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Posted on Wed, Aug 17, 2011 : 8:30 a.m.

'Inherit the Wind' at the Carriage House and 'Til I Hear You Sing' - a benefit concert for The Encore

By Carla Milarch

Everything old is new again, and history repeats itself in some of this week’s shows. “Inherit the Wind,” at the Carriage House Theatre, examines the landmark 1925 case in which a biology teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee’s Butler act, by teaching evolution in his high school class. The trial pitted modernists, who said religion was consistent with evolution, against fundamentalists, who said that the Bible took priority over all human knowledge. Sound familiar?

In “Marie Antoinette: the Color of Flesh,” which has recently been extended at Performance Network, Joel Gross gives us a portrait of a time when the wealthiest aristocrats lived in complete isolation from the poverty of the people, and the political system was in upheaval. Actress Chelsea Sadler, who portrays Antoinette, reports that “The biggest laugh of the whole show is almost always when the character of Alexis speaks of the national debt growing like a monster feeding on its young.”

Even in tumultuous times, theater remains a relevant art form.

Theater listings for the week of August 17 - 21

Show: “Til I Hear You Sing” Augt 20 & 21
Company: Encore Musical Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity
Venue/location: Encore Musical Theatre, 3126 Broad St., Dexter
Recommended ages: 10+
Description: featuring the vocal talents of The Encore's Steve DeBruyne and friends, this benefit concert will feature some of Broadway's most memorable melodies and a few new tunes you've never heard, before including a brand new song from The Encore's upcoming production of “It's a Wonderful Life The Musical.”
Fun fact: All proceeds from this concert event will go toward equipment for The Encore, including backstage monitors and wireless microphones.
For tickets and information: For tickets and information: www.theencoretheatre.org or 734-268-6200

Show:
“Posing” by Jason Sebacher, through Aug. 21
Company: The New Theatre Project
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity
Venue/location: Mix Performance Space, 130 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 18 +, "Posing" contains strong language, simulated sex, drug use, and nudity. No one under the age of 18 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.
Description: Inspired by the life of Oscar Wilde, “Posing” is the story of two men: each running from his past, each escaping his present, and each keeping an impossible secret. They are bound together for days with the mutual goal of using each other for sex and drugs, until they must confront the consequences of trying to stay young forever.
Examiner article
Fun fact: The Mix Performance Space is also home to Mix New and Used, which features “New and gently used wearables, accessories and uncommon artful objects to inspire you in your surroundings.” Guests can come early and do a little shopping before the show!
For tickets and information: Call or text 734-645-9776 or email tickets@thenewtheatreproject.org.

Show: “Twelfth Night,” by William Shakespeare, through Aug. 27
Company: Shakespeare West
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity
Venue/Location: West Park Band Shell, 300 N. Seventh, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 17+
Description: A late '60s romp, full of bikers, booze, and psychedelia! Shakespeare's classic comedy gets a new spin from director Barton Bund.
Article from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: According to the website hippy.com, Ann Arbor is listed as one of the places “where there exists a sizable hippy population, where there is tolerance towards hippies, where hippies are free to pursue their lifestyle with community support.”
For tickets and information: 734-657-4290 or online at www.blackbirdtheatre.org


Show: “Inherit the Wind,” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, through Aug. 27
Company: The Carriage House Theatre
Location: Carriage House Theatre, 541 Third St, Ann Arbor (between Jefferson and Madison).
Description: A modern classic about one of the most important trials of our time, Tennessee vs. Scopes. It's July of 1925, and two of the most renowned lawyers in the country are battling it out in a small-town Tennessee courtroom over a schoolteacher who has intentionally broken the law and taught evolution in the classroom. Experience the play intimately, as the characters engage you and bring you into their world.
Fun fact: The play is staged intimately, with the actors engaging and interacting with the audience, who are free to engage in the action themselves.
For tickets and information: www.carriagehousetheatre.org/.

Show: “Marie Antoinette, the Color of Flesh” by Joel Gross, extended through Sept. 4
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 12 +
Description: Called “A touching story of love" by The New York Times, this play gives history a refreshingly sexy face. A sumptuous blend of fact and fiction, it creates an imagined love triangle between Marie Antoinette; her official portraitist, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun; and a fictitious aristocrat and lover to both, Count Alexis de Ligne. Spanning two politically explosive decades surrounding the French Revolution, this boudoir drama weaves politics, history, romance and art.
Article from Broadway World
Fun fact: This is the fifth show in PNT’s current season to be extended.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/

Show: “Consider the Oyster” by David MacGregor, through Sept. 3
Company: The Purple Rose Theatre Company
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: During the celebration of a Detroit Lions Super Bowl victory, Gene Walsh impulsively proposes marriage to the love of his life. When she joyously accepts, he tumbles over the coffee table. This chance fall begins a hilarious cascade of startling twists that turn the happy couples’ future upside down and inside out.
Article from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: "Consider the Oyster" set designer, Dennis Crawley used many reclaimed and reused materials in his design. The wooden DVD storage unit at the front of the stage, as well as the coffee table top were built using wood from the old stage floor, which was replaced in 2010.
For tickets and information: www.purplerosetheatre.org/onstage/production-archive/consider-the-oyster

Comments

Davi Napoleon

Thu, Aug 18, 2011 : 4:36 p.m.

Big thanks to Carla Milarch for letting readers know just how much is happening on stages locally and providing some background for each production. Glad to see this valuable column here.

A2lover

Thu, Aug 18, 2011 : 12:33 p.m.

So a "Fun Fact" for the play at the Performance Network is that it's the 5th play there to be extended there this season. Is that a "Fun Fact" (a juvenile term)? Or is it another blatant plug for the theatre Ms. Milarch works for? We've already been subjected at the top of the Milarch column to the information the Marie Antoinette play has been extended, even though there was an article devoted to that "Fun Fact" in the Entertainment section of Ann Arbor.com. Favoritism seems to be rampant, and with Ms. Milarch working for the Performance Network, there appears to be a distinct conflict of interest in her writing a column on theatre.