| thedetroiter.com arts |
Archives for: September 2008
09/26/08
Complexions, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, The Official NERD/Common Afterparty, and more.
Events editor Nicole Rupersburg brings you the scoop on what to do and where to be, each and every week, in the D.
And don’t miss our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.
COMING UP:
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Friday, September 26th-Saturday, September 27th
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is honored to announce the riveting Complexions Contemporary Ballet out of New York on Friday and Saturday, September 26th and 27th at 8PM both nights. Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, who by The New York Times were “hailed as two of the greatest virtuosos ever to emerge from Ailey land,” founded the company in 1994, and by 1995 they had already received the illustrious New York Times “Critics Choice” award. After receiving the award, Complexions has been touring around the world as “America’s original multicultural dance company” at such prominent venues as the Music Center in Los Angeles, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia. In addition, Complexions has been invited to perform at numerous European dance festivals and each time they have stunned the crowd with their imaginative and skillful choreography.
Complexions’ point of departure is classical dance, but the metamorphosis of the resultant dance pieces take on a multitude of styles and disciplines, which culminate into an expression of the human condition and it’s full range of emotions, into a multi-cultural and spiritual celebration.
The Saturday performance offers a special After-Party in a Big Top tent next to the Music Hall.
Inspired by contemporary social issues, Complexions meld awareness with grace and physical dexterity to push the limits of both modern dance and human communication, resulting in a synergy of art and emotion, beauty and expression which is achieved without special effects or technology as they communicate and inform through mankind’s oldest and most personal form of artistic expression- dance.
In their fourth engagement at Music Hall, they will give us a profound experience through dance with ballets set to the music of Stevie Wonder and White Stripes; their connection to Detroit is unmistakable!
Here is the Updated program and the music and composers that the Complexions will set their ballets to:
Act I
Hissy Fits- Bach
Act II
Eva Maria
Gone - Odetta
Wonderful - Stevie Wonder
The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes
Act III
Routines - Various
Where: Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $27.00-$72.00
www.musichall.org
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Friday, September 26th
Friday Night Live! At the DIA
Music: Reelroad
7 & 8:30 p.m.
Well known in St. Petersburg, Russia, and virtually unknown in the United States, the Russian-Celtic Orchestra Reelroad play and sing Russian traditional music and songs in post-folk style. They use traditional Celtic and Russian instruments—bagpipes Galician Gaita), hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, zhaleika, bombard, Celtic harp, etc. alongside more modern instruments such as the bass guitar and full drum set. Experience the music of a Russian Folk Festival without leaving Detroit.
DIA Moment: El Mexorcist 3: America’s Most Wanted Inner Demon
6:30 & 8 p.m.
The DIA presents an original spoken word performance from renowned performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Born in 1955 and raised in Mexico City, he came to the US in 1978. Gómez-Peña resides in San Francisco where he is artistic director of Pocha Nostra. His pioneering work in performance, video, radio, installation, poetry, journalism, and cultural theory, explores cross-cultural issues, immigration, the politics of language, “extreme culture” and new technologies. A MacArthur fellow and American Book Award recipient, he is a regular contributor to National Public Radio, a writer for newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and Mexico, and a contributing editor to The Drama Review (NYU-MIT).
Drop-In Workshop: Borderland
6–9 p.m
(12 and under must be with an adult)
Mughal painters decorated the area around their paintings elaborately. Decorate a frame using a variety of markers and colored pencils.
Location: Loggia, Student Lunch Area
Drawing in the Galleries for Youth
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 6–14, children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Drawing in the Galleries for Adults
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 15 & older)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Guided Tours
6 and 7:30 p.m.
Highlights of the museum tours offered at both times.
Where: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 6:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $8.00 donation, free for members and citizens of Detroit
www.dia.org
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Friday, September 26th-Sunday, September 28th
Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Guillermo Gómez-Peña will bring his provocative performance-activism to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) Sept. 26-28. He uses spoken word and stimulating interactive performance art to convey his passionate views on an assortment of world issues.
“Gómez-Peña has a way of captivating audiences and involving them in the thought-provoking issues he raises,” said Nancy Jones, executive director of learning and interpretation for the DIA. “His performance will certainly leave a lasting impression with viewers.”
During a free performance at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, Gómez-Peña will present El Mexorcist, a spoken word performance about an activist who protests the construction of a US/Mexican border. Spontaneously shifting between languages, Gómez-Peña transforms himself into multiple characters reflecting on identity, race, sexuality, pop culture, politics and the impact of new technologies in the post-9-11 era.
On Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 27 and 28 at 8 p.m., the audience becomes part of the performance in Mapa Corpo: Interactive Rituals for the New Millennium. (Mapa Corpo references using the human body as a political map). Gómez-Peña, along with the rest of his troupe, including Royal Oak resident Lisa Melinn, will engage the audience in an intensely emotional experience as they move from station to station in his vision of cultural and political conflict in a post-9-11 world. The performance includes enactments of oppression and liberation, and mourning and healing set against a constantly shifting background of media images, spoken word poetics and music. Visitors are invited to interact with the performers as they circulate through the performance space in Rivera Court. Tickets are $20 for the general public, and $18 for DIA members and students with valid ID. Tickets are available through the DIA Box Office at (313) 833-4005.
Gómez-Peña is a MacArthur Grant fellow and has been a regular contributor to NPR cultural commentary. His troupe of artists includes Roberto Sifuentes, professor of performance art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Violeta Luna, Mexican actress and artist; and René García, California-based video artist.
Where: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 8:00PM each day
Tix: $8.00 museum admission Friday (members free); Saturday and Sunday $20.00 non-members/$18.00 members
www.dia.org
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Friday, September 26th-Sunday, September 28th
I Served the King of England
(Czech Republic/2008/Directed by Jiri Menzel)
I Served the King of England is a wry, rich, darkly funny portrait of a “vertically challenged” but ambitious go-getter named Jan Dite, whose to-do list in life consists of just two items: to be a successful hotelier, and to become outrageously rich. Unfolding over decades via a dazzlingly inventive editing style, Jan’s story is an engaging tale of opportunism, identity, money, sex – and beer – but also evolves into a disturbing, pungent, and witty portrait of the inevitable social and political fallout that accompanies upward mobility. The eagerly anticipated new film from legendary Czech director Jiri Menzel - whose 1967 Closely Watched Trains was one of the pioneering works of the “Czech New Wave” of the 60s and 70s – was a popular and critical hit at the Berlin Film Festival, and is based on a novel by the celebrated, frequently banned Czech author Bohumil Hrabal, who Menzel calls “one of the greatest contemporary European writers.” (118 min.)
Where: Detroit Film Theatre inside the DIA, Detroit
When: Friday & Saturday 7:00PM, Sunday 4:00PM
Tix: $7.50 regular; $6.50 members, students & seniors
www.dia.org/dft
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Friday, September 26th
Cooper Moore
One of the first New Music shows at the Bohemian was the duo of Cooper Moore and Assif Tsahar. Legendary musician/improviser/inventor Cooper Moore is best known as a pianist and percussionist; he’s also well known for his intriguing home-made instruments. This current tour will be his first as soloist performing only on instruments of his own design. Not only an amazing improviser and inventor, Cooper Moore is great at getting the audience up and involved. Sure to be one of this year’s highlights.
Where: Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Detroit
When: Doors 8:00PM
Tix: $8.00-$20.00
www.thecaid.org
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Friday, September 26th-Monday, October 6th
Revival of The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode
Back by popular demand, the hilarious Jamie Morris parody, The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode will take over Ferndale’s The Ringwald Theatre for an exclusive two week, eight performance engagement starting Friday, September 26, 2008.
The current Who Wants Cake? Production, Speech & Debate will close one week early, on Monday, September 22nd at 8PM.
After packed audiences and record sales this summer, the wildly popular The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode returns to Detroit for two weeks only! Written by Jamie Morris, creator of the LA Weekly Theatre Award winning comedy Mommie Queerest, The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode will once again feature an all-male cast as the girls from Eastland. The lost episode in question is titled “The Best Little Whorehouse in Peekskill.”
Budget cuts are threatening to force Mrs. Garrett (Joe Bailey) to leave Eastland. But like the theme song states, “You take the good, You take the bad” and Blair (Richard Payton), Tootie (Jerry Haines), Natalie (Joe Plambeck) and Jo (Jamie Richards) are willing to do anything to raise enough money for her to stay. Anything.
NOTE: The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode contains adult situations and does not incorporate actual episodes. This is a new unauthorized parody inspired by the beloved sitcom.
Who Wants Cake? opened the doors to their resident home, The Ringwald, in May 2007 with Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. Quickly, The Ringwald became a mainstay of Detroit’s theatre community. Their first season offered up slice after slice of successful shows including Southern Baptist Sissies, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, and Bug. Who Wants Cake? was recently named the 2008 Best Theatre Group in Channel 4’s Vote 4 The Best contest.
THE FACTS OF LIFE: THE LOST EPISODE
Quick Bites
Performances will begin Friday, September 26th and play Friday through Mondays through October 6th.
Show times are Friday, Saturday, and Monday nights at 8:00 PM. Sunday performances are at 3:00 PM.
Ticket Prices are $20 for Saturday performances, $15.00 Sunday matinees and Monday is our HALF
OFF night at $10 a chair!
The Ringwald is located at 22742 Woodward Avenue in the Times Square of Ferndale.
The box office opens 45 minutes before performances and cash and Visa/Mastercard accepted at the
door.
Reservations may be made by calling 248-545-5545 or online at www.WhoWantsCakeTheatre.com.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, September 26 8PM $20
Saturday, September 27 8PM $20
Sunday, September 28 3PM $15
Monday, September 29 8PM $10
Friday, October 3 8PM $20
Saturday, October 4 8PM $20
Sunday, October 5 3PM $15
Monday, October 6 8PM $10
Where: Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
When: See schedule above
Tix: See above
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
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Friday, September 26th
Detroit Guerrillas Five-Way
It’s the five-year anniversary (that’s the wooden anniversary, mind you….get it? Wood?) of the Detroit Guerrillas, and to continue with their summer of outdoor exploring, this event will be at the River’s Edge Grille on the spacious outdoor patio. There will be drink specials, as well as DJ Subtonic and DJ Kelly Pink-O spinning beats all night long.
Where: River’s Edge Grille, Detroit
When: 9:30PM
Tix: Free admission
www.detroitguerrillas.com
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Saturday, September 27th
Crush Birmingham, 2008 Wine & Food Classic
For the connoisseur as well as the novice, this event features celebrity chefs, world-famous vintners, master sommeliers, wine critics and acclaimed authors sharing their expert skills to benefit Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan. This event offers an opportunity to purchase a celebrity chef and vintner patron reception described below that includes the main event and CRUSH “After Hours".
Celebrity Chef-Vintner Patron Receptions
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – The Townsend Hotel & Forest Grill – Birmingham $500 Per Person
Enjoy an intimate, private patron reception “wine and hors d’oeuvre pairing” in one of four elegant venues at the award-winning Townsend Hotel or Polcyn’s Forest Grill in Birmingham.
Each patron reception will be illuminated by the expertise of a renowned wine expert and the culinary talents of one of the world’s greatest chefs. The ultimate in food and wine harmony.
Enjoy lively banter from one of the guest Master Sommeliers or industry veterans such as Evan Goldstein, MS, restaurateur and author of the critically acclaimed book, Perfect Pairings, Ron Edwards, MS or Bartholomew Broadbent, wine expert, founder Broadbent Selections.
Patron passes also include access to CRUSH BIRMINGHAM 2008 Live Auction & Dinner and CRUSH After Hours event.
CRUSH BIRMINGHAM, the main event, begins at 5:30 p.m. with wine and food pairing stations in the main ballroom at The Townsend Hotel. Guests will have an opportunity to visit each station and discuss the selections with a representative of the vineyard and the food preparer. The appetizer stations will be followed by a wine auction conducted by well-known Birmingham auctioneer, Dan Stall. An extraordinary dinner will follow with music, dancing, dessert tables and dessert wines afterward. You may even have a celebrity chef such as Don Yamauchi, Brian Polcyn, Jim Barnett or Jean Joho visit your table!
The Honorary vintner for the evening is Fred Fisher accompanied by his son Rob of Fisher Vineyards, Napa, CA. Honorary Wine Director, Master Sommelier, Ron Edwards of Five Star Sommeliers in Charlevoix. Adding to this impressive line-up will be Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier, restaurateur and renowned wine expert and author of critically acclaimed book, “Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food” and Bartholomew Broadbent, acclaimed wine expert and founder of Broadbent Solutions. Our honorary chairs for the event are Steve & Lisa Yzerman.
Where: Townsend Hotel, Birmingham
When: 5:00PM-midnight
Tix: $500.00
www.townsendhotel.com
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Saturday, September 27th
Two in 3
Nine-time Grammy Award-winning jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will team up with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for a premiere of Marsalis’ new piece, Two in 3, on Saturday, September 27 at 8:30 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. The work is a co-commission between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, MSU’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts and the MSU College of Music.
Where: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit
When: 8:30PM
Tix: $19.00-$123.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Saturday, September 27th
The Official Detroit Fashion Week After Party
I didn’t even know it was Detroit fashion week. The information for this party is equally as elusive. Wouldn’t it be helpful for people to know about these things? Just curious.
Where: The Aveda Institute, Royal Oak
When: Doors 9:00PM
Tix: N/A
www.vital2u.com
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Sunday, September 28th
LGBT & Friends Home Tour Event
‘Bout time someone recognized the gays as being a valuable part of the community:
“Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative (NDNI) in partnership with the LGBT community and the University Commons organization, will host a Home Tour September 28, 2008. Engagement at the neighborhood level is critical for creating, expanding, and maintaining economic opportunity within the City. The event organizers recognize the LGBT community as an integral part of the fabric of society and value their contributions to the City of Detroit.
‘NDNI officially launched in June 2007 and is the city’s unprecedented effort to identify and secure the necessary assistance and resources to support entrepreneurship, create jobs, increase homeownership, and protect the assets in Detroit neighborhoods. This work is being accomplished through strategic partnerships with civic, business, philanthropic, and community leaders, utilizing extensive work plan input from neighborhood residents.
‘As part of the marketing strategy for the 7 Mile-Livernois community, this home tour event will showcase the beautiful homes in the following NDNI/University Commons’ communities: Bagley, Green Acres, Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, and the University District. These communities maintain high percentages of home ownership, require minimal investment in the current housing stock, enjoy recreational activities in and around the neighborhood, and have a rich selection of architectural structures that complement the lifestyle of a diverse population.
‘LGBT & Friends Home Tour Event will take place Sunday, September 28, 2008. The event is from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., including a home tour and afterglow with all proceeds to benefit the Michigan Equality Education Fund (MEEF). Here are the details:
Home Tour and Afterglow
Detroit Golf Club 17911 Hamilton Rd. Detroit, MI 48203
Home tour runs from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
(Pick-up and drop-off for the tour at the Detroit Golf Club)
Afterglow runs from 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Detroit Golf Club
Tickets are $20.00 (includes tour and afterglow)
(All proceeds to benefit the Michigan Equality Education Fund (MEEF))
Purchase tickets online – www.lgbtevent.eventbrite.com (ticket sale starts 9/2/2008) and day of event at the Detroit Golf Club
Representatives from the City of Detroit Assessor’s Office, C.R.E.S.T. (Coalition of Realtors Empowering, Stabilizing, & Transforming Communities), Lenders, Preservation Wayne, and more will be available to answer questions
‘This partnership will allow us to introduce the Communities of University Commons to potential residents by showcasing beautiful stately historic homes, introducing diverse neighbors, marketing the neighborhood to further increase home ownership, and thereby stabilizing and growing the middle- and upper-middle class tax base.”
Where: Detroit Golf Club, Detroit
When: 2:00PM-8:00PM
Tix: $20.00
www.lgbtevent.eventbrite.com
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Sunday, September 28th
Great Architecture of Michigan at Book Beat
On Sunday, September 28th from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM the Book Beat is honored to present a new title by Detroit Free Press architecture critic John Gallagher and renowned photographer Balthazar Korab. The book, Great Architecture from Michigan, is recently published by Wayne State University press. John Gallagher and Balthazar Korab will be at the event to sign books and discuss this exciting project, combining some of the finest architectural history and photography of Michigan into a single keepsake artbook. The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield, in Oak Park. Call 248-968-1190 for more information or to reserve books.
With photographs by Balthazar Korab and text by John Gallagher, this book will be a treasured volume, indispensible for anyone wanting to learn more about Michigan’s impressive architectural legacy.
Where: The Book Beat, Oak Park
When: 2:00PM-3:30PM
Tix: Free admission
www.thebookbeat.com
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Sunday, September 28th
Torch with a Twist’s White Masquerade Party
Jazz-combo with carnival-themed burlesque, and Satori Circus also performing. Wear white, wear a mask, wear whatever.
Where: Cliff Bell’s, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $10.00
www.myspace.com/torchwithatwist
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Sunday, September 28th
The Official NERD/Common Afterparty at Confidential
Public Media Group presents the OFFICIAL Common / N*E*R*D AfterParty w/ Common’s own DJ Dummy + a very special surprise guest…
Hailing from Brooklyn, DJ Dummy (Common’s DJ) is a Battle/Club/Concert DJ, as well as musical director and producer. DJ Dummy has worked closely in creating stage shows and/or djing tours and concerts for artists such as Common, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, Kanye West, Musiq Soulchild, Mos Def, DMX, Onyx, Das Efx, + more…
This original member of the infamous Tape Kingz has made his mark in the DJ Battle arena with being the 1998 New York Regional DMC Champion, the 1998 American DMC Battle Third Place winner, and the Zulu Nation Battle runner-up in 1996.
He has done big parties for clients such as the NBA + L-R-G to name a few. On an international level, he has done done his own solo tours, where he has created a major stir and name for himself in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
Where: Confidential Lounge, Detroit
When: Doors 9:00PM, all drinks $2.00 9:00PM-11:00PM
Tix: $10.00
www.groovetickets.com
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Tuesday, September 30th
Zucchero
Music Hall is extremely proud to present the Italian Rock/Blues/Soul superstar vocalist, Zucchero, for one night only, Tuesday, September 30th at 7:30 PM in a return that promises a night of his greatest hits and a few surprises that make the night a special one for all fans of popular music.
Zucchero has established his international reputation by selling millions of albums worldwide and also by performing with some of the greatest names in all styles of music from John Lee Hooker to Miles Davis and Eric Clapton to Andrea Bocelli. Zucchero’s soulful husky voice is reminiscent of a slicker Eric Clapton or a more refined, Joe Cocker (both with whom he has performed and recorded).
Zucchero’s current crack outfit of world-class musicians include - David Sancious (formerly with Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Eric Clapton and Peter Gabriel) on keyboards, Kat Dyson (from Prince and Cyndi Lauper) Polo Jones (long term Zucchero bass player and music director), Mario Schiliro on guitar and Adriano Molinari on drums
Zucchero has recorded with many artists from different genres from Sting, Bono, Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton through to BB King, Andrea Bocelli (whom Zucchero discovered) and Luciano Pavarotti. In fact, it was Eric Clapton who, having seen Zucchero in concert was so enamored that he took him out as a special guest on his 1990 tour. The same year he became the first rock artist to perform at The Kremlin in Moscow.
In 1991, Zucchero recorded ‘Senza Una Donna’ (Without a Woman) with Paul Young, which topped the charts through Europe and the USA. He wrote the lyrics & sang on the Italian version of ‘Mad About You ’ (Muoio Per Te) on Sting’s ‘The Soul Cages’ album and the same year Brian May invited Zucchero to join him and the other members of Queen to perform at London’s Wembley Stadium at the ‘Freddie Mercury Tribute’ concert.
Zucchero wrote “Miserere”, which he recorded with Luciano Pavarotti and has become a crossover classic recorded by many artists from Andrea Bocelli to Pavarotti and Bono. It only solidified his reputation as a versatile and adaptive vocalist, one who melds well with other singer’s iconic vocal styles.
In 2006, Detroit native and Rolling Stones “Umber-producer", Don Was, produced his album “The Fly”.
Where: Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 7:30PM
Tix: $27.00-$47.00
www.musichall.org
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Thursday, October 2nd
Founders Junior Council Collector’s Education at Epiphany
The Detroit Institute of Arts’ Founders Junior Council invites you to an evening of art, music, food and fun at Epiphany Studios for their Collector’s Education series. There will be cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, music by DJ Bruce Cobb, and a wide collection of fine hand-blown glass art objects to discuss, admire, and collect.
Where: Epiphany Studios, Pontiac
When: 7:00PM-11:00PM
Tix: $40.00 advance, $45.00 at the door
www.epiphanyglass.com
www.foundersjuniorcouncil.org
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Thursday, October 2nd
Little Cow at Global Thursdays
Little Cow is a charismatic group of musicians who play Gypsy-tinged ska/rock/funk pop songs. Hailing from Hungary, Little Cow creates real party music that makes your feet move and keeps your mind stimulated.
Where: Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
When: 7:30PM
Tix: $10.00 advance, $12.00 at the door, $8.00 members and students
www.arabamericanmuseum.org
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Thursday, October 2nd
Lola Morales at the Magic Bag
On Thursday, October 2nd, in Ferndale’s Magic Bag Theatre, a talented singer/ songwriter will make her mark in Detroit music history when she releases her first full-length CD, with a release party that will also include an electrifying performance to celebrate the self-release of, “Write My Story”.
