Calendar of Events
Theater, Dance, and Opera
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TuesdayDecember 2008 |
"A Streetcar Named Desire": Ann Arbor District Library.
Purple Rose Theatre artistic director Guy Sanville directs a cast reading of Purple Rose's upcoming winter production of the classic Tennessee Williams drama. It stars Michelle Mountain, Qarie Marshall, and Charlyn Swarthout.
AADL multipurpose room (lower level), 343 S. Fifth Ave. at William. Free. 327-4555.
Opera Workshop: U-M School of Music.
Dec. 2 & 4 (different programs). Joshua Major directs U-M music students in Menotti's comic opera The Telephone and in scenes from Donizetti's The Elixir of Love and Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.
McIntosh Theater, 1100 Baits Dr. (off Broadway), North Campus. Free. 764-0594.
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WednesdayDecember 2008 |
"The Telephone": University Living
. U-M music professor Joshua Major directs Gian Carlo Menotti's lively one-act comic opera about a man whose lover is addicted to chattering on the phone. Stars U-M opera grad students Jennifer Rossetti and Branden Hood..
University Living, 2865 S. Main. Free. Reservations required by Dec. 1. 669-3030.
Opera Workshop: EMU Music Department.
Kathleen Segar directs EMU opera students in memorable scenes from various operas.
Pease Auditorium, EMU campus, W. Cross at College Place, Ypsilanti. Free. 487-2255.
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ThursdayDecember 2008 |
Opera Workshop: U-M School of Music.
Dec. 2 & 4 (different programs). Today at 5:30 p.m., Joshua Major directs U-M music students in Menotti's comic opera The Telephone and in scenes from Donizetti's The Elixir of Love and Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. p.m. program is the same as on Dec. 2. The 7:30 p.m. program includes arias from various operas and monologues from Shakespeare.
McIntosh Theater, 1100 Baits Dr. (off Broadway), North Campus. Free. 764-0594.
"A Christmas Carol": Emergent Arts.
Dec. 4-7 & 11-14. Tim Henning directs his adaptation of Dickens's familiar tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's tortuous journey from bilious tightwad to gracious benefactor. Cast: Steve Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Bill Cross, Andy Jentzen, Patricia Petiet, and Bob Seeman.
Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 3257 Lohr Rd. $15 (seniors & students with ID, $12; kids age 12 & under, $10) in advance at emergentarts@hotmail.com and at the door. 330-7815.
"Pride and Prejudice": U-M Theatre Department.
Dec. 4-7. New York-based freelance director Timothy Douglas directs U-M drama students in James Maxwell's adaptation of Jane Austen's durably popular 1813 novel about an independent, gracious, and sharp-minded young woman with 4 sisters and an overbearing matchmaking mother whose good sense and determination not to be undone meet their match in a handsome but mysterious young man.
U-M Walgreen Drama Center Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $18 & $24 (students, $9) at the Michigan League Box Office in advance and at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538.
"Geoffrey & Jeffrey": Performance Network Professional Season.
Every Thurs.-Sun. (except Nov. 27), Nov. 6-Dec. 28. David Wolber directs the world premiere of Royal Oak playwright Kim Carney's gleefully over-the-top comedy, based on the local couple of Charlie Sutherland and the late Jim Posante, about an older gay couple who discover that one of them has both a daughter and a granddaughter. Cast: Tom Whalen, Paul Hopper, Laurel Hufano, and Heidi Bennett.
Performance Network, 120 E. Huron. Tickets $27 & $29 (Thurs.), $32 & $34 (Fri. & Sun.), $25 & $27 (Sat. matinee), and $39 & $41 (Sat. eve.) available in advance at performancenetwork.org & by phone, and at the door. $3 discounts available for seniors age 60 & over. $10 student discounts available in advance, half-price student tickets at the door only. For reservations, call 663-0681; to charge by phone, call 663-0696.
"Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse": U-M Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Dec. 4-7. Rebecca Nathanson and Rikki Gimelstob direct this accomplished local town-and-gown company in Gilbert & Sullivan's wonderfully funny send-up of the conventions of 19th-century melodrama. Set in a fishing village on the coast of England, the story concerns a lonely aristocrat who suffers under his family's ancient curse: he must commit at least one atrocity a day or face a death of unspeakable agony. The problem is he's really a nice guy, with no stomach for dastardly deeds. The plot takes several delicious twists, including sudden switches of identity and romantic affections, ancestral portraits coming to life, and a preposterous legal resolution (a favorite device with Gilbert, himself a failed lawyer). The score is one of Sullivan's best, but the work is seldom performed, mainly because of the difficult special effects it calls for.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Tickets $18 & $22 (students, $10 & $14; seniors, $14 & $18) in advance and at the door. 764-2538.
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FridayDecember 2008 |
"Dance and Related Arts Concert": U-M Dance Department.
Dec. 5 & 6. U-M dance majors present an evening of multimedia collaborations with student and faculty composers, musicians, theatrical designers, sculptors, photographers, vocalists, and creative writers.
U-M Dance Bldg. Betty Pease Studio, 1310 North University Ct. $5 at the door only. 763-5460.
"The Nutcracker": Youth Dance Theatre of Michigan.
Dec. 5-7. Wendi DuBois directs this Chelsea-based troupe of young dancers in a production of Tchaikovsky's ballet. The Sat. & Sun. matinees are preceded at 1 p.m. by a Sugar Plum Fairy tea ($10 in advance only) featuring cast visits and photos, and refreshments. 7 p.m., Chelsea High School, 740 N. Freer,
Chelsea. $18 (students and age 60 & over, $12) in advance and at the door. Groups of 10 or more, $10 each in advance only. 475-3070.
"A Christmas Carol": Emergent Arts.
Dec. 4-7 & 11-14. Tim Henning directs his adaptation of Dickens's familiar tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's tortuous journey from bilious tightwad to gracious benefactor. Cast: Steve Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Bill Cross, Andy Jentzen, Patricia Petiet, and Bob Seeman.
Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 3257 Lohr Rd. $15 (seniors & students with ID, $12; kids age 12 & under, $10) in advance at emergentarts@hotmail.com and at the door. 330-7815.
"Coppelia": EMU Dance Program.
EMU dance students perform Delibes's comic opera, the story of a mysterious doctor who makes a life-size dancing doll so lifelike that a village swain throws aside his true love for her. The score is performed live by the EMU Symphony Orchestra. An abridged version of this program is presented earlier today at 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. in 2 free 50-minute children's concerts (reservations required at 487-2448).
Pease Auditorium, EMU campus, W. Cross at College Place, Ypsilanti. Tickets $10 (seniors & students, $8; children under 12, $6) in advance and at the door. 487-2282.
"The Snow Queen": EMU Theater Department.
Nov. 21-23 & 30 and Dec. 5 & 6. EMU theater professor Wallace Bridges directs EMU students in Stuart Paterson and Savourna Stevenson's musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's tale of mystery, humor, and adventure. When the beautiful but sinister Snow Queen kidnaps her best friend and turns her heart to ice, a young girl embarks on a rescue journey that teaches her valuable lessons about friendship and perseverance. A family-oriented production for theatergoers age 8 & up.
Quirk Theater, Ford St. (off Lowell from Huron River Dr.), EMU campus, Ypsilanti. Tickets $15 (students, $12; kids age 12 & under, $6) in advance and at the door. 487-2282.
"America`s Next Top Model: The Puppet Show": Dreamland Theater.
The Dreamland Puppet Troupe presents a puppet show based on Cycle 2 (2004) of the popular reality TV show America's Next Top Model.
Dreamland, 26 N. Washington, Ypsilanti. $7. 657-2337.
"Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse": U-M Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Dec. 4-7. Rebecca Nathanson and Rikki Gimelstob direct this accomplished local town-and-gown company in Gilbert & Sullivan's wonderfully funny send-up of the conventions of 19th-century melodrama. Set in a fishing village on the coast of England, the story concerns a lonely aristocrat who suffers under his family's ancient curse: he must commit at least one atrocity a day or face a death of unspeakable agony. The problem is he's really a nice guy, with no stomach for dastardly deeds. The plot takes several delicious twists, including sudden switches of identity and romantic affections, ancestral portraits coming to life, and a preposterous legal resolution (a favorite device with Gilbert, himself a failed lawyer). The score is one of Sullivan's best, but the work is seldom performed, mainly because of the difficult special effects it calls for.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Tickets $18 & $22 (students, $10 & $14; seniors, $14 & $18) in advance and at the door. 764-2538.
