2023 - 1:30pm by strattonl

For me, it’s telling that the most moving moment of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance’s production of Rent on April 15 came via a curtain call reprise of the show’s iconic song, “Seasons of Love.” 

The One-Woman Show “All Things Equal: The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” Tries to Humanize the Late Supreme Justice

Fri, 03/17/2023 - 10:30am by strattonl

Award-winning poet and writer Naomi Shihab Nye set her latest middle-grade-fiction novel, "The Turtle of Michigan," in Ann Arbor

Wed, 02/22/2023 - 12:30pm by christopherporter

Naomi Shihab Nye is best known for her poetry—she was chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2010-15, and the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2019-21.

Ann Arbor Musical Theater Works Brings The Cult Musical “Moby Dick” to the Children’s Creative Center

Wed, 02/08/2023 - 1:00pm by strattonl

Carnal Letters: UMS's No Safety Net series closed with two Rachel Mars plays that explore the expression of desire

Wed, 02/08/2023 - 10:30am by strattonl

If there’s one common thematic thread between British theater artist Rachel Mars’ two shows, Our Carnal Hearts and Your Sexts Are Shit: Older Better Letters, it’s desire and the ways in which it’s expressed.

It’s All Relative: Ann Arbor Author Jim Ottaviani Examines Albert Einstein’s Complexity in “Einstein” Graphic Biography

Tue, 02/07/2023 - 10:00am by strattonl

When longtime Ann Arborite Jim Ottaviani decided to write a graphic novel about Albert Einstein with artist Jerel Dye, his first concern was doing the research and trying not to drown in it.

“Deadlines are your pal in this regard, in that, there comes a time when I just have to start writing,” said Ottaviani, author of Einstein and a former nuclear engineer and librarian who previously worked at the University of Michigan.