Her Story-
Lola Morales is the singer/songwriter’s name, and one you will be hearing quite a lot from in the future. Lola Morales’ music, which has been-categorized as “World Music”, creates a seamless blend of Salsa, Funk, R & B, Pop and even Jazz- and just about every strain of North and South American popular music into something quite, well…American. Sung in both Spanish and English, Lola Morales’ music is more than Latin Pop - it’s is a melting pot of the entire Americas, North and South, from Argentina to the coldest climes of North America.
Lola Morales is the product of immigrant Nicaraguan parents, whose father played Salsa piano, and grew up living in predominately Black neighborhoods of San Francisco.
A stunning beauty with her trademark corkscrew hair, which only adds another element to the mix -a sultry and exotic sexuality, has resided in Hamtramck for the past two years, while electrifying audiences and critics alike as she crafted both her EP, “Luna Nova” in 2006 and her latest, ‘Write My Story” at Rust Belt Studios in Royal Oak.
American Music-
The face of America is changing- and Lola Morales is a musical vindication of this reality.
Lola Morales music is a Pan American sound, where indie rock feels right at home with Salsa or Norteno, and Soul commingles with decidedly Brasilliano rhythm to create this collection of first rate New American music. It’s an undeniable synthesis of hybrid cultural genetics. For her, Detroit represented an edge, a fertile bed of Proto-punk, techno and soulful Hip Hop that cover this town like a sheet, blanket and comforter. Lola Morales has reveled in this bed of talent and styles that is Detroit. She likens her residence here, to her “Post Graduate” work.
From Berkeley To Buenos Aires-
“Write My Story” is an appropriate CD title for this globe-trotting Troubadora, seeing as Morales has lived and worked everywhere from her native San Francisco to Quito, Ecuador, Tokyo, Japan to London England, Singapore and now Detroit, where she’s soaked up this region’s rich musical heritage – and their world-class musicians, at the behest of her Step-father, who happens to live in Hamtramck.
Gaining a degree from Berkeley (CA) in Rhetoric it’s no surprise that she pens such smart and incisive lyrics, delivered in both Spanish and English- depending on the music, is a testament to her love of language as well as music.
Write My Story defies simple categorization. Like a rhythmic rubber band, Morales and her crack outfit including bassist, Paul Randolph and Eric Hogemeyer on keyboards, segue imperceptibly from middle eastern to a salsa beat in such a slippery fashion that it’ll leave you shaking your head as well as your body, as evidenced in the superb album opener, Enciedeme. The sensual, jazzy groove of “Sunrise”, is Urban R & B with a twist of Steely Dan sprinkled with Morales’ powerful phrasing and knack for a sticky sweet hook, is another stunner. A lot of the credit goes Rustbelt Studios, Al Sutton and Eric Hoegemeyer’s sympathetic and unobtrusive production to this eclectic buffet of styles and choice rhythms. It just might be some of the best work of their career’s, as well as their most challenging.
Morales also won the 2007 Detroit Music Award for Best World Vocalist in addition to 2 other nominations.
Opening the party will be, Pathe Jassi ‘s World Experience, an amazing band with a Senegalese front man, adding to this evening of exotic and rhythmic music.
Where: The Magic Bag, Ferndale
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $10.00
www.themagicbag.com
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Friday, October 3rd
Guerrilla Girls on Tour
Oakland Community College’s Womencenter is pleased to announce that Guerrilla Girls on Tour, an internationally acclaimed anonymous theatre collective, will be performing on Friday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Orchard Ridge Campus Smith Theatre. The performance is free to the public in celebration of the Womencenter’s 35 years at Oakland Community College.
Guerrilla Girls on Tour will bring a live performance that addresses the lack of opportunities for women and people of color and explores the combination of performance and visual art entitled Feminists Are Funny. The 70-minute play is an energetic romp through herstory; an up-to-date account of their latest actions in politics, the performing arts and the media; a recreation of some of their street theatre protests, and a look at some of the funniest female activists and their accomplishments. The performance ends with a lively discussion with the audience which will serve to educate the community about the current state of sexism while at the same time proving that feminists are funny.
Feminists Are Funny will be performed during the Womencenter’s national juried women’s art exhibition “From Our Perspective” which runs from September 18-October 10.
Guerrilla Girls on Tour creates original plays, street actions, visual work and residency programs that dramatize women’s history and advocate on behalf of women and artists of color. In order to put the focus of their work on the issues they address, each member works under the name of a dead woman artist and performs wearing a gorilla mask. The 26-member troupe has toured through 30 states and 6 countries bringing their brand of satirical performance art and activism against discrimination, sexism and racism to places like southern Georgia, Eastern Europe and South America. GGOT is a diverse company of theatre artists and comediennes and they have been featured in the London Times, Village Voice, BackStage, Mother Jones, The New York Times, i-D Magazine, American Theatre, Lamujedemivida, Antiborder Conference Warsaw, LA Times, Pagnina 12, In Theatre, the BBC, TXT Magazine, French Channel 2, Wysokie Obcasy, Palais de Tokyo Paris, The Tony Awards, NWSA Journal, and the A.S.K. Common Ground Festival. They can be reached at www.guerrillagirlsontour.com.
This performance is presented by the Womencenter, a facility that provides educational and supportive resources for area women. For further information on the Guerrilla Girls on Tour performance and for other program offerings call the Womencenter at 248.522.3642.
Where: Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus, Farmington Hills
When: 7:00PM
Tix: Free admission
www.guerrillagirlsontour.com
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Thursday, October 2nd
Autumn Sessions “Tour Detroit”
Detek & Source Audio are pleased to announce the continuation of the summer’s hottest weekly event. We’re moving off of the rooftop at Exodus and taking up residence at the TV Bar until next summer. We’ve got some great music coming your way from Hej Records, Tour Detroit, Breakloose, Gabe Real’s CD Release Event and the 2nd Annuel Bang Tech 12 Devil’s Night Party.
This Thursday: Tour Detroit ft. Steven Robert, Joe Varas & Erno The Inferno.
Where: TV Lounge, Corktown, Detroit
When: 10:00PM-2:00AM
Tix: $5.00, 18+
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Friday, October 3rd
Friday Night Live! At the DIA
Music: Matthew Shipp
7 & 8:30 p.m.
Jazz pianist Matthew Shipp is not an easy musician to categorize. He looks back through music history and seems to channel other jazz piano masters like Cecil Taylor and Thelonious Monk.
Drop-In Workshop: Book Arts: Scroll Books
6–9 p.m
(12 and under must be with an adult)
Make a simple book using paper and wooden sticks.
Location: Loggia, Student Lunch Area
Drawing in the Galleries for Youth
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 6–14, children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Drawing in the Galleries for Adults
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 15 & older)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Guided Tours
6 and 7:30 p.m.
Highlights of the museum tours offered at both times.
Where: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 6:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $8.00 donation, free for members and citizens of Detroit
www.dia.org
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Friday, October 3rd-Sunday, October 19th
Nocturne
In the guise of an elegantly-styled narrative, a 32 year-old chronic insomniac and former piano prodigy burrows his head into the construction of a novella to survive the events that tore his family apart. Weaving metaphorical and gripping themes through fascinating patterns of language, mind-mapping, and visualization, Nocturne conveys the different ways that people survive by escaping, and then escape to survive.
Adam Rapp’s highly acclaimed play signaled a brave new voice in American theatre. The World Premiere of Nocturne was produced by the American Reperatory Theatre to enormous public and critical acclaim. It received Boston’s Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script as well as Best New Play by the Independent Reviewers of New England. Nocturne was co-produced Off-Broadway by New York Theatre Workshop and the A.R.T., and was selected as one of the Burns Mantle Ten Best Plays of the 2000-2001 Season.
Where: The Furniture Factory, Detroit
When: Fridays & Saturdays 8:00PM, Sundays 2:00PM
Tix: $20.00 general admission, $15.00 students/seniors
www.breathearttheatre.com
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Friday, October 3rd
Poetry on the Shores
Please RSVP to this Blushing Sky Honors Series Very Special Event !!
Poetry on The Shores: Friday October 3, 2008, 8:00 p.m. (we plan to begin on time!), 30622 Jefferson Ave, St. Clair Shores, MI.
Courtesy of: Mark Wagener, with your Host: Cheri L. R. Taylor
Featuring:
Randall G. Thomas
Lori Volante
&
Pietro DiGiorgio
with special musical and poetry guest: BLAIR
and Open Mic
Come out for a night of outdoor poetry by firelight on the shores of lovely Lake St. Clair!
This event is free, but please bring whatever you would like to drink, a dish or snack to pass, and some poems to share at our fire circle open mic!
(Please note, we will have limited chairs available, but plenty of blankets to lay on the lawn. You may want to bring a lawn chair and jacket or sweater)
Note: PLEASE RSVP so that we know how many people to expect and accommodate!
Please Come and share at this Honors Series Special Event. An evening of words, music and fire!
Where: St. Clair Shores on Lake St. Clair
When: 8:00PM
Tix: Free admission
RSVP to: cherrion@aol.com
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Saturday, October 4th
Detroit Synergy Carnivale Crawl
Join Detroit Synergy for their historic 10th Pub Crawl with some old-fashioned carnivale-style entertainment, a costume contest, fun and games, friends and, of course, drink specials at every bar! They’re touring Greektown and making it even more of a freak show than it already is on a Saturday night! Join them as they scare a little and party a lot!
Where: Registration begins at 6:00PM at Fishbones
When: 6:00PM-midnight
Tix: $10/$15 (advance with/without costume), $15/$20 (walk-up with/without costume)
www.detroitsynergy.org
www.dsgstore.com
Tickets now available!
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Saturday, October 4th
Opera Ball
Michigan Opera Theatre’s 22nd annual Opera Ball, celebrating African-American women, will be held Saturday, October 4, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House. Entitled “Sacrifice, Struggle, Success: A Celebration of African-American Women,” the Opera Ball honors some of Detroit’s most noted African-American women with Michigan Opera Theatre’s largest annual fundraiser.
An opulent black-tie affair, the 2008 Opera Ball is Michigan Opera Theatre’s kick-off gala to the fall opera season. Revenue from the Opera Ball is used to support the company’s main stage productions, as well as educational programs and community outreach throughout the state of Michigan and beyond, with a goal this year to raise $500,000. Sponsors for this year’s Opera Ball include Platinum Sponsor Ford Motor Company, and Gold Sponsors General Motors and Germack Pistachio Company.
This fall, Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2008-09 opera season opens with the triumphant return of Richard Danielpour’s Margaret Garner at the Detroit Opera House. The world-renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is the Opera Ball’s guest of honor. Ms. Graves will reprise her title role in the opera, in which librettist Toni Morrison, the celebrated African-American author, tells the story of perhaps the ultimate struggle faced by an African-American woman, an escaped slave and mother who must decide the fate of her children: a life of slavery, or death and freedom.
In addition to Denyce Graves, the Opera Ball will honor fourteen African-American women from the metro Detroit area, all of whom have made substantial contributions to the community. A complete list of honorees can be found on the next page.
Where: Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When: 6:00PM
Tix: $500.00
RSVP with Heather Hamilton at 313-237-3425
www.motopera.org
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Saturday, October 4th
Skills with DJ Premier
Saturday, October 4th, 2008 at Plan B Nightclub in Detroit, MI, Public Media Group + Burn Rubber Sneaker Boutique present Skills featuring the legendary DJ Premier.
DJ Premier has been a driving force in hip hop since his arrival in the late 1980’s. He is a creator, an innovator, a musician, a technical genius, and arguably the best hip hop producer on the planet. One half of Gangstarr, he has crafted hits for the biggest artists in the game, from Notorious BIG, Nas & Jay Z to Christina Aguilera & Janet Jackson. This is a rare club performance from the legendary DJ Premier.
Public Media Group has created a buzz locally & nationally, and earned a reputation for booking top quality talent for an exclusive performance in an intimate venue, and a has the track record to prove it. Whether it’s a rare DJ set by Talib Kweli, or an exclusive invite-only afterparty hosted by the world-famous Black Thought of The Roots, PMG executes an explosive event properly, while catering to and maintaining an upscale clientele consisting of the movers, shakers & tastemakers in Detroit & beyond.
Burn Rubber Sneaker Boutique, located in Royal Oak, MI is the Detroit-area’s premier sneaker & streetwear retailer. Since taking over the boutique in 2007, Rick Williams & Roland Coit have created and maintained a consistent & loyal customer base who are searching for limited & rare, urban fashion that is typically found in major concrete playgrounds, such as Los Angeles & New York.
Where: Plan B Nightclub, Detroit
When: Doors 9:00PM, all drinks $2.00 9:00PM-11:00PM
Tix: $15.00
www.groovetickets.com
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Wednesday, October 8th:
Baby Dee
Cleveland native Baby Dee is a transgender harpist/acordianist/pianist who has prodigious skills on all three instruments. Classically trained, she has been a music director and organist in a Bronx Catholic church, a circus side show act at Coney Island and eventually a member of the Bindlestiff Family Circus.
When Baby Dee returned to Cleveland, she began performing music of her own composition, mixed with and inspired by tin palley and show tunes that she performs with particular zest. The tremendous musicality of Baby Dee makes this much more than a quirky novelty act- there’s just a lot of eccentricity that goes with all that talent.
Where: Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (for BoHouse), Detroit
When: Doors 8:00PM
Tix: $5.00-$10.00
www.thecaid.org
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Thursday, October 9th
Dya Singh at Global Thursdays
Dya Singh digs deep into the vast reservoir of Sikh and Punjabi classical, spiritual and folk music, while embracing blues, jazz, folk, country and other global indigenous forms. Singh songs evoke the universal messages of truth, love, peace, harmony, equality and justice.
Where: Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
When: 7:30PM
Tix: $10.00 advance, $12.00 at the door, $8.00 members and students
www.arabamericanmuseum.org
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Thursday, October 9th-Saturday, October 11th
Günther Herberg returns to the DSO
Former Detroit Symphony Orchestra Music Director Günther Herbig makes a triumphant return to Motown, reuniting with the Orchestra to conduct works by three of his German countrymen. The Brahms & Bruch concerts take place Thursday, October 9 at 8 p.m.; Friday, October 10 at 10:45 a.m.; and Saturday, October 11 at 8:30 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. The program opens with the Overture to the beloved opera Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber followed by Max Bruch’s most famous work, his Violin Concerto No. 1, as performed by prodigious Chinese violinist Tianwa Yang. The program concludes with a grand performance of Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
Günther Herbig left behind the challenging political environment of East Germany and moved to the United States in 1984 where he has since conducted all of the country’s top-tier orchestras. He has also appeared with most of the major European orchestras. Herbig was Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1984-1990. Other posts he has held during his career include Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; and General Music Director of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Currently, he is Artistic Advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan and Principal Guest Conductor of Las Palmas in the Grand Canaries, Spain. Herbig, who is famous for his tours, led the DSO on several critically acclaimed tours of the United States and one to Europe during his tenure. He toured the Far East with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1990 and, in the spring of 1991, toured Europe with the TSO in his 37th international orchestra tour. He has also led orchestras throughout Japan, South America and Australia.
Tianwa Yang was born in 1987 in Beijing. She began studying the violin at the age 4 and progressed quickly, winning six of seven violin competitions that she entered as a child. At age 11, Yang began receiving invitations to appear in solo recitals and with top orchestras. The media in Hong Kong dubbed her “the pride of China,” and international violin superstar Isaac Stern praised her talent with an invitation to the United States. At 13, Yang became the world’s youngest performer to record Paganini’s 24 Caprices. In 2004, Yang was given the “Best Young Violinist in China Award” by Seiji Ozawa. Yang made her European debut in 2001 and, in 2005, received a two-year special scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service to study chamber music in Germany. In 2006 she was honored with the “Prix Montblanc,” a prize given by the company to recognize and encourage young classical music talents who have shown tremendous efforts and contributions to the development of arts and culture.
Although he was a popular opera composer, Carl Maria von Weber differed from Rossini and other Italianate musicians in that he rejected standard operatic formulas in favor of a more continuous style that merged German singspiel (akin to Broadway today) and early 19th century French opera. His progressive approach to form and expression, coupled with an exploration of novel orchestral timbres, made Weber an early and important proponent of Romanticism in music. Weber wrote the opera Oberon, based on the fairy king from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, during his final days as he succumbed to the tuberculosis he had battled for a dozen years. Commissioned by Covent Garden Opera House, the German composer had to learn English in order to complete the task. He died just six weeks after the opera’s acclaimed premiere in 1826.
In the classical music world, the name Max Bruch calls to mind one work - the composer’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor - making the composer the 19th century equivalent of a “one-hit wonder.” Bruch had many other successes, but only the first of his three violin concertos and his Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra have remained a permanent part of today’s concert repertoire. Completed in 1867, Bruch’s first violin concerto was the result of four years of labor and six different drafts of the score. Though Bruch claimed that his other two violin concertos were at least equally as good if not better than the first, he could never dissuade performers, conductors and audiences from favoring the enormously appealing First Violin Concerto.
Despite an early success with writing piano music and songs, Brahms struggled to master two genres that historically defined an instrumental composer’s career - the string quartet and the symphony. No composer had yet built successfully upon Beethoven’s instrumental legacy, and Brahms is reported to have been intimidated by that fact. As a result, Symphony No. 1 evolved slowly and was completed 16 years after Brahms first began composing it. Upon his completion of this “Grand” Symphony in C minor, the exultant Brahms declared himself the rightful heir to Beethoven and even paid tribute to his predecessor in the symphony’s Finale with allusions to “Ode to Joy.”
TICKETS for Brahms & Bruch October 9-11, 2008 range in price from $19 to $71 with a limited number of box seats available for $65 to $123. Tickets may be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit); by calling the DSO at (313) 576-5111; or online at www.detroitsymphony.com. Seniors (60 and over) and students can purchase 50% off RUSH tickets at the box office 90 minutes prior to classical concerts based on availability. For group discount information, contact Chuck Dyer at (313) 576-5130 or cdyer@dso.org.
Comerica Charitable Foundation Favorites Classical Series
BRAHMS & BRUCH
Günther Herbig, conductor; Tianwa Yang, violin
WEBER Overture to Oberon
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
Where: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit
When: Thursday 8:00PM, Friday 10:45AM, Saturday 8:30PM
Tix: $65.00-$123.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Thursday, October 9th
Autumn Sessions “Gabe Real’s Detroit is on Fire CD Release”
Detek & Source Audio are pleased to announce the continuation of the summer’s hottest weekly event. We’re moving off of the rooftop at Exodus and taking up residence at the TV Bar until next summer. We’ve got some great music coming your way from Hej Records, Tour Detroit, Breakloose, Gabe Real’s CD Release Event and the 2nd Annuel Bang Tech 12 Devil’s Night Party.
This Thursday: Gabe Real’s CD release event also featuring Joe Geez and Will Evo.
Where: TV Lounge, Corktown, Detroit
When: 10:00PM-2:00AM
Tix: $5.00, 18+
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Friday, October 10th-Saturday, November 1st
Blood, Bath & Beyond
It’s the necro-feel-good comedy of the season!
An original comedy adapted by: Shawn Handlon
Director: Jaime Moyer
8:00pm Fridays and Saturdays
October 10th- November 1st (plus devil’s night)
One Matinee, Sunday 26th, 2:00pm
Where: Planet Ant Theatre, Hamtramck
When: Fridays and Saturdays 8:00PM; matinee on Sunday Oct. 26th; special show on Devil’s Night, Thursday Oct. 30th
Tix: N/A
www.planetanttheatre.com
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Friday, October 10th-Saturday, October 11th
Winard Harper and His Sextet
Jazz Café at The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is thrilled to present drummer/ percussionist, Winard Harper and his Sextet, Friday and Saturday, October 10th and 11th, with two exciting performances each night at 10 PM and Midnight.
All About Jazz has declared Winard Harper “one of the most highly respected drummers in jazz today” while Glenn Astarita of Ejazznews was equally effusive, exclaiming that Harper’s dexterity and skills are, “largely driven by finesse and sheer firepower.”
As a pre-school youngster growing up in Baltimore, his father noticed him beating on cans and encouraged him to begin practicing the drums. By the age of five, he was performing with his older brother at local nightclubs, and as he grew into his adolescence, his proficiency and ingenuity in drumming proved to be at a henomenal level far beyond his years. Inspired by the late, great drummer, Billy Higgins, as well as Max Roach and the ubiquitous, Art Blakey, Harper has been the leader of an exceptionally talented sextet, and his latest album, “Make It Happen”, swings as hard as any of his six previous albums and really showcases not only his adeptness as a drummer, but also as a composer and band leader.
Beginning his career with the legendary Dexter Gordon and matriculating to Johnny Griffin and then he caught the attention of the improvisational vocal genius, Flint, Michigan’s, Betty Carter where he really blossomed into a world-class drummer. After his stint with Carter, Harper joined his brother Phil to form the Harper Brothers Quintet in the early 90’s.
He is a virtuoso on the drum set as well as the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba, which only adds another instrument to Harper’s arsenal of unique percussion, making his solos not only pyrotechnical, but light handed and melodic as well.