"Geoffrey & Jeffrey": Performance Network Professional Season.
Every Thurs.-Sun. (except Nov. 27), Nov. 6-Dec. 28. David Wolber directs the world premiere of Royal Oak playwright Kim Carney's gleefully over-the-top comedy, based on the local couple of Charlie Sutherland and the late Jim Posante, about an older gay couple who discover that one of them has both a daughter and a granddaughter. Cast: Tom Whalen, Paul Hopper, Laurel Hufano, and Heidi Bennett.
Performance Network, 120 E. Huron. Tickets $27 & $29 (Thurs.), $32 & $34 (Fri. & Sun.), $25 & $27 (Sat. matinee), and $39 & $41 (Sat. eve.) available in advance at performancenetwork.org & by phone, and at the door. $3 discounts available for seniors age 60 & over. $10 student discounts available in advance, half-price student tickets at the door only. For reservations, call 663-0681; to charge by phone, call 663-0696.
"Pride and Prejudice": U-M Theatre Department.
Dec. 4-7. New York-based freelance director Timothy Douglas directs U-M drama students in James Maxwell's adaptation of Jane Austen's durably popular 1813 novel about an independent, gracious, and sharp-minded young woman with 4 sisters and an overbearing matchmaking mother whose good sense and determination not to be undone meet their match in a handsome but mysterious young man.
U-M Walgreen Drama Center Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $18 & $24 (students, $9) at the Michigan League Box Office in advance and at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538.
Erik Santos & Kumotaro Mukai: U-M School of Music.
Dec. 5 & 6. Collaborative performance by U-M music professor Santos, a composer-percussionist, and Japanese Butoh dancer Mukai, winner of the Dance Critics Society of Japan 2005 Rookie Award. Butoh is a highly expressionistic, kinetic movement form developed in the 1960s to explore and express human suffering. It was a deliberate break with Noh and Kabuki, classical traditions in which rigid stylizations are used to mask emotion.
U-M Duderstadt Center Media Center video studio, 2281 Bonisteel, North Campus. Free. 764-0594.
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SaturdayDecember 2008 |
"The Nutcracker": Youth Dance Theatre of Michigan.
Dec. 5-7. Wendi DuBois directs this Chelsea-based troupe of young dancers in a production of Tchaikovsky's ballet. The Sat. & Sun. matinees are preceded at 1 p.m. by a Sugar Plum Fairy tea ($10 in advance only) featuring cast visits and photos, and refreshments. 7 p.m., Chelsea High School, 740 N. Freer,
Chelsea. $18 (students and age 60 & over, $12) in advance and at the door. Groups of 10 or more, $10 each in advance only. 475-3070.
"The Nutcracker": Ypsilanti Area Dancers.
Dec. 6 & 7. Heidi Vitso directs a company of dancers ages 6-18 in a production of Tchaikovsky's beloved Christmas ballet.
Ypsilanti High School Auditorium, 2095 Packard. Tickets $13 & $18 in advance at ypsilantiareadancers.com & the Dancer's Boutique (2414 E. Stadium Blvd.) and at the door. 528-9682.
"Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse": U-M Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Dec. 4-7. Rebecca Nathanson and Rikki Gimelstob direct this accomplished local town-and-gown company in Gilbert & Sullivan's wonderfully funny send-up of the conventions of 19th-century melodrama. Set in a fishing village on the coast of England, the story concerns a lonely aristocrat who suffers under his family's ancient curse: he must commit at least one atrocity a day or face a death of unspeakable agony. The problem is he's really a nice guy, with no stomach for dastardly deeds. The plot takes several delicious twists, including sudden switches of identity and romantic affections, ancestral portraits coming to life, and a preposterous legal resolution (a favorite device with Gilbert, himself a failed lawyer). The score is one of Sullivan's best, but the work is seldom performed, mainly because of the difficult special effects it calls for.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Tickets $18 & $22 (students, $10 & $14; seniors, $14 & $18) in advance and at the door. 764-2538.
