on stages: The Purple Rose and Performance Network's final shows close out a fabulous theater season
While for many it’s the weekend to tuck away our white shoes, Labor Day was founded as the holiday celebrating the economic and social contributions of American workers. So it’s fitting that both of the theaters featured this week are Equity houses, producing under contract with Actor’s Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
Before the founding of AEA in 1913, the world was a much different place for actors: rehearsals without pay, companies stranded on the road, actors paying for their own costumes, even actors being abused. The president of the stagehands union once told reporters that, when entering a theater, he often did not know which sub-cellar was for the actors and which was for the coal.
In the century since its founding, AEA has changed the landscape completely, so much so that several of the industry standards it has promoted permeate the business even outside of Equity purview. As it approaches its 100th birthday, AEA members and actors in general certainly have something to celebrate.
Show: “On Golden Pond” by Ernest Thompson, through Sept. 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 everyday living.
Review from the Jackson Citizen Patriot
Fun fact: By closing night on Saturday, there will have been 74 performances of “On Golden Pond” at the Purple Rose.
For tickets and information: 734-433-7673 or www.purplerosetheatre.org
Show: "Burn This” by Lanford Wilson, through Sept. 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.
Preview from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: In an interview quoted in The Times in 2002, Mr. Wilson expounded on his realist, quasidocumentary approach: “I want people to see — and to read — my plays and to say: ‘This is what it was like living in that place at that time. People haven’t changed a damn bit. We can recognize everyone.’ ”
For tickets and information: www.performancenetwork.org/, 734-663-0681
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