In addition to The Winard Harper Quintet, this versatile percussionist also continues to be a valuable sideman for the likes of, Steve Turre, Frank Wess, Joe Lovano and Avery Sharpe.
Where: Jazz Café at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 10:00PM and midnight, each night
Tix: $15.00 advance, $20.00 day of show
www.jazzcafedetroit.com
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Saturday, October 11th
Paddy Homan at the Gaelic League
Paddy Homan, the Irish balladeer along with some friends will be at the Gaelic League for a fundraising event to benefit Irish Radio with Mike Galvin and others.
Where: Gaelic League Irish-American Club of Detroit, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $15.00 donation
www.paddyhoman.com
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Sunday, October 12th
Walk Now for Autism
Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization, announced that SE Michigan’s 2nd annual Walk Now For Autism Walk will be held on October 12, 2008 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Registration starts at 10:00 AM with opening ceremonies and walk starting at 12:00 noon. All proceeds from the event benefit Autism Speaks, the nation’s leading autism advocacy organization.
Toys“R”Us, Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund and Parade Magazine proudly serve as national sponsors of the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism program. Other sponsors are Meijer, and tonerforautism.com.
Walk Now for Autism is a unique fundraising event which creates a safe and fun day for families who are affected with autism. The day includes a 1 to 2 mile walk and Community Resource fair with educational sources, therapists, schools, recreational organizations, and creative child-friendly activities; a true “one-stop-shop” for families affected by autism. This year Toys“R”Us will have a tented space serving as home base for Geoffrey the Giraffe. Attendees will also be able to stop by and sign their children up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club and pick up the “Ten Toys That Speak to Autism” handout, a list of toys that help build the skills of children with autism, created in collaboration with Autism Speaks.
Walk Chair, Kelly Kinney says, “We are excited about the response we have gotten from Michigan and are looking forward to growing Autism Speaks’ Walk Now for Autism event here in the Detroit area. This is a wonderful and important opportunity for our area to join forces raising the vital funds needed for autism research, awareness, family services and advocacy.”
The Walk Now for Autism events are the signature fundraising events for Autism Speaks, raising more than $26 million last year, alone, to support autism research. This year, over 70 Walk Now for Autism events will take place across the United States, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom.
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills
When: Registration at 10:00AM, walk starts at noon
Tix: N/A (this is a fundraising event)
www.walknowforautism.org
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Sunday, October 12th
Sphinx Chamber Orchestra at the DSO
The young people of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra (SCO), comprised of the top alumni of the National Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players, are poised to take the Orchestra Hall stage on the Detroit leg of their first-ever National Tour. The all-African American and Latino ensemble performs Sunday, October 12 at 2 p.m. in a performance led by Chelsea Tipton II and co-presented by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the University Musical Society (UMS). The tour, also featuring violin soloist Elena Urioste and The Harlem Quartet, culminates in a grand finale at New York’s Carnegie Hall in October.
The program for the SCO concert at Orchestra Hall captures the diversity that is a trademark of the Sphinx Organization, ranging from classical masterpieces, such as Vivaldi’s Concerto for 4 Violins and the third movement of Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, to more contemporary works by composers of color, including Astor Piazzolla’s Winter in Buenos Aires for solo violin and orchestra performed by Urioste as well as Michael Abels’ Delights and Dances and Wynton Marsalis’ Hellbound Highball, both performed by The Harlem Quartet.
The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra is made up of talented alumni of the Sphinx Competition. The New York Times called the ensemble “first-rate in every way” and described it as having a “more beautiful, precise and carefully shaped sound than some fully professional orchestras.” SCO earned rave reviews in December 2004 following its highly acclaimed debut at Carnegie Hall. The group returned to Carnegie Hall in 2006 and 2007 to present two more programs, both to a sold-out hall. Members of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra have completed and continue to pursue their studies at the nation’s top music schools, including the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University, Harvard University and the University of Michigan. Additionally, several members hold professional orchestral positions, have been named Laureates of other prestigious international competitions and have appeared as soloists with major U.S. orchestras.
The Sphinx Organization is a national non-profit founded in 1996 by Aaron P. Dworkin, a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan (B.M. and M.M). A violinist himself, Dworkin founded the organization to help overcome cultural stereotypes in classical music and to encourage the participation of Blacks and Latinos in the field. In the 11-year history of the organization, Sphinx has reached over 65,000 students in 175 schools nationwide. Through its annual Sphinx Competition, held every year in Ann Arbor and Detroit, Sphinx has awarded over 1.6 million dollars in prizes and scholarships. The competition is open to all Junior High, High School, and College age Black and Latino string players residing in the U.S. Players compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and perform with established professional musicians in a competition setting. The competition’s primary mission is to encourage, develop and recognize classical music talent in the Black and Latino communities.
Maestro Chelsea Tipton II currently serves as Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor, Tipton has appeared with major orchestras in the United States. As a clarinet player, he has performed with numerous major orchestras and virtuoso instrumentalists and has recorded for three record labels. Tipton has taught at Central Michigan University as an assistant professor, served as Director of the Central Michigan University Band and has been a visiting professor in clarinet and chamber music at Western Michigan University.
The members of The Harlem Quartet, made up of violinist Ilmar Gavilan, violinist Melissa White, viola player Juan-Miguel Hernandez and cellist Desmond Neysmith, are all alumni of the Sphinx Competition. The Quartet was established in 2006 with a unique and challenging mission: to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers. Dedicated to education, community engagement and superb classical performance, the members of this innovative and daring quartet serve as Principal Faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, one of the premier independent arts preparatory schools in the world, as well as Visiting Faculty at the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Elena Urioste, recently selected by Symphony magazine as an emerging artist to watch, was the winner of both the junior and senior divisions of the national Sphinx Competition in 2003 and 2007 respectively. In 2007, she won first prize at the Sion International Violin Competition where she also received the audience prize and the prize for best performance of the competition’s newly commissioned work. She has won other major competitions including the Kennett Symphony Concerto Competition and the Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition. Urioste made her debut as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 13 as winner of the Albert M. Greenfield Competition. Since then, she has appeared with major orchestras and at festivals around the world, garnering critical acclaim for her commanding stage presence, rich tone and the nuanced lyricism of her playing. She graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music last spring and recently began graduate studies at the Juilliard School of Music.
University Musical Society (UMS), now celebrating its 130th season, is one of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country. The organization is committed to connecting audiences with performing artists from around the world in uncommon and engaging experiences. With a program steeped in music, dance, and theater, UMS contributes to a vibrant cultural community by presenting approximately 60 to 75 performances and over 100 free educational activities each season. UMS also commissions new work, sponsors artist residencies, and organizes collaborative projects with local, national, and international partners. While proudly affiliated with the University of Michigan and housed on the U-M campus, UMS is a separate not-for-profit organization that supports itself from ticket sales, grants, contributions, and endowment income.
SPECIAL EVENT
Sphinx Chamber Orchestra National Tour
Orchestra Hall
Sphinx Chamber Orchestra
Chelsea Tipton II, conductor
The Harlem Quartet: Ilmar Gavilan, violin; Melissa White, violin; Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola; Desmond Neysmith, cello
Elena Urioste, violin
MOZART Divertimento in D Major, III (Presto)
PIAZZOLLA Winter in Buenos Aires for solo violin and orchestra
VILLA-LOBOS Fugue from Bacchianas Brasileiras No. 9
GEORGE WALKER Lyric for Strings
WYNTON MARSALIS Hellbound Highball
VIVALDI Concerto for 4 Violins and Orchestra in B Minor
MICHAEL ABELS Delights and Dances for String Quartet and Orchestra
Where: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit
When: 2:00PM
Tix: $12.00-$25.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Thursday, October 16th-Saturday, December 20th
Apartment 3A
The Purple Rose Theatre Company is proud to announce the revival of Apartment 3A by Jeff Daniels to open the 08 / 09 season this fall. The production will enjoy a ten-week engagement from Thursday, October 16 through Saturday, December 20, 2008.
Eight low-price previews of Apartment 3A will be performed from Thursday, October 16, through Thursday, October 23, with the Press Opening on Friday, October 24, 2008. Regular performances for the duration of the engagement are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 3:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. All performances are held at The Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park Street, Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
In Apartment 3A, Annie Wilson, director of fund-raising for PBS Channel 68, is faced with a series of personal and professional predicaments. Reeling from a broken heart, Annie chooses a new apartment in a different neighborhood and befriends a mysterious next-door neighbor who may hold the secret to a brighter future. This romantic comedy contains adult language, humor and polar bear love.
The PRTC presented the World Premiere of Apartment 3A directed by PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville in the fall of 1996. Since then, the play has had two off-Broadway runs – at the ArcLight Theater in 2006 and the Beckett Theatre in 2008 – and continues to appear in theatres across the country. In a review of the ArcLight Theater production for The New York Times, Jason Zinoman wrote that the play is “written with wit, conviction, and a real affection for its characters.”
“Apartment 3A is more timely now than when we first produced it twelve years ago,” says Sanville. “The play was prophetic in terms of where we were then and where we are now as a people and a culture. It’s a funny, sexy, heartbreaking love story that explores the loss of hope and the rebirth of faith by one of America’s best playwrights. It’s a thrill to get another shot at it.”
Under the direction of Sanville, the cast of Apartment 3A includes PRTC associate artist Matthew David (Flint, MI), PRTC apprentice Stacey Livingston (Traverse City, MI), PRTC associate artist Michael Brian Ogden (Berkley, MI), PRTC associate artist Rhiannon Ragland (Flint, MI) and Will David Young (Milford, MI). (Editor’s Note: Cast interviews and complete biographies are available by calling 734.433.7782).
Design for this production includes set by Bartley H. Bauer, props by Danna Segrest, costumes by Vikte Jankus Moss, lighting by Daniel C. Walker and sound by Tom Whalen. Stephanie Buck stage manages with Michelle DiDomenico and Jessica Garrett as assistant stage managers.
This PRTC production is generously underwritten by THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION (of Rita & Peter Heydon) based in Ann Arbor.
Founded in 1991 by acclaimed actor and Chelsea native Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a leading American theater dedicated to producing the new American play and creating opportunities for Midwest theatre professionals. The PRTC is a 501©(3) not-for-profit professional theatre operating under an SPT agreement with the Actors’ Equity Association. The PRTC promotes the development of new American theatre and its practitioners, provides valuable educational opportunities for young artists, and, through consistently high quality production values, has earned the respect of both local and national theatre communities.
PREVIEW PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 16 8 pm $20 talk back
Friday, October 17 8 pm $25 talk back
Saturday, October 18 3 pm $25 talk back
Saturday, October 18 8 pm $25 talk back
Sunday, October 19 2 pm $25 talk back
Wednesday, October 22 8 pm $20
Thursday, October 23 8 pm $20
REGULAR PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, October 24 8 pm $38 Press Opening
Saturday, October 25 3 pm $33
Saturday, October 25 8 pm $38
Sunday, October 26 2 pm $33
Wednesday, October 29 3 pm $25
Wednesday, October 29 8 pm $25
Thursday, October 30 8 pm $25
Friday, October 31 8 pm $38
Saturday, November 1 3 pm $33
Saturday, November 1 8 pm $38
Sunday, November 2 2 pm $33
Wednesday, November 5 3 pm $25
Wednesday, November 5 8 pm $25
Thursday, November 6 8 pm $25
Friday, November 7 8 pm $38
Saturday, November 8 3 pm $33
Saturday, November 8 8 pm $38
Sunday, November 9 2 pm $33
Wednesday, November 12 3 pm $25
Wednesday, November 12 8 pm $25
Thursday, November 13 8 pm $25
Friday, November 14 8 pm $38
Saturday, November 15 3 pm $33
Saturday, November 15 8 pm $38
Sunday, November 16 2 pm $33
Wednesday, November 19 3 pm $25
Wednesday, November 19 8 pm $25
Thursday, November 20 8 pm $25
Friday, November 21 8 pm $38
Saturday, November 22 3 pm $33
Saturday, November 22 8 pm $38
Sunday, November 23 2 pm $33
Tuesday, November 25 8 pm $25
Wednesday, November 26 8 pm $25
Thursday, November 27 no performance Thanksgiving
Friday, November 28 8 pm $38
Saturday, November 29 3 pm $33
Saturday, November 29 8 pm $38
Sunday, November 30 2 pm $33
Wednesday, December 3 3 pm $25
Wednesday, December 3 8 pm $25
Thursday, December 4 8 pm $25
Friday, December 5 8 pm $38
Saturday, December 6 3 pm $33
Saturday, December 6 8 pm $38
Sunday, December 7 2 pm $33
Wednesday, December 10 3 pm $25
Wednesday, December 10 8 pm $25
Thursday, December 11 8 pm $25
Friday, December 12 8 pm $38
Saturday, December 13 3 pm $33
Saturday, December 13 8 pm $38
Sunday, December 14 2 pm $33
Tuesday, December 16 8 pm $25
Wednesday, December 17 3 pm $25
Wednesday, December 17 8 pm $25
Thursday, December 18 8 pm $25
Friday, December 19 8 pm $38
Saturday, December 20 3 pm $33
Saturday, December 20 8 pm $38 Closing Night
Where: The Purple Rose Theatre, Chelsea MI
When: See schedule above
Tix: See schedule above
www.purplerosetheatre.org
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Friday, October 17th-Sunday, November 16th
To Kill a Mockingbirdeatre Company is proud to announce the first production of its 2008-2009 Season, To Kill a Mockingbird by Christopher Sergel. The play was adapted by Sergel from the Pulitzer Prize Winning novel by Harper Lee. Directed by Eric W. Maher, the production opens October 17th and runs every Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 4 & 8 pm, and Sunday at 4pm until November 16th at the Marlene Boll Theatre located at 1401 Broadway inside the YMCA.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Christopher Sergel is a thrilling adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic novel. Matrix Theatre Company invites you to follow Scout and Jem on a journey of discovery about a man called Boo. It is the summer of 1938 within the limits of the quiet town of Maycomb; a crime has been committed and the neighborhood seeks justice. Through the innocent eyes of these two children, experience what it means to be an outsider, the importance in understanding right from wrong, and the true cost of growing up.
Where: Boll Family YMCA, Detroit
When: Fridays 8:00PM, Saturdays 4:00PM & 8:00PM, Sundays 4:00PM
Tix: $15.00
www.matrixtheatre.org
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Friday, October 17
Love and Human Remains
What’s Halloween without a few dead bodies? Opening Friday, October 17th, Who Wants Cake? is thrilled to unleash Brad Fraser’s Love and Human Remains at Ferndale’s The Ringwald Theatre. Love and Human Remains will play Fridays-Mondays for an exclusive four week engagement.
Seven Detroit friends are on the prowl - for relationships, fun, love, or just plain sex. Many types of couplings are explored in Brad Fraser’s Love and Human Remains: gay, lesbian, straight, with a dash of S&M tossed in for spice. All the while, a serial killer is on the loose. As one-night stands lead to bad feelings, and the stalker
becomes the stalked, the true nature of love becomes entangled in the true nature of lies, and it becomes apparent that the killer is dangerously close to them all.
CAST
David played by Joe Bailey (Ferndale)
Candy played by Melissa Beckwith (Ferndale)
Bernie played by Jon Ager (Bloomfield Hills)
Benita played by Christa Coulter (Royal Oak)
Kane played by Chris Jakob (Detroit)
Jerri played by Vanessa Sawson (Ferndale)
Robert played by Brian Rohe (Chesterfield)
Directed by Joe Plambeck (Ferndale)
Quick Bites
Performances will begin Friday, October 17th and play Friday-Mondays through November 10th.
Show times are Friday, Saturday, and Monday nights at 8:00 PM. Sunday performances are at 3:00 PM.
Ticket Prices are $20 for Friday and Saturday performances, $15.00 Sunday matinees and Monday is our HALF OFF night at $10 a chair! PLEASE NOTE: First Sunday performance, October 19th at 3PM is PAY WHAT YOU CAN!
The Ringwald Theatre is located at 22742 Woodward Avenue in the Times Square of Ferndale.
The box office opens 45 minutes before performances and cash and Visa/Mastercard accepted at the door.
Reservations may be made by calling 248-545-5545 or online at www.WhoWantsCakeTheatre.com.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, October 17 8PM $20
Saturday, October 18 8PM $20
Sunday, October 19 3PM PAY WHAT YOU CAN
Monday, October 20 8PM $10
Friday, October 24 8PM $20
Saturday, October 25 8PM $20
Sunday, October 26 3PM $15
Monday, October 27 8PM $10
Friday, October 31 8PM $20
Saturday, November 1 8PM $20
Sunday, November 2 3PM $15
Monday, November 3 8PM $10
Friday, November 7 8PM $20
Saturday, November 8 8PM $20
Sunday, November 9 3PM $15
Monday, November 10 8PM $10
Where: Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
When: See schedule above
Tix: See above
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
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Saturday, October 18th-Saturday, October 25th
Margaret Garner
Michigan Opera Theatre opens its 2008 fall opera season, made possible by Ford Motor Company, with the triumphant return of Margaret Garner, October 18-25, 2008 at the Detroit Opera House. The product of an unprecedented collaboration between Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, the opera made its world premiere at the Detroit Opera House in May 2005 to international critical acclaim and sold-out performances. Based on one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America, the opera recounts the compelling, tragic, and inspiring story of Margaret Garner’s quest for freedom.
Since Margaret Garner made its highly-publicized world premiere in Detroit in 2005, the opera was performed by project co-commissioners Opera Company of Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera, as well as by New York City Opera and Opera Carolina. Following the five performances in Detroit, Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of Margaret Garner will tour to Roosevelt University in Chicago for five performances at the Auditorium Theatre, November 1-9, 2008.
Margaret Garner is inspired by the true story of an enslaved family’s quest for freedom. Fleeing Richwood, Kentucky’s Maplewood Farm to Cincinnati Ohio in 1856, Margaret Garner made the horrific decision to sacrifice her own children when capture was at hand, rather than see them returned to the bonds of slavery. Her trial resulted in a major legal debate about whether she should be charged with murder or “destruction of property.” The Garner trial addressed crucial issues in constitutional law and posed key questions at the core of the rift in the Union during the pre-Civil War era.
Many of the artists who created the roles for the world premere in 2005 are returning to Detroit in 2008. Alternating in the title role of Margaret Garner are Denyce Graves (18, 22, 25), who created the role in the world premiere performances, and Tracie Luck (19, 24) who created the role for the New York City Opera production. Reprising the role he created for the 2005 world premiere is Gregg Baker (18, 22, 25) as Robert Garner, who alternates in the role with Patrick Blackwell (19, 24), who made his professional debut in the world premiere of Amistad at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1997. The role of Cilla will be alternately sung by two sopranos making their MOT debuts, Karen Slack and Mary Elizabeth Williams. The role of plantation owner Edward Gaines will be alternately performed by James Westman (18, 22, 25) and Timothy Mix (19, 24).
Returning to direct the production is acclaimed Broadway director Kenny Leon, whose most recent Tony Award-winning project includes A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway with Phylicia Rashad and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. Critically-acclaimed conductor Stefan Lano also revisits Margaret Garner to conduct the return engagement in 2008. As in the 2005 premiere, the 2008 performances will feature detailed sets by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg and fantastic period costumes by Paul Tazewell.
Where: Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When:
Saturday, October 18, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 19, 2008 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 24, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 25, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Tix: $28.00-$120.00
www.motopera.org
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Friday, October 31st: The GO Record Release Party
From the GO:
The GO: record release party!!! This is a Halloween, costume, dance party. We’re releasing our first double album on CD & Vinyl!!!! Yikes. This is a big one.
20 tracks of the alternate “Haunted Beat” record.
Live performance by:
The Haunted Beat Band
(featuring Dan Kroha)
The Magic Shop (of Horrors)
Infinity People & Druid Perfume
This is a show not to be missed… full of strange surprises that we’re not at liberty to disclose at this time.
More info later.
Luv,
The GO
Where: The Magic Stick, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: N/A (yet)
www.majesticdetroit.com
www.thegodetroit.com
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Saturday, November 1st
‘80s Halloween Party
The new Elements Art Gallery in Corktown is throwing an ‘80’s-themed Halloween bash this year with DJ Sicari and DJ Dan and a 50/50 costume contest.
Where: Elements Art Gallery, Corktown, Detroit
When: Doors at 9:00PM
Tix: $5.00, 18+
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ONGOING:
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Thursday, June 19th- Saturday, September 27th
Panhandle Slim and the Oklahoma Kid
The Purple Rose Theatre Company is pleased to announce a four-week
performance extension of Jeff Daniels’ new comedy Panhandle Slim &
Oklahoma Kid. Originally scheduled to close at the end of August,
Panhandle Slim will now run until September 27, 2008. Performances for the
remainder of the engagement will be Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00
pm with Saturday matinees at 3:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm with a
variety of added weekly performances. All performances are at the Purple
Rose Theatre, 137 Park Street, Chelsea, MI.
The additional performances are being added to accommodate record ticket
sales. “Positive word-of-mouth created an overwhelming demand for
tickets,” says managing director Alan Ribant. “We hope that adding another
month of performances will allow thousands of additional patrons the
opportunity to enjoy Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid this summer.”