"Geoffrey & Jeffrey": Performance Network Professional Season.
Every Thurs.-Sun. (except Nov. 27), Nov. 6-Dec. 28. David Wolber directs the world premiere of Royal Oak playwright Kim Carney's gleefully over-the-top comedy, based on the local couple of Charlie Sutherland and the late Jim Posante, about an older gay couple who discover that one of them has both a daughter and a granddaughter. Cast: Tom Whalen, Paul Hopper, Laurel Hufano, and Heidi Bennett.
Performance Network, 120 E. Huron. Tickets $27 & $29 (Thurs.), $32 & $34 (Fri. & Sun.), $25 & $27 (Sat. matinee), and $39 & $41 (Sat. eve.) available in advance at performancenetwork.org & by phone, and at the door. $3 discounts available for seniors age 60 & over. $10 student discounts available in advance, half-price student tickets at the door only. For reservations, call 663-0681; to charge by phone, call 663-0696.
"The Snow Queen": EMU Theater Department.
Nov. 21-23 & 30 and Dec. 5 & 6. EMU theater professor Wallace Bridges directs EMU students in Stuart Paterson and Savourna Stevenson's musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's tale of mystery, humor, and adventure. When the beautiful but sinister Snow Queen kidnaps her best friend and turns her heart to ice, a young girl embarks on a rescue journey that teaches her valuable lessons about friendship and perseverance. A family-oriented production for theatergoers age 8 & up.
Quirk Theater, Ford St. (off Lowell from Huron River Dr.), EMU campus, Ypsilanti. Tickets $15 (students, $12; kids age 12 & under, $6) in advance and at the door. 487-2282.
"A Christmas Carol": Emergent Arts.
Dec. 4-7 & 11-14. Tim Henning directs his adaptation of Dickens's familiar tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's tortuous journey from bilious tightwad to gracious benefactor. Cast: Steve Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Bill Cross, Andy Jentzen, Patricia Petiet, and Bob Seeman.
Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 3257 Lohr Rd. $15 (seniors & students with ID, $12; kids age 12 & under, $10) in advance at emergentarts@hotmail.com and at the door. 330-7815.
"Dance and Related Arts Concert": U-M Dance Department.
Dec. 5 & 6. U-M dance majors present an evening of multimedia collaborations with student and faculty composers, musicians, theatrical designers, sculptors, photographers, vocalists, and creative writers.
U-M Dance Bldg. Betty Pease Studio, 1310 North University Ct. $5 at the door only. 763-5460.
"Pride and Prejudice": U-M Theatre Department.
Dec. 4-7. New York-based freelance director Timothy Douglas directs U-M drama students in James Maxwell's adaptation of Jane Austen's durably popular 1813 novel about an independent, gracious, and sharp-minded young woman with 4 sisters and an overbearing matchmaking mother whose good sense and determination not to be undone meet their match in a handsome but mysterious young man.
U-M Walgreen Drama Center Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $18 & $24 (students, $9) at the Michigan League Box Office in advance and at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538.
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SundayDecember 2008 |
"Congolese Dance": U-M Dance Department.
Performance by an ensemble of U-M Dance students.
U-M Dance Bldg. Studio A, 1310 North University Ct. Free. 763-5460.
"A Christmas Carol": Emergent Arts.
Dec. 4-7 & 11-14. Tim Henning directs his adaptation of Dickens's familiar tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's tortuous journey from bilious tightwad to gracious benefactor. Cast: Steve Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Bill Cross, Andy Jentzen, Patricia Petiet, and Bob Seeman.
Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 3257 Lohr Rd. $15 (seniors & students with ID, $12; kids age 12 & under, $10) in advance at emergentarts@hotmail.com and at the door. 330-7815.
"The Nutcracker": Youth Dance Theatre of Michigan.
Dec. 5-7. Wendi DuBois directs this Chelsea-based troupe of young dancers in a production of Tchaikovsky's ballet. The Sat. & Sun. matinees are preceded at 1 p.m. by a Sugar Plum Fairy tea ($10 in advance only) featuring cast visits and photos, and refreshments. 7 p.m., Chelsea High School, 740 N. Freer,
Chelsea. $18 (students and age 60 & over, $12) in advance and at the door. Groups of 10 or more, $10 each in advance only. 475-3070.
