on stages: 'The Glass Menagerie' at Performance Network, 'The Fantasticks' at the Encore

Show: "Painting Churches" by Tina Howe; through Sept. 29
Company: PTD Productions
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/location: Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 13+
Description: Gardner and Fanny Church are preparing to move out of their elegant Beacon Hill home. Gardner, once a famous poet, now is retired. He slips in and out of senility as his wife Fanny valiantly tries to keep them both afloat. They have asked their daughter, Mags, herself an artist on the verge of fame, to come home and help them move. Mags agrees, also hoping to finally paint their portrait. But sometimes the hardest things to see are those with which we are the most familiar.
Fun fact: First produced Off-Broadway in 1976, Tina Howe’s most well-known play was a finalist for the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
For tickets and information: 734-483-7345, www.ptdproductions.com
Special ticket offer: Thursdays are pay-what-you-can. $4 discount for Haab's diners with receipts from day-of-show.

Show: “Bunnicula” one-time event, Sept. 30, 1:30 pm
Company: The Michigan Theater
Type of Company: Not Just for Kids Live Series
Venue/location: Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: All
Description: Chester the cat and Harold the dog get along like… Well… Cats and dogs, even though underneath their furry exteriors, they’re really the best of pals. But one dark and stormy night, the Monroe family comes home from the movies with an orphaned rabbit they found under their seats. A very strange baby rabbit who has sharp fangs instead of buck teeth, and who sleeps all day and prowls around his cage all night. Meanwhile, all the vegetables in the house are drained of their color and turn white. Could this possibly be a coincidence, or could Bunnicula be a vampire?
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Fun Fact: Theatreworks USA’s spine-tingling new musical is co-written by Tony-nominated playwright Charles Busch and based on the best-selling books by James and Deborah Howe.
For tickets and information: www.michtheater.org/, 800-745-3000.

Show: “The Pillowman” by Martin McDonagh, through October 13
Company: Threefold Productions
Type of Company: Pre-Professional
Venue/location: Mix Studio Theatre, 8 N. Washington St., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 18+
Description: McDonagh’s Tony-nominated script follows an unsuccessful author and his emotionally stunted brother as they are interrogated by two bulldog policemen about their suspected involvement in a recent string of child murders. This unrelenting story illustrates characters in a fight for life and legacy while they grapple with struggles of identity and morality.
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Fun fact: The play received the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Play, the 2004-5 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Foreign Play, and two Tony Awards for production. It was nominated for the 2004 Evening Standard Award for Best New Play.
For tickets and information: www.threefoldproductions.org

Show: “The Fantasticks” by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, through Oct. 21
Company: The Encore Musical Theatre Company
Type of Company: Equity Special Appearance Contract
Venue/location: The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 3126 Broad Street, Dexter
Recommended ages: All
Description: "The Fantasticks" is a beautiful coming-of-age story, with an amazing score. You may recognize songs like "Try to Remember", "Soon It's Gonna Rain", and "They Were you."
Preview from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: This is the longest running off-Broadway show. It was revived in 2006 and is still running.
For tickets and information: 734-268-6200, www.theencoretheatre.org
Special ticket offer: Preview performance on Thursday, Sept. 27 - all tickets only $18.

Show: “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, through Oct. 28
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity SPT
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 14+
Description: Faded Southern Belle Amanda Wingfield will stop at nothing to find a husband for her painfully shy daughter, Laura, still living at home with her brother, Tom, a would-be writer working in a shoe factory. When Amanda enlists Tom's help in bringing home a "gentleman caller" from the factory, the family's dreams hang in the balance as they struggle to escape the hopelessness of their world. Set in 1937 St. Louis, this wistfully poetic memory play is regarded by many as Williams' most personal story, and his greatest masterpiece.
Preview from AnnArbor.com
Fun Fact: Performance Network’s has received special permission from Samuel French to produce the originally published New Directions reading script, which was preferred by the playwright over the more often produced “Acting Version.”
For tickets and information: www.performancenetwork.org/, 734-663-0681

Show: "Superior Donuts" by Tracy Letts, Closing Dec. 15
Company: Purple Rose Theatre Company
Type of Company: Professional Equity SPT
Venue/location: Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: Contains Adult Language & Content
Description: Arthur Przybyszewski has just about given up on everything: a social life, the chance of romance and most of all his family’s long standing Chicago donut shop. But when idealistic dreamer, Franco Wicks walks through the door of his vandalized storefront, Arthur realizes through their unlikely friendship that life still has more to offer him. Written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) the comedy-drama Superior Donuts will make you a believer too.
Interview with Randolph Mantooth
Fun fact: Hanson Gregory, an American, claimed to have invented the ring-shaped donut in 1847 aboard a lime-trading ship when he was only 16. However, the first mention of a doughnut in a cookbook came in 1803.
For tickets and information: 734-433-7673 (ROSE), www.purplerosetheatre.org