Daniels’ twelfth new play, Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is Daniels’
first Western. This winsome comedy tells the fateful tale of a prairie
showdown between a vagrant outlaw and a singing cowboy. Thrown together by
unfortunate circumstances, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid argue the
virtues of mayhem, music and the meaning of life. This World Premiere
features original songs, as well as scoundrels, six-guns and a horse named
Buttermilk.
The World Premiere of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is directed by
PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville. The cast of this new comedy includes
former PRTC apprentice Jessica Garrett (Sea of Fools), PRTC resident
artist Phil Powers (Vino Veritas, Honus & Me), and PRTC associate artists
John Seibert (Sea of Fools, The Mystery of Irma Vep) and Tom Whalen (Honus
& Me, The Glass Menagerie). (Editors’ Note: Cast interviews and
biographies are available for hometown stories by calling 734.433.PRTC.)
This production of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid includes set design
by Dennis G. Crawley, lighting design by Reid G. Johnson, costume design
by Christianne Myers, prop design by Danna Segrest and sound design by
Quintessa Gallinat. Michelle DiDomenico stage manages with Stephanie Buck
as assistant stage manager.
This PRTC production is generously underwritten by Target, Aisin World
Corp. of America, ADR North America and Vesco Oil Corporation.
Tickets for the extension go on sale on Monday, August 4; annual PRTC
donors of $250 or more may purchase tickets beginning on Monday, July 28.
Reservations can be made by calling the PRTC Box Office at (734) 433-ROSE
(7673); Box Office hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
####

Extension Performance Schedule
Friday, September 26 8:00 pm $38.00
Saturday, September 27 3:00 pm $33.00
Saturday, September 27 8:00 pm $38.00 Closing Night
Where: Purple Rose Theatre, Chelsea
When: See above for schedule
Tix: Also see above
www.purplerosetheatre.org
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NOW-Sunday, September 28th
Michigan Renaissance Festival
Go for the mead. Stay for the people-watching. This is one of my favoritest stupid things to pay money to do ever. Plus I have a thing for silver rings and peacock-feather masks. And men in tights with faux-English accents.
And, seriously, the people-watching at this place is priceless.
Where: Holly, MI
When: See schedule for details
Tix: $18.95/$15.95 in advance adults; $9.95/$7.50 in advance children (get your advance tickets at Kroger, Wendy’s, and Walgreens)
http://www.michrenfest.com/
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Friday, September 5th-Monday, September 29th
Speech & Debate
Who Wants Cake? Theatre is thrilled to announce the first show of their sophomore season, the Michigan premiere of Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam. Speech & Debate will play Friday-Mondays for an exclusive four week run at Ferndale ’s Ringwald Theatre.
Speech & Debate tells the story of high school misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie. Although they attend the same high school, they have never met until a shocking gay sex scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together. Through an unexpected chain of events, they realize three voices are stronger than one. And since their school has no speech and debate squad, maybe this is their chance to be heard at last – by the school and even the world.
Speech & Debate features a talented cast that includes Alex Hill of Detroit, Spencer Perrenoud of Beverly Hills , Katie Swinehart of Ferndale and Jamie Warrow of Royal Oak . Joe Bailey of Ferndale will direct.
Where: The Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
When: Fri., Sat., & Mon. 8:00PM; Sun. 3:00PM
Tix: Fridays and Saturdays $20.00, Sundays $15.00, Mondays $10.00
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
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Four Questions: Looking At Detroit’s Future In Film
Four Questions with Anthony Vallone, Sara Stepnicka, and Jon E. Livernois
By Nicole Rupersburg
I was able to spend some time with Anthony Vallone and Sara Stepnicka of ValloNicka Films, a Michigan-based film production company. I was introduced to them by their publicist Lee Runchey at the premiere of their film Sometimes in Life at the inaugural Detroit Windsor International Film Festival, where I was able to get them (as well as one of the starring actors, Jon E. Livernois) to answer thedetroiter.com’s Four Questions.
Anthony Vallone and Sara Stepnicka formed ValloNicka Films in 2000. Anthony and Sara met while they were attending college at Eastern Michigan University where Anthony was studying filmmaking and Sara was studying theater. The two were romantically involved before realizing the other’s passion for telling stories visually.
Together they wanted to form an artisan production company that developed, created, and produced Michigan-based films for a global audience while also inspiring and helping to develop the film culture here in Michigan.
Since its inception, ValloNicka films have produced two feature films. The first, called The Mongol King (a crime drama), joined the ranks of El Mariachi as being one of the five lowest-budget films to be picked up for distribution. The second, Sometimes in Life (a drama about love and loss and unlikely friendships), just premiered at the inaugural Detroit Windsor International Film Festival and has just been announced for screening at the upcoming Trinity Film Festival here in Detroit.
ValloNicka Films is participated in Christopher Coppolla’s (as in film-industry-royals “the Coppollas”) PAH-Fest. PAH-Fest (“Project Accessible Hollywood”) is Coppolla’s traveling film festival which encourages independent filmmakers to tell their stories and helps make that possible by offering various local filmmaking competitions as well as a global audience for film screenings. ValloNicka will be participating in the “Mobiflicks” competition, in which filmmakers have three days to shoot and edit their films. They are using a story by publicist Lee Runchey called “Why the Granny Panty Told the G-String to Stick It.”
Jon E. Livernois is a passionate Detroiter and actor who lives in and loves the D. He had a starring role in ValloNicka’s Sometimes in Life, and it was the way he played his character that gave the film some necessary levity. He is fun and energetic, and brings a real presence to the big screen that we look forward to seeing more of.
Responses from Anthony Vallone (Producer, director)
Why Detroit? Visually, historically, and culturally rich – perfect for filmmakers trying to create projects for national and global audiences.
Why filmmaking? Michigan already has a deep history in producing numerous talented filmmakers both in front and behind the camera. I think it’s something in the water.
What is the future of filmmaking? I think with the technological advances to show your movie, no matter how big or how small, to a global audience is very powerful. Figuring out how to reach your market within that audience and deliver your project to them, is where the future lies.
What is the future of filmmaking in Detroit? Bright, if our most talented stay in the area or come back after being trained elsewhere, and we can manage to keep the film incentive here to attract production companies and allow our film industry to evolve and flourish.
Responses from Sara Stepnicka (Producer, leading lady)
Why Detroit? Why not Detroit?! There are so many beautiful sites to showcase in this area, and there is so much love and support for us to succeed here. I’ve lived in the metro Detroit area for 12 years now and want to see this area prosper.
Why filmmaking? Filmmaking is something that I’ve always wanted to be a part of. It’s not glamorous, it’s hard work, and definitely not for everyone. It has to be something you really want to do or it shows.
What is the future of filmmaking? With filmmaking gone digital, it creates a lot more opportunities for a lot more people to carry out their vision.
What is the future of filmmaking in Detroit? It’s definitely on its way to creating a whole new economy in this area, when we need it the most!
Responses from Jon E. Livernois (Lead actor)
Why Detroit? It had to be Detroit because Detroit made me. I AM DETROIT! I owe this city so much.
Why filmmaking? Filmmaking seemed a logical choice in that I wanted to help tell stories that could be seen by many people at any given time.
What is the future of filmmaking? Filmmaking will only get better due to the fact that more people are able to tell their stories with the cost of films being more affordable. No need for fancy scenery or explosions, just good stories.
What is the future of filmmaking in Detroit? Detroit is ready to be felt in filmmaking; we have so much to offer. THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!
My thanks to Anthony, Sara, and Jon for taking the time to answer these questions, and I wish them all the best of luck in future film endeavors. The filmmaking industry is on the brink of exploding here in Detroit, thanks partially to the recent bill passed by Governor Granholm allowing significant tax breaks for filmmakers to film in the state of Michigan, and thanks also to the tireless efforts of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s office, fighting to build the film industry in the city itself, as well as organizations such as Detroit Renaissance, fighting to boost the Creative Class here in the City with projects like the Creative Corridor. Detroit is on the cusp of something huge, and it is all thanks to the people who believed in the City when it was the most difficult to do so.
We here at thedetroiter.com can certainly appreciate that.
09/19/08
DIY, People's Art Festival, Day of Peace, and more!
Events editor Nicole Rupersburg brings you the scoop on what to do and where to be, each and every week, in the D.
And don’t miss our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.
COMING UP:
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Thursday, September 11th through September 27th
Candy Corn, Christ, and the Convoluted Creation of Golf
“Candy Corn, Christ, and the Convoluted Creation of Golf,” by local playwright Antonio David Garcia, will be presented at the Marlene Boll Theatre, September 11-27, by Y-Arts Detroit, the Arts and Humanities Branch of the YMCA of Metro Detroit.
“Candy Corn” is a comic look at the day-to-day life of Jesus and the Apostles, a humorous - but respectful – portrayal of the New Testament story with several unique, fun-filled twists.
The Marlene Boll Theatre is located in the Boll Family YMCA, Broadway at John-R, in Detroit’s Foxtown entertainment district.
Thursday, Sept. 11, will be a free preview performance. Additional performances will be staged on Fri/Sat, Sept 12-13; Fri/Sat, Sept 19-20; and Fri/Sat, Sept 26-27. All performances are at 8:00 pm.
General admission tickets are $15, available at the door or through BrownPaperTickets.com.
Earlier productions of “Candy Corn” played to sold-out houses in Ann Arbor and Flint.
“Listed as “One of the Year’s 10 Best” in theater. “What Garcia’s fast-paced script does is show us a Jesus with a sense of humor that served to humanize and endear the messiah to his followers.” - The Flint Journal, 2004
“Size and Spectacle-wise, ‘Candy Corn’ tilts toward ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ while playwright Garcia’s use of whimsy and even absurdity are more reminiscent of ‘Godspell.’ Yet ‘Candy Corn…’ is very much its own work, and in many, many ways it is a superior creation to either Broadway show.” - The Ann Arbor News, 2003
For additional information, contact Y-Arts Detroit at 313.223.2751 or www.y-artsdetroit.org
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Friday, September 19th
End of Summer Wine Tasting at Cuisine
Join us on the patio or inside for our 4th annual Summer Wine Tasting series.
This Friday we’ll be celebrating America with two whites and two reds.
1. 2006 Beaucanon Estate Savignon Blanc
2. 2006 Simi Chardonnay
3. 2006 Ramsey Pinot Noir
4. 2005 Parcel 41 Merlot
Where: Cuisine Restaurant, Detroit
When: 5:00PM-7:00PM
Tix: $15.00
www.cuisinedetroit.com
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Friday, September 19th-Sunday, September 21st
DeMaine Plays Schumann
One of the most celebrated cellists in the world resides right here in Detroit and is the leading cellist for the DSO. His performance of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto brought down the house in 2006, and he will be doing the same again with Schumann’s darkly masterful Cello Concerto. Also on this bill are Groven’s Joyful Shout and Franck’s Symphony in D Minor.
Where: Max M. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: Friday 10:45AM, Saturday 8:30PM, Sunday 3:00PM
Tix: $19.00-$123.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Friday, September 19th
Friday Night Live! At the DIA
Music: Oblivion Project
7 & 8:30 p.m.
Tango: the sultry, darkly beautiful dance music of Argentina is brought to life in the Northern Hemisphere by the Midwest’s foremost tango band, the Oblivion Project. Comprised of some of the finest musicians in the area, the group explores the music of the legendary composer Astor Piazzolla. Created to interpret the music of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, Like no other music, the passion-filled and dramatic tangos of Astor Piazzolla evoke the mystery and romance of Buenos Aires after dark. Featuring the internationally renowned, award-winning bandoneon* duo of Peter Soave and Julien Labro, the group also boasts some of the area’s most talented jazz and classical performers, including jazz pianist Tad Weed, avant-garde percussionist Alex Trajano and Gabe Bolkosky, Derek Snyder and John Holkeboer on violin, cello and double bass.
*An ancestor of the modern accordion. Also called a tango accordion.
Drop-In Workshop: Borderland
6–9 p.m
(12 and under must be with an adult)
Mughal painters decorated the area around their paintings elaborately. Decorate a frame using a variety of markers and colored pencils.
Location: Loggia, Student Lunch Area
Drawing in the Galleries for Youth
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 6–14, children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Drawing in the Galleries for Adults
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 15 & older)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Guided Tours
6 and 7:30 p.m.
Highlights of the museum tours offered at both times.
Where: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 6:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $8.00 donation, free for members and Detroit citizens
www.dia.org
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Friday, September 19th
Detroit Uncorked
The fifth annual Detroit Uncorked is a benefit for the children’s center. By supporting Detroit Uncorked, you join other caring members of our community to help change the lives of children served by The Children’s Center. The programs and services embrace children and families dealing with such challenging issues as abuse, neglect, mental illness and impairment. The agency serves 5,000 children yearly and, with your support, it will reach even more.
There will be a premium wine tasting featuring hundreds of selections, light hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment, and a silent auction.
Where: Ford Field, Detroit
When: 6:30PM-9:00PM
Tix: $80.00
http://detroituncorked.thechildrenscenter.com
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Saturday, September 20th
Tour de Troit
Last year over 600 of us cycled around the city in the 2007 Tour de Troit! This year’s tour takes place Saturday, September 20th at 10:00 am in Roosevelt Park, Corktown, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
This is the seventh incarnation of the tour, and our organizers have been hard at work planning yet another new route for 2008 which includes Downtown, Eastern Market, Brush Park, Boston Edison, University District, Palmer Park, Old Redford, and Grandmont-Rosedale areas. A short rest stop is planned at the newly-renovated Northwest Activities Center to allow riders to eat, drink and learn about community development and greenways planning in the city. The ride will end at Roosevelt Park where cyclists can remain from 2-6 p.m. to enjoy music, food and drinks.
Where: Roosevelt Park, Corktown, Detroit
When: 10:00AM
Tix: $25.00 adults/$15.00 students
www.tour-de-troit.org
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Saturday, September 20th-Sunday, September 21st
Ferndale’s DIY Street Fair
The first annual DIY Street Fair 2008 is coming to Ferndale this September. The unique event celebrates the Do It Yourself spirit with a two-day festival featuring local artists, businesses, breweries, handmade crafters, locally produced food, film makers, record labels and live bands.
The DIY Street Fair takes place on September 20 and 21, 2008 in the Southeast quadrant of 9 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Ferndale, Michigan, simultaneously with the 2008 Ferndale Fine Arts Festival.
The idea for the festival began when Chris Johnston, the DIY committee chair, realized the self-driven and individual enterprising nature of the residents enhances his local quality of life. “On a daily bases I’m always finding out and am fascinated by people’s many skills and talents,” says Johnston. “We want to provide an outlet for people’s creativity in an inexpensive and non-intimidating way.”
The DIY Street fair director, Carey Gustafson, is a good example of who you can expect to see exhibiting at the fair. She is the co-founder of Handmade Detroit and Defying the Law Bicycle Club and produces the annual Zombie Dance Party. “From photographers to farmers, herbalists to cyclists, woodworkers to beekeepers, the fair gives people an opportunity to share their passions, interests and most of all their DIY spirit,” says Gustafson.
Other members of the steering committee include an eclectic collection of artists, independent business owners, community leaders, designers and more.
In addition to Gustafson and Johnston, the committee is comprised of Detroit Derby Girl Tina Iulianelli; Aaron Timlin of the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID); Marketing & Promotions Manager of Majestic Theater & Magic Stick, Phil Childers; Kerry Moore, president of Context Furniture MFG and co-founder of Design Democracy ’08; Kristin von Bernthal, web designer and independent business owner; and Heather Carmona, Executive Director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association.
Johnston, who is a partner in the WAB and The Emory, and also manager of the popular musical group The Hard Lessons, has used his connections to tap into great local musical acts for the free concerts. Bands committed to performing include the local TV heroes from the 2007 show “Next Great American Band” the Muggs, along with Nice Device and the Hard Lessons among others.
Where: Downtown Ferndale
When: All day
Tix: Free admission
www.diystreetfair.com
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Saturday, September 20th
An Evening with Bridgman/Packer
Bridgman / Packer will be performing “Under The Skin” a sensual, innovative choreography of multi-media projection, dance and illusion.
Exclusive opportunity to meet the artists Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer
Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres and Cocktails
This experience embodies the growing commitment of the Detroit Opera House to present non-traditional, contemporary dance. Ticket sales support Dance Programming at the Detroit Opera House.
Where: Chrysler Theatre, inside the Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When: 7:00PM
Tix: $100.00
RSVP to Carol Halsted at 313-237-3426 or at chalsted@motopera.org
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Sunday, September 21st
Commemorate the International Day of Peace
Celebrate the International Day of Peace by viewing worldwide sites of worship in the exhibition Kenro Izu: Sacred Places.
Kenro Izu: Sacred Places features more than 50 of Izu’s black-and-white photographs of ancient temples in Angkor, Cambodia, Buddhist and Hindu sites in India, Burma, Indonesia, Thailand and China, among others. The Japanese photographer is a practicing Buddhist.
The International Day of Peace, established by the United Nations in 1981, calls for a full day of peace and ceasefire throughout the world.
The exhibition is a fitting place to contemplate the ideals behind the International Day of Peace, as the sacred places Izu has photographed are places of peace and nonviolence.
Where: Detroit Institute of the Arts, Detroit
When: 10:00AM-6:00PM
Tix: $8.00 adults, $6.00 seniors, $4.00 children ages 6-17, free for members
www.dia.org
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Sunday, September 21st
People’s Arts Festival (RESCHEDULED)
Last year over 4,000 people joined over 200 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians and other performance artists to celebrate the inaugural launch of the People’s Arts Festival (PAF) at The Russell Industrial Center in Detroit. This year’s Festival planners expect that crowd to double – once again securing its claim to being the largest arts festival in the City of Detroit. The Second Annual People’s Arts Festival will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. until midnight on Saturday, September 13, 2008.
featuring…
More Than 100 Visual Artists and Craftspeople
Over 40 Bands and Performers
Film and Fashion
Restaurants, Beverages and much more…
Performances scheduled include Satori Circus, the Cetan Clawson Revolution, Oscillating Fan Club, Punk Rock Fitness, and tons more.
Where: Russell Industrial Center, Detroit
When: 11:00AM-midnight
Tix: Free admission
www.rrcadetroit.org
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Tuesday, September 23rd
Il Posto 10th Anniversary Dinner
The most authentic Italian in metro Detroit (right down to the waiters’ B.O.).
Cena con Vini della regione Piemonte
Piedmont Region Dinner & Wine Tasting
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
7:00 PM
Please join us for an extraordinary culinary and wine tasting extravaganza. Wine experts Fabio Fornaro and Stefano Poggi from Batasiolo winery will host this elegant event. The guests will also have the opportunity to experience dishes designed by our Executive Chef Matteo Giuffrida.
Insalatina con Porcini al vinaigrette di Lamponi
Baby Mixed Greens topped with sautéed Porcini in a Raspberry Vinaigrette
“Gavi di Gavi Batasiolo ‘06”
Then…
Ravioli al Tartufo D’Alba salsa al Basilico
Truffles D’Alba stuffed Raviolis in a White Basil sauce
“Dolcetto D’Alba Batasiolo ‘06”
Then…
Fricassea D’agnelletto con Carciofi alla Giudaica
Baby Lamb fricasse’ with Artichokes
“Barbaresco D’Asti ‘04”
Then…
Filetto di Bue Brasato al Barolo e salsa Tartufata
Braised Colorado Kobe Beef Tenderloin in a Barolo & Truffle sauce
“Barolo Batasiolo ‘04”
Finally
Torinese al Tartufo
Torino style Truffle Dessert
“Moscato D’Asti Batasiolo ‘07”
Where: Il Posto, Southfield
When: 7:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $80.00 per person plus tax and tip
www.il-posto.net
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Wednesday, September 24th
Positive Choices, Powerful Lives Breakfast
Join Alternatives for Girls for breakfast to learn more about their more than 20-year history of helping homeless and high-risk girls and young women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation and offer a number of support services and resources to help them make positive choices in their lives. You’ll take a video tour of the shelter, learn more about their programs, and hear personal testimonies from AFG participants.
Where: Southfield Marriott, Southfield
When: 7:30AM-9:00AM
Tix: N/A
www.alternativesforgirls.org
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Wednesday, September 24th
Free Screening of The Visitor
This critically acclaimed film stars Richard Jenkins (“Six Feet Under”) as Walter Vale, a man sleepwalking through life before meeting Tarek, a Syrian immigrant, who teaches him to play the African drum. Yet after being stopped by the police in a subway, Tarek is arrested for being an undocumented immigrant. As the situation worsens, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend.
Free Iftar/Dinner and discussion following the film.
Where: Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
When: 6:00PM
Tix: RSVP with Rachid Elabed at 734-652-3303 or email relabed@accesscommunity.org
www.nightof1000conversations.org
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Wednesday, September 24th
Fith Annual Vine and Dine
Vine & Dine will feature wine sampling, strolling samples provided by different area restaurants and caterers, fashion show, musical entertainment and raffle. More than 500 guests will join us to enjoy samplings from 22 of Southeast Michigan’s finest restaurants and 10 wine distributors.
