On Stages: 'Anything Goes' at Ann Arbor Civic and a Sparkling September Soiree at Encore
It’s another week of light listings this week, as local theater companies ramp up for a slew of late September openings. While only one full production is on the boards, a couple of special events and concerts provide enough theatrical offerings to fill a weekend.
Looking forward, though, one’s theater-going salivary glands go into overdrive. There is loads to look forward to this season, including two productions that begin next week: Martin McDonagh’s gruesome thriller “The Pillowman” at Threefold Productions and “Superior Donuts” at the Purple Rose, as well as the Performance Network revival of “The Glass Menagerie” just the week after that.
Other highlights of the season include two UMS imports: The National Theatre of Scotland’s production of “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” an evening of supernatural storytelling, music, and theater to be staged at Ypsilanti’s Corner Brewery, and “The Animals and Children Took to the Streets” at Performance Network by the UK-based theater company 1927, which utilizes a spectacle-based atheistic that The Telegraph calls “junk-shop retro,” painting a living picture of a rag-tag band of children rising up in revolt against the moneyed classes.
So, as the air gets crisper and the football Saturdays get crazier, it’s time to dial up your favorite theater company, book your tickets and get your theater on the calendar!
Company: Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
Type of Company: Community
Venue/location: The Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 6+
Description: The classic Cole Porter musical finds The S.S. Americana sailing from New York to England. On board is a disparate group of passengers including a gangster, a wealthy debutante and her mother, a nightclub singer, and a wealthy New York businessman whose assistant is a stowaway. The stowaway, Billy, discovers that his long-lost love—the debutante Hope—is on board. As his attempts to win her away from her stuffy fiancé become increasingly ridiculous, the gangster continues to elude the law and chaos rules the day. With classic tunes like Delovely and Anything Goes, this timeless musical comedy leaves toe-tapping, tune-humming audiences in its wake. Fun fact: Community leader Judy Dow Rumelhart portrayed Reno Sweeney in a previous A2CT production of Anything Goes.
For tickets and information: www.a2ct.org, 734-971-2228.
Show: “Hollywood and Hyde” a Staged Reading, one-time event, Sunday Sept. 16, 2:30 pm
Company: Emergent Arts Theatre Company
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/Location: Wolverine State Brewing Co., West Stadium in Ann Arbor, (behind Big George's)
Description: “Hollywood And Hyde” is a modern retelling of Robert Louis Stephenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, but Henry Jekyll is a bitter out-of-work Hollywood actor whose closest confidante Gabby has begun to notice strange and violent happenings surrounding her friend. With the assistance of a motley gang of fellow Tinsel Town hangers-on, including a blowsy alcoholic TV stand-in, a punchy former heavyweight champ/ex-television action star, and a jaded bartender who’s seen it all and served them all, Gabby sets off to track down the facts behind the fiction of Jekyll and Hyde.
Fun Fact: This is a show in development, to be produced as a full production this Halloween.
For tickets and information: emergentarts.com/
Show: Sparkling September Soiree, one-time event, Sept. 18 , 6 pm..
Company: Encore Musical Theatre
Type of Company: Equity Special Appearance Contract
Venue/location: Encore Musical Theatre, 3126 Broad Street, Dexter
Recommended Ages: All
Description: Broadway stars Jessica Grove´and Dan Cooney will be joined by your favorite Encore performers for a special concert preview of the Encore’s upcoming season. There will be a strolling silent auction, featuring sparkling wine and light hors d'oeuvres, beginning at 6 p.m., accompanied by the smooth Jazz sounds of Tyler Driskill and The Fourth Wish.
Fun fact: Encore Executive Director Dan Cooney takes a break from his role on Broadway as Bill Austin in “Mamma Mia” to come and join the soiree!
For tickets and information: theencoretheatre.org/Encore/The_Encore_Theatre_Dexter_MI.html
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