It's hot. And steamy. And the verdant garden blooming in my backyard is nothing compared to the lush array of new plays springing to life right here in Ann Arbor. The Performance Network is back at it planting the seeds of future dramaturgical efforts with its Fireside Festival of New Works, while University of Michigan graduates, the brothers Manganello (a.k.a. Fratellanza) collaborate with the New Theatre Project to bring a brand new comedy to fruition.

But enough with the garden metaphors. Artistic leaders across the nation avow that new playwrights are the future of the American Theatre. Here in Washtenaw we're incredibly luck to have a number of brilliant and prolific young voices in our midst. So get out and water that garden (sorry, I couldn't help it) and see some new plays this week!

Show: “Red, White & Tuna” by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, through June 24
Company: PTD Productions
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/location: Ypsilanti Riverside Arts Center
Recommended: 8+
Description: “Red, White and Tuna” is the third installment of the popular Tuna saga. It is a riotous, fast-paced romp through the lives, loves, politics and gossip of the off-kilter residents of Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas. Williams, Sears and Howard bring back many of their quirky but loveable characters and even introduce some new ones in this rollicking comic farce. All twenty of the shows characters are brought to life by two actors as the inhabitants of Tuna prepare for a wedding, a birth, a high school reunion, a pageant and the return of R.R. Snavely, who just may have been abducted by aliens!
More information
Fun fact: Williams and Sears regularly tour the country to perform all four plays, with Howard directing. Of the four plays, Red, White and Tuna is notable in that Sears' and Williams' final costume change (normally done off-stage) is done in full view of the audience.
For tickets and information: 734-483-7345, www.showtix4u.com.
Special ticket offer: Pay what you can Thurs, $4 off ticket with Haab's dinner receipt.

Show: “The Merry Wives of Windsor” by William Shakespeare through June 24
Company: Shakespeare in the Arb
Type of Company: Higher Education and Community production
Venue/location: Nichols Arboretum - an environmental staging in the Prairie area, but buy tickets at the Peony Garden entrance on Washington Heights
Recommended ages: 6+
Description: Sir John Falstaff is short of money, as always, and comes up with a scheme to replenish his purse by wooing two prosperous married Windsor wives, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. He sends them both the same love letter and the ladies, who are friends, decide to revenge themselves on him for his audacity. The comedy comes from the playful plotting of the wives, and Falstaff’s vanity that keeps him coming back for more abuse.
Review from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: The character of Sir John Falstaff appears in three of Shakespeare’s plays: Henry IV, part I, Henry IV, part II, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
For tickets and information: No tickets are sold in advance. Come to the Peony Garden entrance on Washington Heights and line up for tickets before 5 pm on performance nights.
Special ticket offer: Members of Matthaei Botanical Gardens Nichols Arboretum receive a discount.

Show: Fireside Festival of New Works: “The Queen of Spades” by Joel Gross, one-time event, June 24, 7:30 p.m.
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 12+
Description: Two generations of card sharks, one dangerous game, and a long con where the stakes are life and death. This sexy and treacherous tale of “double-dealing” is based on the famous short story by Alexander Pushkin.
Fun fact: The Fireside Festival is generously underwritten by Joseph C. Walters and Linda Sprankle.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/

Show: Fireside Festival of New Works: “Hungry” by Lia Romeo, one-time event, June 25, 7 p.m.
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Life is hard enough for 15 year old Amy when her best friend won’t stop teasing her about being a virgin, and she must shed 10 pounds for her high school dance team audition. But when she takes some black market diet pills and a hungry Minotaur shows up on her doorstep, her teenage problems take a bizarre turn.
Fun fact: In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/

Show: Fireside Festival of New Works: “Renaissance Man” by Joseph Zettelmaier, one-time event, June 26, 7 pm
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Double, double, toil, and… turkey leg? This hilarious modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, set in the Gloriana Renaissance Festival, tells the story of jousting knight Martin Mackabee and his Lady Emma, and their misguided plot to take over the entire 40 acres.
Fun fact: Performance Network Theatre is a member of The National New Play Network, an alliance of not-for-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays for the American theatre. PNT has been a member since 2001 and is Michigan’s only constituent member.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/

Show: Fireside Festival of New Works: “Catbird” by Kim Carney, one-time event, June 27, 7 pm
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: When a disgruntled playwright takes a snarky theater critic captive after he pans her play “A is for… Addiction” the two spend a very long weekend together. Hostage and captor journey to the brink of sanity and a little bit further, exploring the demons and failed dreams that brought them to together.
Fun fact: Kim Carney’s play “Moonglow” that premiered at PNT in 2006 was optioned for a Broadway production.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/

Show: “In the Next Room, or the vibrator play” by Sarah Ruhl, through July 15
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 16+, Contains adult themes and language.
Description: Upon the dawn of electricity, the aptly named Dr. Givings invests in a buzz worthy new instrument used to treat female patients' “Hysteria.” As the number of blushing patients swells, the good doctor's curious wife breaks into his office to try the device for herself, unleashing an entirely new type of energy deep within. This stimulating comedy, which pulses with love, desire, and abundant laughs, was a 2010 Tony nominee for Best Play.
Preview from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: Featured actress Aphrodite Nikolovski was awarded Best Actress at The Queens World Film Festival in New York, LA Reel Film Festival in California, and Made in Michigan Film Festival for her performance in the short film The Spirit of Isabel. She was also honored with the Rising Star Award at the Action On Film Festival in Pasadena.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0681, www.performancenetwork.org/

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 fiancé, 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.
Fun fact: “On Golden Pond” has been produced in more than 40 countries in 27 languages.
For tickets and information: 734-433-7673 or www.purplerosetheatre.org

Show: “The Mute Quire” by Jim and Paul Mangello, through July 1
Company: The New Theatre Project
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity
Venue/location: Mix Performance Space, 130 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Fratellanza—a new collaboration between Michigan brothers Jim and Paul Manganello—creates a new show for The New Theatre Project imagining the circumstances around the creation of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Two forgotten actors; a printer and his apprentice; an absurd clown and a sad one - all these characters collide in a print shop to publish the plays of the recently dead Shakespeare. Before ink meets paper, they’re battling over the soul of poetry, drama, and nonsense. Using verse and movement, Fratellanza transforms history into a living celebration of love.
More information
Fun fact: Co-creators and performers, the Manganello brothers are both graduates of the University of Michigan.
For tickets and information: Call or text 734-645-9776, www.thenewtheatreproject.org