Where: Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills
When: 6:00PM-9:00PM
Tix: $65.00
http://www.bbcc.com/home/
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Thursday, September 25th
Global Thursdays feat. MC Rai
(Arabic Rock Hip-Hop Fusion) Born in the southern Tunisian city of Gabés, MC Rai is part of a new generation of Rai singers. In 1995, he developed his own distinct style of Algerian Rai, infusing it with the traits of his native Tunisian music and Western influences. MC Rai has performed with Rai master Khaled and DJ Cheb I Sabbah, as well as Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez and Michael Franti.
Where: Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
When: 7:30PM
Tix: $10.00 in advance, $12.00 at the door, $8.00 for members
www.arabamericanmuseum.org
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Friday, September 26th-Saturday, September 27th
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is honored to announce the riveting Complexions Contemporary Ballet out of New York on Friday and Saturday, September 26th and 27th at 8PM both nights. Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, who by The New York Times were “hailed as two of the greatest virtuosos ever to emerge from Ailey land,” founded the company in 1994, and by 1995 they had already received the illustrious New York Times “Critics Choice” award. After receiving the award, Complexions has been touring around the world as “America’s original multicultural dance company” at such prominent venues as the Music Center in Los Angeles, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia. In addition, Complexions has been invited to perform at numerous European dance festivals and each time they have stunned the crowd with their imaginative and skillful choreography.
Founders Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, along with their New YorkCity-based company of dance thoroughbreds (there are roughly twenty incredibly trained classical and contemporary dancers in the company, but guest artists swell the ranks as needed) have awakened audiences to a new, exciting genre that combines the best of athleticism, lyricism, and technical training and experience.
Complexions’ point of departure is classical dance, but the metamorphosis of the resultant dance pieces take on a multitude of styles and disciplines, which culminate into an expression of the human condition and it’s full range of emotions, into a multi-cultural and spiritual celebration.
The Saturday performance offers a special After-Party in a Big Top tent next to the Music Hall.
Inspired by contemporary social issues, Complexions meld awareness with grace and physical dexterity to push the limits of both modern dance and human communication, resulting in a synergy of art and emotion, beauty and expression which is achieved without special effects or technology as they communicate and inform through mankind’s oldest and most personal form of artistic expression- dance.
In their fourth engagement at Music Hall, they will give us a profound experience through dance with ballets set to the music of Stevie Wonder and White Stripes; their connection to Detroit is unmistakable!
Here is the Updated program and the music and composers that the Complexions will set their ballets to:
Act I
Hissy Fits- Bach
Act II
Eva Maria
Gone - Odetta
Wonderful - Stevie Wonder
The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes
Act III
Routines - Various
Where: Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $27.00-$72.00
www.musichall.org
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Friday, September 26th
Friday Night Live! At the DIA
Music: Reelroad
7 & 8:30 p.m.
Well known in St. Petersburg, Russia, and virtually unknown in the United States, the Russian-Celtic Orchestra Reelroad play and sing Russian traditional music and songs in post-folk style. They use traditional Celtic and Russian instruments—bagpipes Galician Gaita), hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, zhaleika, bombard, Celtic harp, etc. alongside more modern instruments such as the bass guitar and full drum set. Experience the music of a Russian Folk Festival without leaving Detroit.
DIA Moment: El Mexorcist 3: America’s Most Wanted Inner Demon
6:30 & 8 p.m.
The DIA presents an original spoken word performance from renowned performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Born in 1955 and raised in Mexico City, he came to the US in 1978. Gómez-Peña resides in San Francisco where he is artistic director of Pocha Nostra. His pioneering work in performance, video, radio, installation, poetry, journalism, and cultural theory, explores cross-cultural issues, immigration, the politics of language, “extreme culture” and new technologies. A MacArthur fellow and American Book Award recipient, he is a regular contributor to National Public Radio, a writer for newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and Mexico, and a contributing editor to The Drama Review (NYU-MIT).
Drop-In Workshop: Borderland
6–9 p.m
(12 and under must be with an adult)
Mughal painters decorated the area around their paintings elaborately. Decorate a frame using a variety of markers and colored pencils.
Location: Loggia, Student Lunch Area
Drawing in the Galleries for Youth
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 6–14, children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Drawing in the Galleries for Adults
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 15 & older)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Guided Tours
6 and 7:30 p.m.
Highlights of the museum tours offered at both times.
Where: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 6:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $8.00 donation, free for members and citizens of Detroit
www.dia.org
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Friday, September 26th-Sunday, September 28th
Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Guillermo Gómez-Peña will bring his provocative performance-activism to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) Sept. 26-28. He uses spoken word and stimulating interactive performance art to convey his passionate views on an assortment of world issues.
“Gómez-Peña has a way of captivating audiences and involving them in the thought-provoking issues he raises,” said Nancy Jones, executive director of learning and interpretation for the DIA. “His performance will certainly leave a lasting impression with viewers.”
During a free performance at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, Gómez-Peña will present El Mexorcist, a spoken word performance about an activist who protests the construction of a US/Mexican border. Spontaneously shifting between languages, Gómez-Peña transforms himself into multiple characters reflecting on identity, race, sexuality, pop culture, politics and the impact of new technologies in the post-9-11 era.
On Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 27 and 28 at 8 p.m., the audience becomes part of the performance in Mapa Corpo: Interactive Rituals for the New Millennium. (Mapa Corpo references using the human body as a political map). Gómez-Peña, along with the rest of his troupe, including Royal Oak resident Lisa Melinn, will engage the audience in an intensely emotional experience as they move from station to station in his vision of cultural and political conflict in a post-9-11 world. The performance includes enactments of oppression and liberation, and mourning and healing set against a constantly shifting background of media images, spoken word poetics and music. Visitors are invited to interact with the performers as they circulate through the performance space in Rivera Court. Tickets are $20 for the general public, and $18 for DIA members and students with valid ID. Tickets are available through the DIA Box Office at (313) 833-4005.
Gómez-Peña is a MacArthur Grant fellow and has been a regular contributor to NPR cultural commentary. His troupe of artists includes Roberto Sifuentes, professor of performance art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Violeta Luna, Mexican actress and artist; and René García, California-based video artist.
Where: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 8:00PM each day
Tix: $8.00 museum admission Friday (members free); Saturday and Sunday $20.00 non-members/$18.00 members
www.dia.org
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Friday, September 26th
Cooper Moore
One of the first New Music shows at the Bohemian was the duo of Cooper Moore and Assif Tsahar. Legendary musician/improviser/inventor Cooper Moore is best known as a pianist and percussionist; he’s also well known for his intriguing home-made instruments. This current tour will be his first as soloist performing only on instruments of his own design. Not only an amazing improviser and inventor, Cooper Moore is great at getting the audience up and involved. Sure to be one of this year’s highlights.
Where: Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Detroit
When: Doors $8:00PM
Tix: $8.00-$20.00
www.thecaid.org
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Saturday, September 27th
Crush Birmingham, 2008 Wine & Food Classic
For the connoisseur as well as the novice, this event features celebrity chefs, world-famous vintners, master sommeliers, wine critics and acclaimed authors sharing their expert skills to benefit Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan. This event offers an opportunity to purchase a celebrity chef and vintner patron reception described below that includes the main event and CRUSH “After Hours".
Celebrity Chef-Vintner Patron Receptions
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – The Townsend Hotel & Forest Grill – Birmingham $500 Per Person
Enjoy an intimate, private patron reception “wine and hors d’oeuvre pairing” in one of four elegant venues at the award-winning Townsend Hotel or Polcyn’s Forest Grill in Birmingham.
Each patron reception will be illuminated by the expertise of a renowned wine expert and the culinary talents of one of the world’s greatest chefs. The ultimate in food and wine harmony.
Enjoy lively banter from one of the guest Master Sommeliers or industry veterans such as Evan Goldstein, MS, restaurateur and author of the critically acclaimed book, Perfect Pairings, Ron Edwards, MS or Bartholomew Broadbent, wine expert, founder Broadbent Selections.
Patron passes also include access to CRUSH BIRMINGHAM 2008 Live Auction & Dinner and CRUSH After Hours event.
CRUSH BIRMINGHAM, the main event, begins at 5:30 p.m. with wine and food pairing stations in the main ballroom at The Townsend Hotel. Guests will have an opportunity to visit each station and discuss the selections with a representative of the vineyard and the food preparer. The appetizer stations will be followed by a wine auction conducted by well-known Birmingham auctioneer, Dan Stall. An extraordinary dinner will follow with music, dancing, dessert tables and dessert wines afterward. You may even have a celebrity chef such as Don Yamauchi, Brian Polcyn, Jim Barnett or Jean Joho visit your table!
The Honorary vintner for the evening is Fred Fisher accompanied by his son Rob of Fisher Vineyards, Napa, CA. Honorary Wine Director, Master Sommelier, Ron Edwards of Five Star Sommeliers in Charlevoix. Adding to this impressive line-up will be Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier, restaurateur and renowned wine expert and author of critically acclaimed book, “Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food” and Bartholomew Broadbent, acclaimed wine expert and founder of Broadbent Solutions. Our honorary chairs for the event are Steve & Lisa Yzerman.
Where: Townsend Hotel, Birmingham
When: 5:00PM-midnight
Tix: $500.00
www.townsendhotel.com
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Saturday, September 27th
Two in 3
Nine-time Grammy Award-winning jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will team up with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for a premiere of Marsalis’ new piece, Two in 3, on Saturday, September 27 at 8:30 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. The work is a co-commission between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, MSU’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts and the MSU College of Music.
Where: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit
When: 8:30PM
Tix: $19.00-$123.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Sunday, September 28th
Great Architecture of Michigan at Book Beat
On Sunday, September 28th from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM the Book Beat is honored to present a new title by Detroit Free Press architecture critic John Gallagher and renowned photographer Balthazar Korab. The book, Great Architecture from Michigan, is recently published by Wayne State University press. John Gallagher and Balthazar Korab will be at the event to sign books and discuss this exciting project, combining some of the finest architectural history and photography of Michigan into a single keepsake artbook. The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield, in Oak Park. Call 248-968-1190 for more information or to reserve books.
With photographs by Balthazar Korab and text by John Gallagher, this book will be a treasured volume, indispensible for anyone wanting to learn more about Michigan’s impressive architectural legacy.
Where: The Book Beat, Oak Park
When: 2:00PM-3:30PM
Tix: Free admission
www.thebookbeat.com
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Sunday, September 28th
Torch with a Twist’s White Masquerade Party
Jazz-combo with carnival-themed burlesque, and Satori Circus also performing. Wear white, wear a mask, wear whatever.
Where: Cliff Bell’s, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $10.00
www.myspace.com/torchwithatwist
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Tuesday, September 30th
Zucchero
Music Hall is extremely proud to present the Italian Rock/Blues/Soul superstar vocalist, Zucchero, for one night only, Tuesday, September 30th at 7:30 PM in a return that promises a night of his greatest hits and a few surprises that make the night a special one for all fans of popular music.
Zucchero has established his international reputation by selling millions of albums worldwide and also by performing with some of the greatest names in all styles of music from John Lee Hooker to Miles Davis and Eric Clapton to Andrea Bocelli. Zucchero’s soulful husky voice is reminiscent of a slicker Eric Clapton or a more refined, Joe Cocker (both with whom he has performed and recorded).
Zucchero’s current crack outfit of world-class musicians include - David Sancious (formerly with Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Eric Clapton and Peter Gabriel) on keyboards, Kat Dyson (from Prince and Cyndi Lauper) Polo Jones (long term Zucchero bass player and music director), Mario Schiliro on guitar and Adriano Molinari on drums
Zucchero has recorded with many artists from different genres from Sting, Bono, Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton through to BB King, Andrea Bocelli (whom Zucchero discovered) and Luciano Pavarotti. In fact, it was Eric Clapton who, having seen Zucchero in concert was so enamored that he took him out as a special guest on his 1990 tour. The same year he became the first rock artist to perform at The Kremlin in Moscow.
In 1991, Zucchero recorded ‘Senza Una Donna’ (Without a Woman) with Paul Young, which topped the charts through Europe and the USA. He wrote the lyrics & sang on the Italian version of ‘Mad About You ’ (Muoio Per Te) on Sting’s ‘The Soul Cages’ album and the same year Brian May invited Zucchero to join him and the other members of Queen to perform at London’s Wembley Stadium at the ‘Freddie Mercury Tribute’ concert.
Zucchero wrote “Miserere”, which he recorded with Luciano Pavarotti and has become a crossover classic recorded by many artists from Andrea Bocelli to Pavarotti and Bono. It only solidified his reputation as a versatile and adaptive vocalist, one who melds well with other singer’s iconic vocal styles.
In 2006, Detroit native and Rolling Stones “Umber-producer", Don Was, produced his album “The Fly”.
Where: Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 7:30PM
Tix: $27.00-$47.00
www.musichall.org
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Thursday, October 2nd
Founders Junior Council Collector’s Education at Epiphany
The Detroit Institute of Arts’ Founders Junior Council invites you to an evening of art, music, food and fun at Epiphany Studios for their Collector’s Education series. There will be cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, music by DJ Bruce Cobb, and a wide collection of fine hand-blown glass art objects to discuss, admire, and collect.
Where: Epiphany Studios, Pontiac
When: 7:00PM-11:00PM
Tix: $40.00 advance, $45.00 at the door
www.epiphanyglass.com
www.foundersjuniorcouncil.org
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Thursday, October 2nd
Lola Morales at the Magic Bag
On Thursday, October 2nd, in Ferndale’s Magic Bag Theatre, a talented singer/ songwriter will make her mark in Detroit music history when she releases her first full-length CD, with a release party that will also include an electrifying performance to celebrate the self-release of, “Write My Story”.
Lola Morales
Her Story-
Lola Morales is the singer/songwriter’s name, and one you will be hearing quite a lot from in the future. Lola Morales’ music, which has been-categorized as “World Music”, creates a seamless blend of Salsa, Funk, R & B, Pop and even Jazz- and just about every strain of North and South American popular music into something quite, well…American. Sung in both Spanish and English, Lola Morales’ music is more than Latin Pop - it’s is a melting pot of the entire Americas, North and South, from Argentina to the coldest climes of North America.
Lola Morales is the product of immigrant Nicaraguan parents, whose father played Salsa piano, and grew up living in predominately Black neighborhoods of San Francisco.
A stunning beauty with her trademark corkscrew hair, which only adds another element to the mix -a sultry and exotic sexuality, has resided in Hamtramck for the past two years, while electrifying audiences and critics alike as she crafted both her EP, “Luna Nova” in 2006 and her latest, ‘Write My Story” at Rust Belt Studios in Royal Oak.
American Music-
The face of America is changing- and Lola Morales is a musical vindication of this reality.
Lola Morales music is a Pan American sound, where indie rock feels right at home with Salsa or Norteno, and Soul commingles with decidedly Brasilliano rhythm to create this collection of first rate New American music. It’s an undeniable synthesis of hybrid cultural genetics. For her, Detroit represented an edge, a fertile bed of Proto-punk, techno and soulful Hip Hop that cover this town like a sheet, blanket and comforter. Lola Morales has reveled in this bed of talent and styles that is Detroit. She likens her residence here, to her “Post Graduate” work.
From Berkeley To Buenos Aires-
“Write My Story” is an appropriate CD title for this globe-trotting Troubadora, seeing as Morales has lived and worked everywhere from her native San Francisco to Quito, Ecuador, Tokyo, Japan to London England, Singapore and now Detroit, where she’s soaked up this region’s rich musical heritage – and their world-class musicians, at the behest of her Step-father, who happens to live in Hamtramck.
Gaining a degree from Berkeley (CA) in Rhetoric it’s no surprise that she pens such smart and incisive lyrics, delivered in both Spanish and English- depending on the music, is a testament to her love of language as well as music.
Write My Story defies simple categorization. Like a rhythmic rubber band, Morales and her crack outfit including bassist, Paul Randolph and Eric Hogemeyer on keyboards, segue imperceptibly from middle eastern to a salsa beat in such a slippery fashion that it’ll leave you shaking your head as well as your body, as evidenced in the superb album opener, Enciedeme. The sensual, jazzy groove of “Sunrise”, is Urban R & B with a twist of Steely Dan sprinkled with Morales’ powerful phrasing and knack for a sticky sweet hook, is another stunner. A lot of the credit goes Rustbelt Studios, Al Sutton and Eric Hoegemeyer’s sympathetic and unobtrusive production to this eclectic buffet of styles and choice rhythms. It just might be some of the best work of their career’s, as well as their most challenging.
Morales also won the 2007 Detroit Music Award for Best World Vocalist in addition to 2 other nominations.
Opening the party will be, Pathe Jassi ‘s World Experience, an amazing band with a Senegalese front man, adding to this evening of exotic and rhythmic music.
Where: The Magic Bag, Ferndale
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $10.00
www.themagicbag.com
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Friday, October 3rd
Guerrilla Girls on Tour
Oakland Community College’s Womencenter is pleased to announce that Guerrilla Girls on Tour, an internationally acclaimed anonymous theatre collective, will be performing on Friday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Orchard Ridge Campus Smith Theatre. The performance is free to the public in celebration of the Womencenter’s 35 years at Oakland Community College.
Guerrilla Girls on Tour will bring a live performance that addresses the lack of opportunities for women and people of color and explores the combination of performance and visual art entitled Feminists Are Funny. The 70-minute play is an energetic romp through herstory; an up-to-date account of their latest actions in politics, the performing arts and the media; a recreation of some of their street theatre protests, and a look at some of the funniest female activists and their accomplishments. The performance ends with a lively discussion with the audience which will serve to educate the community about the current state of sexism while at the same time proving that feminists are funny.
Feminists Are Funny will be performed during the Womencenter’s national juried women’s art exhibition “From Our Perspective” which runs from September 18-October 10.
Guerrilla Girls on Tour creates original plays, street actions, visual work and residency programs that dramatize women’s history and advocate on behalf of women and artists of color. In order to put the focus of their work on the issues they address, each member works under the name of a dead woman artist and performs wearing a gorilla mask. The 26-member troupe has toured through 30 states and 6 countries bringing their brand of satirical performance art and activism against discrimination, sexism and racism to places like southern Georgia, Eastern Europe and South America. GGOT is a diverse company of theatre artists and comediennes and they have been featured in the London Times, Village Voice, BackStage, Mother Jones, The New York Times, i-D Magazine, American Theatre, Lamujedemivida, Antiborder Conference Warsaw, LA Times, Pagnina 12, In Theatre, the BBC, TXT Magazine, French Channel 2, Wysokie Obcasy, Palais de Tokyo Paris, The Tony Awards, NWSA Journal, and the A.S.K. Common Ground Festival. They can be reached at www.guerrillagirlsontour.com.
This performance is presented by the Womencenter, a facility that provides educational and supportive resources for area women. For further information on the Guerrilla Girls on Tour performance and for other program offerings call the Womencenter at 248.522.3642.
Where: Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus, Farmington Hills
When: 7:00PM
Tix: Free admission
www.guerrillagirlsontour.com
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Friday, October 3rd
Friday Night Live! At the DIA
Music: Matthew Shipp
7 & 8:30 p.m.
Jazz pianist Matthew Shipp is not an easy musician to categorize. He looks back through music history and seems to channel other jazz piano masters like Cecil Taylor and Thelonious Monk.
Drop-In Workshop: Book Arts: Scroll Books
6–9 p.m
(12 and under must be with an adult)
Make a simple book using paper and wooden sticks.
Location: Loggia, Student Lunch Area
Drawing in the Galleries for Youth
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 6–14, children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Drawing in the Galleries for Adults
6–9 p.m.
(Ages 15 & older)
Artist/instructors help participants create pencil drawings to take home. No experience necessary; materials provided.
Location: See the This Week at the DIA handout at any Information Desk.
Guided Tours
6 and 7:30 p.m.
Highlights of the museum tours offered at both times.
Where: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
When: 6:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $8.00 donation, free for members and citizens of Detroit
www.dia.org
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Sunday, October 19th
Nocturne
In the guise of an elegantly-styled narrative, a 32 year-old chronic insomniac and former piano prodigy burrows his head into the construction of a novella to survive the events that tore his family apart. Weaving metaphorical and gripping themes through fascinating patterns of language, mind-mapping, and visualization, Nocturne conveys the different ways that people survive by escaping, and then escape to survive.
Adam Rapp’s highly acclaimed play signaled a brave new voice in American theatre. The World Premiere of Nocturne was produced by the American Reperatory Theatre to enormous public and critical acclaim. It received Boston’s Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script as well as Best New Play by the Independent Reviewers of New England. Nocturne was co-produced Off-Broadway by New York Theatre Workshop and the A.R.T., and was selected as one of the Burns Mantle Ten Best Plays of the 2000-2001 Season.
Where: The Furniture Factory, Detroit
When: Fridays & Saturdays 8:00PM, Sundays 2:00PM
Tix: $20.00 general admission, $15.00 students/seniors
www.breathearttheatre.com
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Friday, October 3rd
Poetry on the Shores
Please RSVP to this Blushing Sky Honors Series Very Special Event !!
Poetry on The Shores: Friday October 3, 2008, 8:00 p.m. (we plan to begin on time!), 30622 Jefferson Ave, St. Clair Shores, MI.