"Pride and Prejudice": U-M Theatre Department.
Dec. 4-7. New York-based freelance director Timothy Douglas directs U-M drama students in James Maxwell's adaptation of Jane Austen's durably popular 1813 novel about an independent, gracious, and sharp-minded young woman with 4 sisters and an overbearing matchmaking mother whose good sense and determination not to be undone meet their match in a handsome but mysterious young man.
U-M Walgreen Drama Center Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $18 & $24 (students, $9) at the Michigan League Box Office in advance and at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538.
"Geoffrey & Jeffrey": Performance Network Professional Season.
Every Thurs.-Sun. (except Nov. 27), Nov. 6-Dec. 28. David Wolber directs the world premiere of Royal Oak playwright Kim Carney's gleefully over-the-top comedy, based on the local couple of Charlie Sutherland and the late Jim Posante, about an older gay couple who discover that one of them has both a daughter and a granddaughter. Cast: Tom Whalen, Paul Hopper, Laurel Hufano, and Heidi Bennett.
Performance Network, 120 E. Huron. Tickets $27 & $29 (Thurs.), $32 & $34 (Fri. & Sun.), $25 & $27 (Sat. matinee), and $39 & $41 (Sat. eve.) available in advance at performancenetwork.org & by phone, and at the door. $3 discounts available for seniors age 60 & over. $10 student discounts available in advance, half-price student tickets at the door only. For reservations, call 663-0681; to charge by phone, call 663-0696.
"Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse": U-M Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Dec. 4-7. Rebecca Nathanson and Rikki Gimelstob direct this accomplished local town-and-gown company in Gilbert & Sullivan's wonderfully funny send-up of the conventions of 19th-century melodrama. Set in a fishing village on the coast of England, the story concerns a lonely aristocrat who suffers under his family's ancient curse: he must commit at least one atrocity a day or face a death of unspeakable agony. The problem is he's really a nice guy, with no stomach for dastardly deeds. The plot takes several delicious twists, including sudden switches of identity and romantic affections, ancestral portraits coming to life, and a preposterous legal resolution (a favorite device with Gilbert, himself a failed lawyer). The score is one of Sullivan's best, but the work is seldom performed, mainly because of the difficult special effects it calls for.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Tickets $18 & $22 (students, $10 & $14; seniors, $14 & $18) in advance and at the door. 764-2538.
"The Nutcracker": Ypsilanti Area Dancers.
Dec. 6 & 7. Heidi Vitso directs a company of dancers ages 6-18 in a production of Tchaikovsky's beloved Christmas ballet.
Ypsilanti High School Auditorium, 2095 Packard. Tickets $13 & $18 in advance at ypsilantiareadancers.com & the Dancer's Boutique (2414 E. Stadium Blvd.) and at the door. 528-9682.
Children's Puppet Shows: Dreamland Theater.
Dec. 7, 14, & 21 . The Dreamland Puppet Troupe presents several marionette, rod, and shadow puppet shows for kids.
Dreamland Theater, 26 N. Washington, Ypsilanti. $5 (kids age 3 & under, free). 657-2337.
"American Visions": U-M Residential College Drama Concentration
. U-M drama lecturer Kate Mendeloff directs RC students in scenes from Marsha Norman's 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'Night Mother and Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning trilogy Angels in America. 'Night Mother is a controversial drama about a divorced woman, living with her mother, who chooses suicide in an effort to take control of her own life. Set on the evening when the daughter reveals her intention to kill herself, the action explores the nature of love, the relationship between mother and daughter, the meaning of suicide, and the value of life. "Humor and pathos pop up as naturally as wildflowers or fences by the roadside," says critic John Simon. "There is a devastating psychological accuracy, and nothing seems contrived." Subtitled "a gay fantasia on national themes," Angels in America is an ambitious, sprawling, fantastic spectacle examining Reagan-era politics, religion, the AIDS plague, and the timeless questions of love, courage, and death. The drama centers on one HIV-positive man, his friends and loved ones, and the various presences who haunt him, including angelic messengers and the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg.
U-M Residential College Auditorium, East Quad, 701 East University. Free. 647-4354.
