on stages: Carriage House closes out the summer, PNT and Purple Rose approach season's end

By Carla Milarch AnnArbor.com Community Contributor

Posted on Wed, Aug 22, 2012 : 7:50 a.m.

Quetta Carpenter and Darrell Glasgow in Performance Network's "Burn This"

As we enjoy the waning days of summer, it’s time for the official wrap up of the 2011-2012 season. This weekend, the last of the seasonal venues, the Carriage House Theatre, will stage its final performances of the year before closing its doors until next June. The area's professional theaters are also winding down their seasons with the second-to-last weekend of both “On Golden Pond” and “Burn This.”

It’s been a great and varied season here in Washtenaw, with over 80 productions staged by community and professional theaters, including comedies, dramas, musicals, children’s shows, high-definition broadcasts from the National Theatre in London, world-class tours, world premieres of new scripts, site-specific and devised pieces, Shakespeare in the park, and more.

What did YOU love about this year’s theater season? Share your impressions, highlights, and favorites in the comments section below!

Show: “Mary Rose” by J.M. Barrie, through August 25

Company: Carriage House Theatre

Type of Company: Pre-professional

Venue/location: Carriage House Theatre, 541 Third St, Ann Arbor

Recommended ages: 10+

Description: When her parents took her on a vacation to the Scottish isles as a young girl, Mary Rose inexplicably disappeared on a small island. Given up for dead, she returned a month later with no memory of having been gone or of any time having passed. As she grows up, she maintains an unusual childlike nature. She marries her childhood sweetheart and has a son, both of whom she loves greatly, but perhaps the call of the island is greater still. J.M. Barrie weaves a touching story of love, humor, innocence, and loss, playing some of the same chords as in Peter Pan, but in a slightly more minor key. http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/carriage-house-theatre-wraps-up-season-with-mary-rose/#.UDOtxkS7Qc4

Fun fact: This is the last weekend of the last production of Carriage House’s summer season, so if you've been meaning to check them out but haven't yet, this is your last chance until next June.

For tickets and information: http://carriagehousetheatre.weebly.com

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Show: “On Golden Pond”, by Ernest Thompson, through September 1

Company: Purple Rose Theatre Company

Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)

Venue/location: 137 Park Street, Chelsea

Recommended ages: 13+ (some mature language)

Description: This charming love story follows Ethel and Norman Thayer as they return to their summer home in Maine. Their respite is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of their estranged daughter, her fiancÃ©, and his teenage son. Over the course of the summer, an unlikely friendship develops between Norman and the boy, which sparks a renewed zest for life in the Thayer family. In the twilight years of marriage, Ethel and Norman rediscover the joy and romance of every day living. http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/review_purple_roses_on_golden.html

Fun fact: “On Golden Pond” has been translated into 30 languages, Arabic being the most recent, and played in more than 40 countries on six continents.

For tickets and information: 734-433-7673 or www.purplerosetheatre.org

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Show: "Burn This” by Lanford Wilson, through September 2

Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)

Recommended ages: 16+, contains adult language and content

Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor

Description: This explosive play, set in 1986 Manhattan, captures the recklessness of that decade. Pale, a coke-snorting, Jersey restaurant manager, and Anna, an up and coming choreographer, meet when her roommate Robbie, Pale's brother, dies. As the passions ignite, Pale's intense and troubled personality emerges. Menacing, profane, dangerous and yet oddly sensitive, Pale is both terrifying and fascinating. When Anna retreats into her work, he pursues her relentlessly, setting off an inferno of rage and desire that threatens to consume them both. http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/performance-network-aims-to-start-a-fire-with-burn-this/

Fun fact: In 1969, Lanford Wilson co-founded the Circle Repertory Company, for whom he wrote many plays in the 1970s. His 1973 play, The Hot l Baltimore, was the company's first major hit with both audiences and critics; its Off-Broadway run exceeded 1,000 performances.

For tickets and information: http://www.performancenetwork.org/, 734-663-0681