Courtesy of: Mark Wagener, with your Host: Cheri L. R. Taylor
Featuring:
Randall G. Thomas
Lori Volante
&
Pietro DiGiorgio
with special musical and poetry guest: BLAIR
and Open Mic
Come out for a night of outdoor poetry by firelight on the shores of lovely Lake St. Clair!
This event is free, but please bring whatever you would like to drink, a dish or snack to pass, and some poems to share at our fire circle open mic!
(Please note, we will have limited chairs available, but plenty of blankets to lay on the lawn. You may want to bring a lawn chair and jacket or sweater)
Note: PLEASE RSVP so that we know how many people to expect and accommodate!
Please Come and share at this Honors Series Special Event. An evening of words, music and fire!
Where: St. Clair Shores on Lake St. Clair
When: 8:00PM
Tix: Free admission
RSVP to: cherrion@aol.com
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Saturday, October 4th
Detroit Synergy Carnivale Crawl
Join Detroit Synergy for their historic 10th Pub Crawl with some old-fashioned carnivale-style entertainment, a costume contest, fun and games, friends and, of course, drink specials at every bar! They’re touring Greektown and making it even more of a freak show than it already is on a Saturday night! Join them as they scare a little and party a lot!
Where: Registration begins at 6:00PM at Fishbones
When: 6:00PM-midnight
Tix: $10/$15 (advance with/without costume), $15/$20 (walk-up with/without costume)
www.detroitsynergy.org
www.dsgstore.com
Tickets now available!
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Saturday, October 4th
Opera Ball
Michigan Opera Theatre’s 22nd annual Opera Ball, celebrating African-American women, will be held Saturday, October 4, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House. Entitled “Sacrifice, Struggle, Success: A Celebration of African-American Women,” the Opera Ball honors some of Detroit’s most noted African-American women with Michigan Opera Theatre’s largest annual fundraiser.
An opulent black-tie affair, the 2008 Opera Ball is Michigan Opera Theatre’s kick-off gala to the fall opera season. Revenue from the Opera Ball is used to support the company’s main stage productions, as well as educational programs and community outreach throughout the state of Michigan and beyond, with a goal this year to raise $500,000. Sponsors for this year’s Opera Ball include Platinum Sponsor Ford Motor Company, and Gold Sponsors General Motors and Germack Pistachio Company.
This fall, Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2008-09 opera season opens with the triumphant return of Richard Danielpour’s Margaret Garner at the Detroit Opera House. The world-renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is the Opera Ball’s guest of honor. Ms. Graves will reprise her title role in the opera, in which librettist Toni Morrison, the celebrated African-American author, tells the story of perhaps the ultimate struggle faced by an African-American woman, an escaped slave and mother who must decide the fate of her children: a life of slavery, or death and freedom.
In addition to Denyce Graves, the Opera Ball will honor fourteen African-American women from the metro Detroit area, all of whom have made substantial contributions to the community. A complete list of honorees can be found on the next page.
Where: Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When: 6:00PM
Tix: $500.00
RSVP with Heather Hamilton at 313-237-3425
www.motopera.org
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Sunday, October 12th
Walk Now for Autism
Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization, announced that SE Michigan’s 2nd annual Walk Now For Autism Walk will be held on October 12, 2008 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Registration starts at 10:00 AM with opening ceremonies and walk starting at 12:00 noon. All proceeds from the event benefit Autism Speaks, the nation’s leading autism advocacy organization.
Toys“R”Us, Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund and Parade Magazine proudly serve as national sponsors of the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism program. Other sponsors are Meijer, and tonerforautism.com.
Walk Now for Autism is a unique fundraising event which creates a safe and fun day for families who are affected with autism. The day includes a 1 to 2 mile walk and Community Resource fair with educational sources, therapists, schools, recreational organizations, and creative child-friendly activities; a true “one-stop-shop” for families affected by autism. This year Toys“R”Us will have a tented space serving as home base for Geoffrey the Giraffe. Attendees will also be able to stop by and sign their children up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club and pick up the “Ten Toys That Speak to Autism” handout, a list of toys that help build the skills of children with autism, created in collaboration with Autism Speaks.
Walk Chair, Kelly Kinney says, “We are excited about the response we have gotten from Michigan and are looking forward to growing Autism Speaks’ Walk Now for Autism event here in the Detroit area. This is a wonderful and important opportunity for our area to join forces raising the vital funds needed for autism research, awareness, family services and advocacy.”
The Walk Now for Autism events are the signature fundraising events for Autism Speaks, raising more than $26 million last year, alone, to support autism research. This year, over 70 Walk Now for Autism events will take place across the United States, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom.
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills
When: Registration at 10:00AM, walk starts at noon
Tix: N/A (this is a fundraising event)
www.walknowforautism.org
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Saturday, October 18th-Saturday, October 25th
Margaret Garner
Michigan Opera Theatre opens its 2008 fall opera season, made possible by Ford Motor Company, with the triumphant return of Margaret Garner, October 18-25, 2008 at the Detroit Opera House. The product of an unprecedented collaboration between Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, the opera made its world premiere at the Detroit Opera House in May 2005 to international critical acclaim and sold-out performances. Based on one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America, the opera recounts the compelling, tragic, and inspiring story of Margaret Garner’s quest for freedom.
Gregg Baker and Denyce Graves with cast in “Margaret Garner” at the Detroit Opera House, Oct. 18-25. Photo by John Grigaitis.
Since Margaret Garner made its highly-publicized world premiere in Detroit in 2005, the opera was performed by project co-commissioners Opera Company of Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera, as well as by New York City Opera and Opera Carolina. Following the five performances in Detroit, Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of Margaret Garner will tour to Roosevelt University in Chicago for five performances at the Auditorium Theatre, November 1-9, 2008.
Margaret Garner is inspired by the true story of an enslaved family’s quest for freedom. Fleeing Richwood, Kentucky’s Maplewood Farm to Cincinnati Ohio in 1856, Margaret Garner made the horrific decision to sacrifice her own children when capture was at hand, rather than see them returned to the bonds of slavery. Her trial resulted in a major legal debate about whether she should be charged with murder or “destruction of property.” The Garner trial addressed crucial issues in constitutional law and posed key questions at the core of the rift in the Union during the pre-Civil War era.
Many of the artists who created the roles for the world premere in 2005 are returning to Detroit in 2008. Alternating in the title role of Margaret Garner are Denyce Graves (18, 22, 25), who created the role in the world premiere performances, and Tracie Luck (19, 24) who created the role for the New York City Opera production. Reprising the role he created for the 2005 world premiere is Gregg Baker (18, 22, 25) as Robert Garner, who alternates in the role with Patrick Blackwell (19, 24), who made his professional debut in the world premiere of Amistad at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1997. The role of Cilla will be alternately sung by two sopranos making their MOT debuts, Karen Slack and Mary Elizabeth Williams. The role of plantation owner Edward Gaines will be alternately performed by James Westman (18, 22, 25) and Timothy Mix (19, 24).
Returning to direct the production is acclaimed Broadway director Kenny Leon, whose most recent Tony Award-winning project includes A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway with Phylicia Rashad and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. Critically-acclaimed conductor Stefan Lano also revisits Margaret Garner to conduct the return engagement in 2008. As in the 2005 premiere, the 2008 performances will feature detailed sets by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg and fantastic period costumes by Paul Tazewell.
Where: Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When:
Saturday, October 18, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 19, 2008 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 24, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 25, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Tix: $28.00-$120.00
www.motopera.org
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Friday, October 31st
The GO Record Release Party
From the GO:
The GO: record release party!!! This is a Halloween, costume, dance party. We’re releasing our first double album on CD & Vinyl!!!! Yikes. This is a big one.
20 tracks of the alternate “Haunted Beat” record.
Live performance by:
The Haunted Beat Band
(featuring Dan Kroha)
The Magic Shop (of Horrors)
Infinity People & Druid Perfume
This is a show not to be missed… full of strange surprises that we’re not at liberty to disclose at this time.
More info later.
Luv,
The GO
Where: The Magic Stick, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: N/A (yet)
www.majesticdetroit.com
www.thegodetroit.com
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ONGOING:
Thursday, June 19th- Saturday, September 27th
Panhandle Slim and the Oklahoma Kid
The Purple Rose Theatre Company is pleased to announce a four-week
performance extension of Jeff Daniels’ new comedy Panhandle Slim & The
Oklahoma Kid. Originally scheduled to close at the end of August,
Panhandle Slim will now run until September 27, 2008. Performances for the
remainder of the engagement will be Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00
pm with Saturday matinees at 3:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm with a
variety of added weekly performances. All performances are at the Purple
Rose Theatre, 137 Park Street, Chelsea, MI.
The additional performances are being added to accommodate record ticket
sales. “Positive word-of-mouth created an overwhelming demand for
tickets,” says managing director Alan Ribant. “We hope that adding another
month of performances will allow thousands of additional patrons the
opportunity to enjoy Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid this summer.”
Daniels’ twelfth new play, Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is Daniels’
first Western. This winsome comedy tells the fateful tale of a prairie
showdown between a vagrant outlaw and a singing cowboy. Thrown together by
unfortunate circumstances, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid argue the
virtues of mayhem, music and the meaning of life. This World Premiere
features original songs, as well as scoundrels, six-guns and a horse named
Buttermilk.
The World Premiere of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is directed by
PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville. The cast of this new comedy includes
former PRTC apprentice Jessica Garrett (Sea of Fools), PRTC resident
artist Phil Powers (Vino Veritas, Honus & Me), and PRTC associate artists
John Seibert (Sea of Fools, The Mystery of Irma Vep) and Tom Whalen (Honus
& Me, The Glass Menagerie). (Editors’ Note: Cast interviews and
biographies are available for hometown stories by calling 734.433.PRTC.)
This production of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid includes set design
by Dennis G. Crawley, lighting design by Reid G. Johnson, costume design
by Christianne Myers, prop design by Danna Segrest and sound design by
Quintessa Gallinat. Michelle DiDomenico stage manages with Stephanie Buck
as assistant stage manager.
This PRTC production is generously underwritten by Target, Aisin World
Corp. of America, ADR North America and Vesco Oil Corporation.
Tickets for the extension go on sale on Monday, August 4; annual PRTC
donors of $250 or more may purchase tickets beginning on Monday, July 28.
Reservations can be made by calling the PRTC Box Office at (734) 433-ROSE
(7673); Box Office hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
####

Extension Performance Schedule
Friday, September 19 8:00 pm $38.00
Saturday, September 20 3:00 pm $33.00
Saturday, September 20 8:00 pm $38.00
Sunday, September 21 2:00 pm $33.00
Tuesday, September 23 8:00 pm $12.50 added performance
Wednesday, September 24 3:00 pm $25.00 added performance
Wednesday, September 24 8:00 pm $25.00
Thursday, September 25 8:00 pm $25.00
Friday, September 26 8:00 pm $38.00
Saturday, September 27 3:00 pm $33.00
Saturday, September 27 8:00 pm $38.00 Closing Night
Where: Purple Rose Theatre, Chelsea
When: See above for schedule
Tix: Also see above
www.purplerosetheatre.org
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NOW-Sunday, September 28th
Michigan Renaissance Festival
Go for the mead. Stay for the people-watching. This is one of my favoritest stupid things to pay money to do ever. Plus I have a thing for silver rings and peacock-feather masks. And men in tights with faux-English accents.
And, seriously, the people-watching at this place is priceless.
Where: Holly, MI
When: See schedule for details
Tix: $18.95/$15.95 in advance adults; $9.95/$7.50 in advance children (get your advance tickets at Kroger, Wendy’s, and Walgreens)
http://www.michrenfest.com/
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Friday, September 5th-Monday, September 29th
Speech & Debate
Who Wants Cake? Theatre is thrilled to announce the first show of their sophomore season, the Michigan premiere of Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam. Speech & Debate will play Friday-Mondays for an exclusive four week run at Ferndale ’s Ringwald Theatre.
Speech & Debate tells the story of high school misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie. Although they attend the same high school, they have never met until a shocking gay sex scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together. Through an unexpected chain of events, they realize three voices are stronger than one. And since their school has no speech and debate squad, maybe this is their chance to be heard at last – by the school and even the world.
Speech & Debate features a talented cast that includes Alex Hill of Detroit, Spencer Perrenoud of Beverly Hills , Katie Swinehart of Ferndale and Jamie Warrow of Royal Oak . Joe Bailey of Ferndale will direct.
Where: The Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
When: Fri., Sat., & Mon. 8:00PM; Sun. 3:00PM
Tix: Fridays and Saturdays $20.00, Sundays $15.00, Mondays $10.00
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
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09/11/08
Candy Corn, Dunk XChange, Metro Music Expo, and more...
Events editor Nicole Rupersburg brings you the scoop on what to do and where to be, each and every week, in the D.
And don’t miss our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.
COMING UP:
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Thursday, September 11th through September 27th
Candy Corn, Christ, and the Convoluted Creation of Golf
“Candy Corn, Christ, and the Convoluted Creation of Golf,” by local playwright Antonio David Garcia, will be presented at the Marlene Boll Theatre, September 11-27, by Y-Arts Detroit, the Arts and Humanities Branch of the YMCA of Metro Detroit.
“Candy Corn” is a comic look at the day-to-day life of Jesus and the Apostles, a humorous - but respectful – portrayal of the New Testament story with several unique, fun-filled twists.
The Marlene Boll Theatre is located in the Boll Family YMCA, Broadway at John-R, in Detroit’s Foxtown entertainment district.
Thursday, Sept. 11, will be a free preview performance. Additional performances will be staged on Fri/Sat, Sept 12-13; Fri/Sat, Sept 19-20; and Fri/Sat, Sept 26-27. All performances are at 8:00 pm.
General admission tickets are $15, available at the door or through BrownPaperTickets.com.
Earlier productions of “Candy Corn” played to sold-out houses in Ann Arbor and Flint.
“Listed as “One of the Year’s 10 Best” in theater. “What Garcia’s fast-paced script does is show us a Jesus with a sense of humor that served to humanize and endear the messiah to his followers.” - The Flint Journal, 2004
“Size and Spectacle-wise, ‘Candy Corn’ tilts toward ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ while playwright Garcia’s use of whimsy and even absurdity are more reminiscent of ‘Godspell.’ Yet ‘Candy Corn…’ is very much its own work, and in many, many ways it is a superior creation to either Broadway show.” - The Ann Arbor News, 2003
For additional information, contact Y-Arts Detroit at 313.223.2751 or www.y-artsdetroit.org
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Thursday, September 11th
Detroit DunkXChange
On Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at St. Andrews Hall, 4th Horizon/Beatlovaz Music Collective will be holding a one day, all ages premier event featuring Dunkxchange, Detroit artists and djs, and international talent. In order to create communal awareness in Detroit’s urban culture through the love of specialty sneakers, this event also features an auction in which proceeds will be donated to two Detroit programs (the DMC’s Children’s Hospital’s Lupus program and Detroit Hispanic Development Center’s Street Smart Program) in honor of Detroit’s J Dilla and Proof, respectively.
6PM: Godbros
7PM: Elzhi (of Slum Village)
8PM: DJ Sicari
9PM: Auction
10PM: Mike Loot and Dopehead
11PM: Danny Brown and Nick Speed
Special appearances by Octane and Illite, Cool Kids, and King Jazzy
After-party at Oslo. Special thanks to DMC, DHDC, Rebel Aire, Shades, Burn Rubber, Puffer Red’s, and Klever Design.
Where: St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit
When: 6:00PM-midnight
Tix: $15.00
www.dunkxchange.com
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Thursday, September 11th
The Normal Heart Benefit for AIDS Walk
Who Wants Cake? is proud to present a special one night only staged reading of Larry Kramer’s searing drama “The Normal Heart”. The play will feature a cast of local All-Stars and will benefit Steppin’ Out, promoter of AIDS Walk Detroit (www.aidswalkdetroit.org). The benefit will occur on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 8 p.m. at The Ringwald Theatre in downtown Ferndale .
“The Normal Heart” chronicles the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and the formation of the nation’s first AIDS service organization. The play was originally staged at New York ’s Public Theatre on April 21, 1985. It is a tale of the fear, denial, anger, love, and, ultimately, heroism of those whose lives were forever changed during those first terrifying years of the AIDS crisis.
“The Normal Heart” will feature an all-star cast from the Detroit theatre scene as well as cast members from the original Detroit premiere over twenty years ago. Local community supporters will also be participating to make this a night of theatre that will not soon be forgotten.
Steppin’ Out is a non-profit volunteer organization that is committed to raising funds to provide direct care services for people living with HIV /AIDS in our community and provide funds to agencies for prevention and education.
Where: The Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $25.00
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
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Thursday, September 11th-Saturday, September 13th
Shaham Plays Brahms
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is set to take the Orchestra Hall stage for a year sure to be one of its most innovative and exciting in a long time. Although his first concerts conducting the Orchestra do not take place until December, the beginning of the 2008-09 season marks the much-anticipated launch of Leonard Slatkin’s tenure as DSO Music Director. Shaham Plays Brahms, taking place Thursday, September 11 at 8 p.m.; Friday, September 12 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, September 13 at 8:30 p.m., will be the first classical concert series under Slatkin’s artistic leadership. Led by Principal Guest Conductor Peter Oundjian and featuring world-renowned violinist Gil Shaham performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Shaham Plays Brahms will also include the Act III Prelude from Wagner’s Lohengrin, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite.
Where: The Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit
When: Thursday and Friday 8:00PM, Saturday 8:30PM
Tix: $19.00-$71.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Friday, September 12th
INSIDER Exhibition Opening Reception
The INSIDER exhibition is an exploration of artists in the Detroit area whose works all share an unrestrained, graphic and often harsh expression with the materials they utilize. Varying in subject matter and mediums, a common thread that ties the works together is a raw sensibility, inward expression and passion, which bind artists from Art Brut, Outsider Art, and contemporary mainstream artists.
The opening reception will also feature musical performances from Joel Peterson and Marko Novachoff, as well as appetizers from Atlas Global Bistro.
Where: Detroit Artists Market, Detroit
When: Members preview 5:00PM-6:00PM, public reception 6:00PM-9:00PM
Tix: Free admission
www.detroitartistsmarket.org
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Friday, September 12th-Sunday, September 14th
Metro Music Expo
The first annual Metro Music Expo is a consumer exposition event which brings everything music-related under one roof. Exhibits will include a wide variety of music-related items for sale, including instruments, lighting and sound equipment, records, rock photos, apparel, and anything else that is part of the rock lifestyle. Highlights of exhibitors include Axis Music, BackstageGallery.com, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, DJS Pro Audio and Lighting, Dynacord, Electro Voice, Fantasee Lighting, Forte Piano, M-Audio, Pegasus Theatrical, Percussion World, Record Time - Roseville and Shure Microphone. There will also be two live stages for music performances with showcases from local radio stations 101.1 The WRIF and 89X. The lineup includes Sik Sik Nation and Ether Aura, among a variety of others. There will also be panel discussions with industry insiders, clinics and demos on the newest equipment, and a Backstage Rock Art Gallery.
Where: Rock Financial Showplace, Novi
When: Fri. 4:00PM-9:00PM, Sat. 12:00PM-9:00PM, Sun. 12:00PM-6:00PM
Tix: $10.00 for a day pass, $25.00 for a weekend pass
www.metromusicexpo.com
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Friday, September 12th
Benefit For Laura Rock
Another benefit for Laura Rock, who recently had a liver transplant. Featuring Millions of Brazilians and Velveteen Rabbit.
Where: The Magic Stick, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $5.00
www.majesticdetroit.com
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Friday, September 12th
Geri Allen at the Jazz Cafe
Jazz Café at Music Hall is proud to present pianist, composer and educator, Geri Allen for 2 intimate performances at Jazz Café at Music Hall, Friday, September 12th at 10 PM and 11:50 PM.
Geri Allen is an internationally renown, award-winning composer And pianist. Since 1982, she has recorded or performed with musicians as diverse As Charles Lloyd (with whom she has toured for several years), Mal Waldron, Sir Simon Rattle, guitarist, Vernon Reid, Clark Terry, George Shirley, Ron Carter, M’chelle Ndegeocello, Dewey Redman, Mary Wilson and the Supremes, Tony Williams, Betty Carter, Charlie Haden, Hal Wilner, Mino Cinelu, Ruth Brown, Oliver Lake, Marianne Faithful, Wayne Shorter and Charlie Haden.
Her unique combination of Post-Bop sensibilities and innovative takes on contemporary standards make her not only one of the preeminent female jazz performers on the planet but a master interpreter of compositions by McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis to name only a few. She has released a number of recordings under her own name including, The Nurturer, Twenty One, Maroons, The Gathering and most recently, the ambitious and critically acclaimed double CD Geri Allen: “Timeless Portraits and Dreams.” As a composer Ms Allen has been commissioned by The Lincoln Center, Stanford University and Meet The Composer, who commissioned, “For The Healing of the Nations", which were composed in tribute to the victims and survivors of the 9/11 tragedies. It premiered September 10th, 2006 and was also performed October 20, 2007 at The Rialto Center for the Arts.
Born in Pontiac, Michigan and raised in Detroit, Ms Allen attended the Cass Technical High School where one of her instructors was legendary jazz trumpeter, Marcus Belgrave, who ignited the young woman’s interest in Jazz and composition who would then matriculate to Howard University in Washington DC, where she would also eventually hold the position of Assistant Professor of Music before earning her Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from The University of Pittsburgh. Ms Allen is presently an Associate Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan.
Where: Jazz Café inside the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 10:00PM & 11:50PM
Tix: $14.00
www.myspace.com/jazzcafedetroit
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Saturday, September 13th
People’s Arts Festival
Last year over 4,000 people joined over 200 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians and other performance artists to celebrate the inaugural launch of the People’s Arts Festival (PAF) at The Russell Industrial Center in Detroit. This year’s Festival planners expect that crowd to double – once again securing its claim to being the largest arts festival in the City of Detroit. The Second Annual People’s Arts Festival will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. until midnight on Saturday, September 13, 2008.
featuring…
More Than 100 Visual Artists and Craftspeople
Over 40 Bands and Performers
Film and Fashion
Restaurants, Beverages and much more…
Performances scheduled include Satori Circus, the Cetan Clawson Revolution, Oscillating Fan Club, Punk Rock Fitness, and tons more.
Where: Russell Industrial Center, Detroit
When: 11:00AM-midnight
Tix: Free admission
www.rrcadetroit.org
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Saturday, September 13th
Student Photographers’ Opening Reception at AANM
Over the last 12 months, middle school students of diverse backgrounds from Dearborn and southwest Detroit learned digital photography skills as part of the Arab American National Museum’s SURA Arts Academy, a program funded by The Skillman Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of State.
Now the students are doing what professional artists do – displaying their work in a public setting. From September 13 through November 16, 2008, more than 50 color images by these budding artists will be exhibited in the Lower Level Gallery at the Arab American National Museum (AANM). The show is free with Museum admission.
And this fall, SURA Arts Academy continues with a new group of middle school students. The weekly sessions begin Tuesday, September 16 at Munger Middle School , 5525 Martin Street , Detroit , running through November 18; the sessions run from 3:45-5:15 p.m. There is no charge to take part in the program; however, advance registration is required and transportation is not offered. Registration information is available at www.arabamericanmuseum.org or by calling 313.624.0210.
Sura is an Arabic word for photograph. In SURA Arts Academy , students learn to operate and care for the camera and how to compose a shot, but the instruction is also a catalyst. As they look through the camera lens, they develop self-awareness and respect toward others, and an idea of how they fit into the broader community.
Equipped with new digital cameras supplied by the Museum, children of Arab, African, Asian and Latin American descent spent the last year working with professional independent photographers as well as photographers from Detroit ’s College for Creative Studies. They led the instructional activities and joined AANM educators in leading cultural discussions and explorations, helping the students gain insight into issues of identity, ethnicity, diversity and the value of documenting community history. The weekly sessions were held at Detroit ’s Munger Middle School but also included field trips.
Through a grant from the U.S. Department of State, SURA student photographers held an online cultural exchange with students in the Middle East, who are also learning photography and exhibiting their works as part of a program sponsored by the nonprofit JOHUD organization, based in Amman , Jordan .
On Saturday, September 13, the young SURA photographers and their families and friends will gather for an opening reception from noon-2 p.m. at the Museum, including refreshments and a performance by the Maples School Drummers. The public is invited to attend. Please RSVP by calling Fay Saad at 313.624.0200 or emailing fsaad@accesscommunity.org.
Where: Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
When: noon-2:00PM
Tix: Free admission
RSVP 313-624-0200 or at fsaad@accesscommunity.org
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Saturday, September 13th
Detroit Derby Girls vs. Cincinnati Rollergirls
The rough-and-tumble roller derby girls take on Cincinnati at the Masonic Temple. Always good family fun. Featuring entertainment by the Motor City Rah-Rahs and Warrior Girl. Featured charity for this event is Thin Blue Line, a nonprofit organization which exists to provide assistance to the families of injured, personal illness, disabled or deceased members of the law enforcement community in addition to Firefighters, Dispatchers, Corrections, EMT, EMS and Administrative Clerks.
After-party immediately following the match at the Old Miami with music by DJ Clark Eagling and the Octopus.
Where: Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit
When: Doors 6:00PM, game at 7:00PM
Tix: $15.00 advance, $20.00 at the door, kids under 12 in free with adult
www.detroitrollerderby.com
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Saturday, September 13th
The Hentchmen at the Lager House
Another awesome Detroit rock band, another awesome Detroit rock band venue. Featuring the Muldoons and the Dial Tones.
Where: Lager House, Detroit
When: 10:00PM
Tix: $8.00
www.myspace.com/lagerhouse
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Sunday, September 14th
CLAVE Presents Unity Art Jam
Sunday, September 14, 2008, historic Clark Park in southwest Detroit will vibrate with Unity Art Jam, Celebrating Our Community with Art and Music, a one-day event featuring music, dance, art and a poignant tribute to southwest Detroit cultural heroes.
Over a dozen musical groups, including the soulful Mosaic Singers, La Inspiracion, Corktown’s The Muldoons, and Grupo Alexis, will perform musical styles ranging from rhythm and blues to ranchero and sizzling salsa. According to Ozzie Rivera, President of CLAVE, the newly-formed Community of Latino Artists, Visionaries and Educators, a co-sponsor of the event along with COMPAS, “Unity Art Jam is a real celebration of unity among all of our community’s ethnic and racial groups.”
In addition to an exciting live painting demonstration, an art tent will display photographs and paintings created by southwest youth under the instruction of artists Lisa Luevanos and Vito Valdez with support from the Skillman Foundation. The students will also document the Unity Art Jam photographically for a future photomural.
CLAVE will round off the day by presenting the inaugural Somos Southwest Award in recognition of the enormous cultural contributions of southwest Detroit pioneers. This year’s recipients for culture are Gloria Rocha and posthumously, Dr. Lucille Arrellano Gajec. Music awardees are Miguel “Mickey” Figueroa and the brothers Zefferino and Saturnino Puente.
Come and celebrate the long tradition of song and art in southwest Detroit on Sunday, September 14, 2008, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. This exciting event is free. Food and beverages are BYO, providing an excellent opportunity for picnicking with family and friends.
Where: Clark Park, Mexican Town, Detroit
When: noon-6:00PM
Tix: Free admission
www.myspace.com/clavedetroit
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Sunday, September 14th
Lang Lang Returns to the DSO
International piano superstar Lang Lang, who performed in August at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, returns to Orchestra Hall during the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s opening weekend for a one-performance only special event. The 26-year-old Chinese virtuoso, who has been wowing crowds for more than two decades, will join the DSO and conductor Peter Oundjian in Chopin’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 2 on Sunday, September 14 at 3 p.m. The afternoon’s program also includes Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol and Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini.
Where: The Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit
When: 3:00PM
Tix: $38.00-$82.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Tuesday, September 16th
Positive Choices, Powerful Lives Breakfast
Join Alternatives for Girls for breakfast to learn more about their more than 20-year history of helping homeless and high-risk girls and young women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation and offer a number of support services and resources to help them make positive choices in their lives. You’ll take a video tour of the shelter, learn more about their programs, and hear personal testimonies from AFG participants.
Where: Detroit Yacht Club, Detroit
When: 7:30AM-9:00AM
Tix: N/A
www.alternativesforgirls.org
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Tuesday, September 16th
Free Movie Night at Eastern Market
Last month’s Free Movie Night was attended by over 150 people. Due to this success the series will continue on Tuesday September 16th at 7 pm with a showing of King Corn. This entertaining documentary sheds light on genetically modified food, agribusiness, and the role government subsidies play in the food supply and farming practices.
In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm.
In August, this free event debuted with attendee’s bringing lawn chairs and blankets to sit on and enjoying samples of vegan food from local vendors. This now monthly film series, which will screen films on food, health, and sustainability, will continue throughout the cold season in the Market’s heated Shed 5. The event is designed to support the revitalization of Eastern Market, give the community a chance to come out and meet one another, and to share vital information through screenings and discussions.
Angela Kasmala and Gregg Newsom, owners of Detroit Evolution Laboratory were thrilled by the success of last month’s screening. “We’ve been presenting movies at the Lab for the past year and working to grow and support a health conscious community in Detroit” said Newsom. “The large turn out was so validating, not only to our work, but also to the notion that people are really looking to take charge of their health.”
In addition to the screening, Kasmala and Newsom will share information on how to take the concepts presented in King Corn to the local level. “We all have some incredible resources right here in Eastern Market, in every local market, that can assist us to take charge of our food supply,” said Kasmala. “We will share some of the techniques we use to remove genetically modified foods from our diet.”
Using a projector, large screen and PA system everyone will be able to relax and enjoy the show. Though some chairs will be provided, it is advised to bring a blanket, folding chair and a jacket or sweater. The screening is open to the public and free. Those attending are asked to RSVP with an email to movienights@detroitevolution.com. This movie night will be held Tuesday, September 16th at 7 pm. Eastern Market’s Shed 2 is located at the corner of Russell and Winder. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to Shed 2.
About Detroit Evolution Laboratory - The Lab is a unique space in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market dedicated to the health, joy and liberation of all beings. The Lab offers yoga, vegan and raw food classes, catering, nutritional consultation and meal planning. Individual bodywork, reiki and NLP sessions are also available. The Lab is also dedicated to sustainable practices and presents workshops on these and other topics to assist in and inspire a New Detroit.
Where: Eastern Market Shed 2, Detroit
When: 7:00PM
Tix: Free admission
RSVP to movienights@detroitevolution.com
www.detroitevolution.com
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Wednesday, September 17th
Detroit Rocks the Vote
African American Family Magazine’s Distinguished Speaker Series is proud to present “Detroit Rocks the Vote” on Wednesday September 17, 2008 at the Fillmore Theatre in Detroit. “Detroit Rocks the Vote”, is an event built around a concert with featured speaker Chuck D from Public Enemy, who will speak about the importance of having your voice heard no matter your party preference, during the upcoming Presidential election. Chuck D is the leader and co-founder of Public Enemy and an accomplished speaker. He is also on Rolling Stones 50 most important performers in rock & roll history. Chuck D is also a national spokesperson for “Rock the Vote” a non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1990 by MTV in response to a wave of attacks on freedom of speech and artistic expression. The initiative works to mobilize people to create positive social and political change in their lives and communities. The goal of Rock the Vote’s media campaigns and street team activities is to increase voter turnout. This is not a political event, but one that encourages participation from everyone no matter what their party preference. Hosted by Metromix, this event features live performances from Deastro, the Muggs, Jessica Care Moore, Black Bottom Collective, Volebeats, Nadir, Anthony David, the Go, Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Phat Kat and Elzhi.
Where: The Fillmore Theatre, Detroit
When: Doors at 5:30PM
Tix: $20.00
www.detroit.metromix.com
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Thursday, September 18th:
D’Amato’s Spain and Portugal Wine Dinner
D’Amato’s Neighborhood Restaurant is pleased to announce their upcoming wine dinner on September 18th. Wonderful wines from Spain & Portugal will be featured and paired with an amazing four course meal. Reception begins at 7:00 with dinner to follow. Book now as space will be limited.
Featured wines are as follows:
Joan Esteve Nadal “Avinyo” Cava Brut, Penedes NV
Andreza Loureiro, Vinho Verde 2006
Santa Vitoria Branco, Alentejo 2006
Silentium, Ribera del Duero 2004
Dona Maria, Alentejo 2005
d’Oliveiras Madeira 3 Year Sweet
Where: D’Amato’s Neighborhood Restaurant, Royal Oak
When: 7:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $75.00 all-inclusive
www.damatos.com
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Thursday, September 18th
Delectable Harvest: Natural Flavors from the Garden
Your taste buds will not want to miss this heavenly event. Sample tantalizing dishes prepared by Chef Ross A. Yedinak using locally grown heirloom veggies. These delicious healthy harvest bites will surprise you with their refreshingly imaginative and healthy recipes. To tempt you even more… we will also feature a divine mix of herbal teas from the Michigan-based Great Lakes Tea and Spice Company along with a selection of complimentary wines. With special guest Paul James from HGTV’s Gardening By the Yard.
Where: Goldner Walsh Garden & Home, Pontiac
When: 6:30PM-9:00PM
Tix: $45.00
RSVP to 248-332-6430
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Friday, September 19th-Sunday, September 21st
DeMaine Plays Schumann
One of the most celebrated cellists in the world resides right here in Detroit and is the leading cellist for the DSO. His performance of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto brought down the house in 2006, and he will be doing the same again with Schumann’s darkly masterful Cello Concerto. Also on this bill are Groven’s Joyful Shout and Franck’s Symphony in D Minor.
Where: Max M. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: Friday 10:45AM, Saturday 8:30PM, Sunday 3:00PM
Tix: $19.00-$123.00
www.detroitsymphony.com
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Friday, September 19th
Detroit Uncorked
The fifth annual Detroit Uncorked is a benefit for the children’s center. By supporting Detroit Uncorked, you join other caring members of our community to help change the lives of children served by The Children’s Center. The programs and services embrace children and families dealing with such challenging issues as abuse, neglect, mental illness and impairment. The agency serves 5,000 children yearly and, with your support, it will reach even more.
There will be a premium wine tasting featuring hundreds of selections, light hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment, and a silent auction.
Where: Ford Field, Detroit
When: 6:30PM-9:00PM
Tix: $80.00
http://detroituncorked.thechildrenscenter.com
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Saturday, September 20th-Sunday, September 21st
Ferndale’s DIY Street Fair
The first annual DIY Street Fair 2008 is coming to Ferndale this September. The unique event celebrates the Do It Yourself spirit with a two-day festival featuring local artists, businesses, breweries, handmade crafters, locally produced food, film makers, record labels and live bands.
The DIY Street Fair takes place on September 20 and 21, 2008 in the Southeast quadrant of 9 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Ferndale, Michigan, simultaneously with the 2008 Ferndale Fine Arts Festival.
The idea for the festival began when Chris Johnston, the DIY committee chair, realized the self-driven and individual enterprising nature of the residents enhances his local quality of life. “On a daily bases I’m always finding out and am fascinated by people’s many skills and talents,” says Johnston. “We want to provide an outlet for people’s creativity in an inexpensive and non-intimidating way.”
The DIY Street fair director, Carey Gustafson, is a good example of who you can expect to see exhibiting at the fair. She is the co-founder of Handmade Detroit and Defying the Law Bicycle Club and produces the annual Zombie Dance Party. “From photographers to farmers, herbalists to cyclists, woodworkers to beekeepers, the fair gives people an opportunity to share their passions, interests and most of all their DIY spirit,” says Gustafson.
Other members of the steering committee include an eclectic collection of artists, independent business owners, community leaders, designers and more.
In addition to Gustafson and Johnston, the committee is comprised of Detroit Derby Girl Tina Iulianelli; Aaron Timlin of the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID); Marketing & Promotions Manager of Majestic Theater & Magic Stick, Phil Childers; Kerry Moore, president of Context Furniture MFG and co-founder of Design Democracy ’08; Kristin von Bernthal, web designer and independent business owner; and Heather Carmona, Executive Director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association.
Johnston, who is a partner in the WAB and The Emory, and also manager of the popular musical group The Hard Lessons, has used his connections to tap into great local musical acts for the free concerts. Bands committed to performing include the local TV heroes from the 2007 show “Next Great American Band” the Muggs, along with Nice Device and the Hard Lessons among others.
Where: Downtown Ferndale
When: All day
Tix: Free admission
www.diystreetfair.com
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Saturday, September 20th
An Evening with Bridgman/Packer
Bridgman / Packer will be performing “Under The Skin” a sensual, innovative choreography of multi-media projection, dance and illusion.
Exclusive opportunity to meet the artists Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer
Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres and Cocktails
This experience embodies the growing commitment of the Detroit Opera House to present non-traditional, contemporary dance. Ticket sales support Dance Programming at the Detroit Opera House.
Where: Chrysler Theatre, inside the Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When: 7:00PM
Tix: $100.00
RSVP to Carol Halsted at 313-237-3426 or at chalsted@motopera.org
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Sunday, September 21st
Commemorate the International Day of Peace
Celebrate the International Day of Peace by viewing worldwide sites of worship in the exhibition Kenro Izu: Sacred Places.
Kenro Izu: Sacred Places features more than 50 of Izu’s black-and-white photographs of ancient temples in Angkor, Cambodia, Buddhist and Hindu sites in India, Burma, Indonesia, Thailand and China, among others. The Japanese photographer is a practicing Buddhist.
The International Day of Peace, established by the United Nations in 1981, calls for a full day of peace and ceasefire throughout the world.
The exhibition is a fitting place to contemplate the ideals behind the International Day of Peace, as the sacred places Izu has photographed are places of peace and nonviolence.
Where: Detroit Institute of the Arts, Detroit
When: 10:00AM-6:00PM
Tix: $8.00 adults, $6.00 seniors, $4.00 children ages 6-17, free for members
www.dia.org
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Tuesday, September 23rd
IIl Posto 10th Anniversary Dinner
The most authentic Italian in metro Detroit (right down to the waiters’ B.O.).
Cena con Vini della regione Piemonte
Piedmont Region Dinner & Wine Tasting
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
7:00 PM
Please join us for an extraordinary culinary and wine tasting extravaganza. Wine experts Fabio Fornaro and Stefano Poggi from Batasiolo winery will host this elegant event. The guests will also have the opportunity to experience dishes designed by our Executive Chef Matteo Giuffrida.
Insalatina con Porcini al vinaigrette di Lamponi
Baby Mixed Greens topped with sautéed Porcini in a Raspberry Vinaigrette
“Gavi di Gavi Batasiolo ‘06”
Then…
Ravioli al Tartufo D’Alba salsa al Basilico
Truffles D’Alba stuffed Raviolis in a White Basil sauce
“Dolcetto D’Alba Batasiolo ‘06”
Then…
Fricassea D’agnelletto con Carciofi alla Giudaica
Baby Lamb fricasse’ with Artichokes
“Barbaresco D’Asti ‘04”
Then…
Filetto di Bue Brasato al Barolo e salsa Tartufata
Braised Colorado Kobe Beef Tenderloin in a Barolo & Truffle sauce
“Barolo Batasiolo ‘04”
Finally
Torinese al Tartufo
Torino style Truffle Dessert
“Moscato D’Asti Batasiolo ‘07”
Where: Il Posto, Southfield
When: 7:00PM-10:00PM
Tix: $80.00 per person plus tax and tip
www.il-posto.net
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Wednesday, September 24th:
Positive Choices, Powerful Lives Breakfast
Join Alternatives for Girls for breakfast to learn more about their more than 20-year history of helping homeless and high-risk girls and young women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation and offer a number of support services and resources to help them make positive choices in their lives. You’ll take a video tour of the shelter, learn more about their programs, and hear personal testimonies from AFG participants.
Where: Southfield Marriott, Southfield
When: 7:30AM-9:00AM
Tix: N/A
www.alternativesforgirls.org
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Wednesday, September 24th
Free Screening of The Visitor
This critically acclaimed film stars Richard Jenkins (“Six Feet Under”) as Walter Vale, a man sleepwalking through life before meeting Tarek, a Syrian immigrant, who teaches him to play the African drum. Yet after being stopped by the police in a subway, Tarek is arrested for being an undocumented immigrant. As the situation worsens, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend.
Free Iftar/Dinner and discussion following the film.
Where: Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
When: 6:00PM
Tix: RSVP with Rachid Elabed at 734-652-3303 or email relabed@accesscommunity.org
www.nightof1000conversations.org
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Wednesday, September 24th:
5th Annual Vine and Dine
Vine & Dine will feature wine sampling, strolling samples provided by different area restaurants and caterers, fashion show, musical entertainment and raffle. More than 500 guests will join us to enjoy samplings from 22 of Southeast Michigan’s finest restaurants and 10 wine distributors.
Where: Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills
When: 6:00PM-9:00PM
Tix: $65.00
http://www.bbcc.com/home/
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Friday, September 26th-Saturday, September 27th
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is honored to announce the riveting Complexions Contemporary Ballet out of New York on Friday and Saturday, September 26th and 27th at 8PM both nights. Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, who by The New York Times were “hailed as two of the greatest virtuosos ever to emerge from Ailey land,” founded the company in 1994, and by 1995 they had already received the illustrious New York Times “Critics Choice” award. After receiving the award, Complexions has been touring around the world as “America’s original multicultural dance company” at such prominent venues as the Music Center in Los Angeles, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia. In addition, Complexions has been invited to perform at numerous European dance festivals and each time they have stunned the crowd with their imaginative and skillful choreography.
Complexions’ point of departure is classical dance, but the metamorphosis of the resultant dance pieces take on a multitude of styles and disciplines, which culminate into an expression of the human condition and it’s full range of emotions, into a multi-cultural and spiritual celebration.
The Saturday performance offers a special After-Party in a Big Top tent next to the Music Hall.
Inspired by contemporary social issues, Complexions meld awareness with grace and physical dexterity to push the limits of both modern dance and human communication, resulting in a synergy of art and emotion, beauty and expression which is achieved without special effects or technology as they communicate and inform through mankind’s oldest and most personal form of artistic expression- dance.
Where: Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $27.00-$72.00
www.musichall.org
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Saturday, September 27th
Crush Birmingham, 2008 Wine & Food Classic
For the connoisseur as well as the novice, this event features celebrity chefs, world-famous vintners, master sommeliers, wine critics and acclaimed authors sharing their expert skills to benefit Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan. This event offers an opportunity to purchase a celebrity chef and vintner patron reception described below that includes the main event and CRUSH “After Hours".
Celebrity Chef-Vintner Patron Receptions
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – The Townsend Hotel & Forest Grill – Birmingham $500 Per Person
Enjoy an intimate, private patron reception “wine and hors d’oeuvre pairing” in one of four elegant venues at the award-winning Townsend Hotel or Polcyn’s Forest Grill in Birmingham.
Each patron reception will be illuminated by the expertise of a renowned wine expert and the culinary talents of one of the world’s greatest chefs. The ultimate in food and wine harmony.
Enjoy lively banter from one of the guest Master Sommeliers or industry veterans such as Evan Goldstein, MS, restaurateur and author of the critically acclaimed book, Perfect Pairings, Ron Edwards, MS or Bartholomew Broadbent, wine expert, founder Broadbent Selections.
Patron passes also include access to CRUSH BIRMINGHAM 2008 Live Auction & Dinner and CRUSH After Hours event.
CRUSH BIRMINGHAM, the main event, begins at 5:30 p.m. with wine and food pairing stations in the main ballroom at The Townsend Hotel. Guests will have an opportunity to visit each station and discuss the selections with a representative of the vineyard and the food preparer. The appetizer stations will be followed by a wine auction conducted by well-known Birmingham auctioneer, Dan Stall. An extraordinary dinner will follow with music, dancing, dessert tables and dessert wines afterward. You may even have a celebrity chef such as Don Yamauchi, Brian Polcyn, Jim Barnett or Jean Joho visit your table!
The Honorary vintner for the evening is Fred Fisher accompanied by his son Rob of Fisher Vineyards, Napa, CA. Honorary Wine Director, Master Sommelier, Ron Edwards of Five Star Sommeliers in Charlevoix. Adding to this impressive line-up will be Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier, restaurateur and renowned wine expert and author of critically acclaimed book, “Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food” and Bartholomew Broadbent, acclaimed wine expert and founder of Broadbent Solutions. Our honorary chairs for the event are Steve & Lisa Yzerman.
Where: Townsend Hotel, Birmingham
When: 5:00PM-midnight
Tix: $500.00
www.townsendhotel.com
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Sunday, September 28th
Great Architecture of Michigan at Book Beat
On Sunday, September 28th from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM the Book Beat is honored to present a new title by Detroit Free Press architecture critic John Gallagher and renowned photographer Balthazar Korab. The book, Great Architecture from Michigan, is recently published by Wayne State University press. John Gallagher and Balthazar Korab will be at the event to sign books and discuss this exciting project, combining some of the finest architectural history and photography of Michigan into a single keepsake artbook. The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield, in Oak Park. Call 248-968-1190 for more information or to reserve books.
With photographs by Balthazar Korab and text by John Gallagher, this book will be a treasured volume, indispensible for anyone wanting to learn more about Michigan’s impressive architectural legacy.
Where: The Book Beat, Oak Park
When: 2:00PM-3:30PM
Tix: Free admission
www.thebookbeat.com
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Sunday, September 28th
Torch with a Twist’s White Masquerade Party
Jazz-combo with carnival-themed burlesque, and Satori Circus also performing. Wear white, wear a mask, wear whatever.
Where: Cliff Bell’s, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: $10.00
www.myspace.com/torchwithatwist
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Friday, October 3rd
Guerrilla Girls on Tour
Oakland Community College’s Womencenter is pleased to announce that Guerrilla Girls on Tour, an internationally acclaimed anonymous theatre collective, will be performing on Friday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Orchard Ridge Campus Smith Theatre. The performance is free to the public in celebration of the Womencenter’s 35 years at Oakland Community College.
Guerrilla Girls on Tour will bring a live performance that addresses the lack of opportunities for women and people of color and explores the combination of performance and visual art entitled Feminists Are Funny. The 70-minute play is an energetic romp through herstory; an up-to-date account of their latest actions in politics, the performing arts and the media; a recreation of some of their street theatre protests, and a look at some of the funniest female activists and their accomplishments. The performance ends with a lively discussion with the audience which will serve to educate the community about the current state of sexism while at the same time proving that feminists are funny.
Feminists Are Funny will be performed during the Womencenter’s national juried women’s art exhibition “From Our Perspective” which runs from September 18-October 10.
Guerrilla Girls on Tour creates original plays, street actions, visual work and residency programs that dramatize women’s history and advocate on behalf of women and artists of color. In order to put the focus of their work on the issues they address, each member works under the name of a dead woman artist and performs wearing a gorilla mask. The 26-member troupe has toured through 30 states and 6 countries bringing their brand of satirical performance art and activism against discrimination, sexism and racism to places like southern Georgia, Eastern Europe and South America. GGOT is a diverse company of theatre artists and comediennes and they have been featured in the London Times, Village Voice, BackStage, Mother Jones, The New York Times, i-D Magazine, American Theatre, Lamujedemivida, Antiborder Conference Warsaw, LA Times, Pagnina 12, In Theatre, the BBC, TXT Magazine, French Channel 2, Wysokie Obcasy, Palais de Tokyo Paris, The Tony Awards, NWSA Journal, and the A.S.K. Common Ground Festival. They can be reached at www.guerrillagirlsontour.com.
This performance is presented by the Womencenter, a facility that provides educational and supportive resources for area women. For further information on the Guerrilla Girls on Tour performance and for other program offerings call the Womencenter at 248.522.3642.
Where: Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus, Farmington Hills
When: 7:00PM
Tix: Free admission
www.guerrillagirlsontour.com
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Saturday, October 4th
Detroit Synergy Carnivale Crawl
Join Detroit Synergy for their historic 10th Pub Crawl with some old-fashioned carnivale-style entertainment, a costume contest, fun and games, friends and, of course, drink specials at every bar! They’re touring Greektown and making it even more of a freak show than it already is on a Saturday night! Join them as they scare a little and party a lot!
Where: Registration begins at 6:00PM at Fishbones
When: 6:00PM-midnight
Tix: $10/$15 (advance with/without costume), $15/$20 (walk-up with/without costume)
www.detroitsynergy.org
www.dsgstore.com
Tickets will be available online soon!
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Saturday, October 4th
Opera Ball
Michigan Opera Theatre’s 22nd annual Opera Ball, celebrating African-American women, will be held Saturday, October 4, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House. Entitled “Sacrifice, Struggle, Success: A Celebration of African-American Women,” the Opera Ball honors some of Detroit’s most noted African-American women with Michigan Opera Theatre’s largest annual fundraiser.
An opulent black-tie affair, the 2008 Opera Ball is Michigan Opera Theatre’s kick-off gala to the fall opera season. Revenue from the Opera Ball is used to support the company’s main stage productions, as well as educational programs and community outreach throughout the state of Michigan and beyond, with a goal this year to raise $500,000. Sponsors for this year’s Opera Ball include Platinum Sponsor Ford Motor Company, and Gold Sponsors General Motors and Germack Pistachio Company.
This fall, Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2008-09 opera season opens with the triumphant return of Richard Danielpour’s Margaret Garner at the Detroit Opera House. The world-renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is the Opera Ball’s guest of honor. Ms. Graves will reprise her title role in the opera, in which librettist Toni Morrison, the celebrated African-American author, tells the story of perhaps the ultimate struggle faced by an African-American woman, an escaped slave and mother who must decide the fate of her children: a life of slavery, or death and freedom.
In addition to Denyce Graves, the Opera Ball will honor fourteen African-American women from the metro Detroit area, all of whom have made substantial contributions to the community. A complete list of honorees can be found on the next page.
Where: Detroit Opera House, Detroit
When: 6:00PM
Tix: $500.00
RSVP with Heather Hamilton at 313-237-3425
www.motopera.org
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Sunday, October 12th
Walk Now for Autism
Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization, announced that SE Michigan’s 2nd annual Walk Now For Autism Walk will be held on October 12, 2008 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Registration starts at 10:00 AM with opening ceremonies and walk starting at 12:00 noon. All proceeds from the event benefit Autism Speaks, the nation’s leading autism advocacy organization.
Toys“R”Us, Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund and Parade Magazine proudly serve as national sponsors of the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism program. Other sponsors are Meijer, and tonerforautism.com.
Walk Now for Autism is a unique fundraising event which creates a safe and fun day for families who are affected with autism. The day includes a 1 to 2 mile walk and Community Resource fair with educational sources, therapists, schools, recreational organizations, and creative child-friendly activities; a true “one-stop-shop” for families affected by autism. This year Toys“R”Us will have a tented space serving as home base for Geoffrey the Giraffe. Attendees will also be able to stop by and sign their children up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club and pick up the “Ten Toys That Speak to Autism” handout, a list of toys that help build the skills of children with autism, created in collaboration with Autism Speaks.
Walk Chair, Kelly Kinney says, “We are excited about the response we have gotten from Michigan and are looking forward to growing Autism Speaks’ Walk Now for Autism event here in the Detroit area. This is a wonderful and important opportunity for our area to join forces raising the vital funds needed for autism research, awareness, family services and advocacy.”
The Walk Now for Autism events are the signature fundraising events for Autism Speaks, raising more than $26 million last year, alone, to support autism research. This year, over 70 Walk Now for Autism events will take place across the United States, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom.
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills
When: Registration at 10:00AM, walk starts at noon
Tix: N/A (this is a fundraising event)
www.walknowforautism.org
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Friday, October 31st
The GO Record Release Party
From the GO:
The GO: record release party!!! This is a Halloween, costume, dance party. We’re releasing our first double album on CD & Vinyl!!!! Yikes. This is a big one.
20 tracks of the alternate “Haunted Beat” record.
Live performance by:
The Haunted Beat Band
(featuring Dan Kroha)
The Magic Shop (of Horrors)
Infinity People & Druid Perfume
This is a show not to be missed… full of strange surprises that we’re not at liberty to disclose at this time.
More info later.
Luv,
The GO
Where: The Magic Stick, Detroit
When: 8:00PM
Tix: N/A (yet)
www.majesticdetroit.com
www.thegodetroit.com
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ONGOING:
Thursday, June 19th- Saturday, September 27th
Panhandle Slim and the Oklahoma Kid
The Purple Rose Theatre Company is pleased to announce a four-week
performance extension of Jeff Daniels’ new comedy Panhandle Slim & The
Oklahoma Kid. Originally scheduled to close at the end of August,
Panhandle Slim will now run until September 27, 2008. Performances for the
remainder of the engagement will be Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00
pm with Saturday matinees at 3:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm with a
variety of added weekly performances. All performances are at the Purple
Rose Theatre, 137 Park Street, Chelsea, MI.
The additional performances are being added to accommodate record ticket
sales. “Positive word-of-mouth created an overwhelming demand for
tickets,” says managing director Alan Ribant. “We hope that adding another
month of performances will allow thousands of additional patrons the
opportunity to enjoy Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid this summer.”
Daniels’ twelfth new play, Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is Daniels’
first Western. This winsome comedy tells the fateful tale of a prairie
showdown between a vagrant outlaw and a singing cowboy. Thrown together by
unfortunate circumstances, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid argue the
virtues of mayhem, music and the meaning of life. This World Premiere
features original songs, as well as scoundrels, six-guns and a horse named
Buttermilk.
The World Premiere of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid is directed by
PRTC artistic director Guy Sanville. The cast of this new comedy includes
former PRTC apprentice Jessica Garrett (Sea of Fools), PRTC resident
artist Phil Powers (Vino Veritas, Honus & Me), and PRTC associate artists
John Seibert (Sea of Fools, The Mystery of Irma Vep) and Tom Whalen (Honus
& Me, The Glass Menagerie). (Editors’ Note: Cast interviews and
biographies are available for hometown stories by calling 734.433.PRTC.)
This production of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid includes set design
by Dennis G. Crawley, lighting design by Reid G. Johnson, costume design
by Christianne Myers, prop design by Danna Segrest and sound design by
Quintessa Gallinat. Michelle DiDomenico stage manages with Stephanie Buck
as assistant stage manager.
This PRTC production is generously underwritten by Target, Aisin World
Corp. of America, ADR North America and Vesco Oil Corporation.
Tickets for the extension go on sale on Monday, August 4; annual PRTC
donors of $250 or more may purchase tickets beginning on Monday, July 28.
Reservations can be made by calling the PRTC Box Office at (734) 433-ROSE
(7673); Box Office hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
####

Extension Performance Schedule
Thursday, September 11 8:00 pm $25.00
Friday, September 12 8:00 pm $38.00
Saturday, September 13 3:00 pm $33.00
Saturday, September 13 8:00 pm $38.00
Sunday, September 14 2:00 pm $33.00
Tuesday, September 16 8:00 pm $12.50 added performance
Wednesday, September 17 8:00 pm $25.00
Thursday, September 18 8:00 pm $25.00
Friday, September 19 8:00 pm $38.00
Saturday, September 20 3:00 pm $33.00
Saturday, September 20 8:00 pm $38.00
Sunday, September 21 2:00 pm $33.00
Tuesday, September 23 8:00 pm $12.50 added performance
Wednesday, September 24 3:00 pm $25.00 added performance
Wednesday, September 24 8:00 pm $25.00
Thursday, September 25 8:00 pm $25.00
Friday, September 26 8:00 pm $38.00
Saturday, September 27 3:00 pm $33.00
Saturday, September 27 8:00 pm $38.00 Closing Night
Where: Purple Rose Theatre, Chelsea
When: See above for schedule
Tix: Also see above
www.purplerosetheatre.org
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NOW-Sunday, September 28th
Michigan Renaissance Festival
Go for the mead. Stay for the people-watching. This is one of my favoritest stupid things to pay money to do ever. Plus I have a thing for silver rings and peacock-feather masks. And men in tights with faux-English accents.
And, seriously, the people-watching at this place is priceless.
Where: Holly, MI
When: See schedule for details
Tix: $18.95/$15.95 in advance adults; $9.95/$7.50 in advance children (get your advance tickets at Kroger, Wendy’s, and Walgreens)
http://www.michrenfest.com/
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Friday, September 5th-Monday, September 29th
Speech & Debate
Who Wants Cake? Theatre is thrilled to announce the first show of their sophomore season, the Michigan premiere of Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam. Speech & Debate will play Friday-Mondays for an exclusive four week run at Ferndale ’s Ringwald Theatre.
Speech & Debate tells the story of high school misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie. Although they attend the same high school, they have never met until a shocking gay sex scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together. Through an unexpected chain of events, they realize three voices are stronger than one. And since their school has no speech and debate squad, maybe this is their chance to be heard at last – by the school and even the world.
Speech & Debate features a talented cast that includes Alex Hill of Detroit, Spencer Perrenoud of Beverly Hills , Katie Swinehart of Ferndale and Jamie Warrow of Royal Oak . Joe Bailey of Ferndale will direct.
Where: The Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
When: Fri., Sat., & Mon. 8:00PM; Sun. 3:00PM
Tix: Fridays and Saturdays $20.00, Sundays $15.00, Mondays $10.00
www.whowantscaketheatre.com
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Winners Of The 2008 Wilde Awards Honored At Gem Theatre
The seventh annual Wilde Awards again lived up to their reputation as “One Wilde Night,” as more than 220 local thespians came together August 20 to honor their contemporaries. Awards honor the best productions and performances of the 2007/08 professional theater season in Southeast and Mid Michigan Sponsored by Between The Lines, Michigan’s weekly newspaper serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied communities, some 19 awards were presented, celebrating the very best professional productions and performances of the 2007/2008 season. Three additional awards recognizing outstanding achievements were also bestowed.
“The Wilde Awards give us an opportunity to celebrate and honor the people and organizations that enrich our cultural lives here in Southeast and Mid Michigan,” said Donald V. Calamia, BTL theater editor and the night’s master of ceremonies.
The evening began with hors d’oeuvres and entertainment by Ian Finkelstein and Alex Levine, two thirds of the acclaimed Tony Lannen Trio. Following the social hour, guests adjourned to the beautiful Gem Theatre, where they were treated to a sequence of hilarious video productions. The first, created by Mikey Brown, featured area theater critics Martin F. Kohn, Robert Delaney, Jenn McKee, David A. Blackburn and Calamia, along with ceremony co-hosts Jaime Moyer and Suzie Jacokes, who provided audience members a comedic insight into what a critic’s day really entails. The short production proved, as Calamia put it, “That when you can’t do something, you can always write about it.”
The second video, produced by Marc Evan Jackson of the Los Angeles based improv troupe The 313, offered guests a brief, but humorous retrospective of Between The Lines’ 15-year history. Co-publishers Jan Stevenson and Susan Horowitz would later comment that the years had, in fact, flown by, but not quite so quickly. Later in the two-hour event, four additional videos provided by Andy Cobb and starring various members of The 313 were also screened – to much laughter and applause.
Following the introduction of Calamia and co-hosts Moyer and Jacokes, the serious business of the Wilde Awards began. Production and performance awards were dolled out in a variety of categories, and the evening’s first half culminated with the presentation of the annual WILDE-r Awards, which honored unintentionally funny moments in the 2007/2008 season. This year, a number of the WILDER-r Awards went to anonymous audience members for performances that could never have been scripted. Also recognized was the stage crew of Meadow Brook Theatre’s “Biloxi Blues,” for excellence in the face of disaster during the production’s problem-plagued opening night.
As has become a Wilde Awards tradition, local troupe The Actors’ Company staged an original comedic musical work at the mid-point of the ceremony. This year’s mini-production spoofed the play “Doubt,” which was independently staged by three of Michigan’s professional theaters during the 2007/2008 season. All three productions were nominated for Wilde Awards, but it was Ann Arbor’s Performance Network Theatre’s “Doubt” that walked away a winner, taking home three well-deserved awards.
After the musical interlude, co-publishers Stevenson and Horowitz returned to the stage to present the Publishers’ Award for Excellence to the Detroit Repertory Theatre, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Stevenson also discussed the success of EncoreMichigan.com, launched during the 2007/2008 season, and alluded to a large Encore-related announcement on the horizon.
Also presented was the recently renamed Jim Posante Community Pride Award. Presented by ACLU attorney Jay Kaplan, the award was given to Out ‘N About Flint for using the arts to raise awareness of LGBT issues in Genesee County.
Posante, a highly regarded teacher, director and performer, passed away last year, leaving large holes in both the theater and LGBT communities. Calamia’s announcement that the Community Pride Award had been renamed in Posante’s honor drew the audience to its feet, as many had felt his impact on their careers and lives. They returned to their feet when Posante’s production of “Dirty Blonde” won for Best Production with LGBT Themes. A tearful Carla Milarch, Performance Network’s executive director and star of “Dirty Blonde,” accepted the award in his absence.
The final award of the night was Calamia’s Critic’s Choice Award, which went to Box Fest 2007, for creating opportunities for women in theater.
For complete information regarding the 2008 Wilde Awards, log on to www.EncoreMichigan.com or call Pride Source Media Group, publishers of Between The Lines, at 888-615-7003, ext. 30.
Best Professional Touring Production:
“Twelve Angry Men” – Fisher Theatre
Best Local Professional COMEDY:
“Moonlight and Magnolias” – BoarsHead Theater; Kristine Thatcher, director
Best Local Professional DRAMA:
“Doubt” – Performance Network Theatre; John Seibert, director
Best Local Professional MUSICAL / OPERA:
“Cyrano” – Michigan Opera Theatre; Bernard Uzan, director
Best ORIGINAL PRODUCTION or IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY:
“Night of the Living Debt” – The Second City; Mark Levenson, director
Best Local Professional Production with LGBT Themes or Characters:
“Dirty Blonde” – Performance Network Theatre; Jim Posante, director
Best Actor – COMEDY:
Guy Sanville, “Sea of Fools” – The Purple Rose Theatre Company
Best Actor – DRAMA:
Jon Bennett, “Doubt” – Performance Network Theatre
Best Actor – MUSICAL / OPERA:
Marian Pop, “Cyrano” – Michigan Opera Theatre
Best Actor – ORIGINAL / IMPROV / LGBT THEMES:
Joe Plambeck, “Southern Baptist Sissies” – Who Wants Cake? Theatre
Best Supporting Actor:
Eric W. Maher, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” – Matrix Theatre
Best Actress – COMEDY:
Sandra Birch, “Sea of Fools” – The Purple Rose Theatre Company
Best Actress – DRAMA:
Jan Radcliff, “Doubt” – Performance Network Theatre
Best Actress – MUSICAL / OPERA:
Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck, “A Forbidden Broadway Christmas” – Gem Theatre
Best Actress – ORIGINAL / IMPROV / LGBT THEMES:
Carla Milarch, “Dirty Blonde” – Performance Network Theatre
Best Supporting Actress:
Laurel Hufano, “Don’t Dress for Dinner” – Tipping Point Theatre
Best Duo in a Local Professional Production:
Max Wright & Daniel Kahn, “Old Wicked Songs” – The Jewish Ensemble Theatre
Best Ensemble Cast in a Local Professional Production:
“The Compleat Female Stage Beauty” – Hilberry Theatre
Best Technical Design:
Monika Essen, “The Baker’s Wife” – Performance Network Theatre (set, costumes, props)
John Pascoe, “Cyrano” – Michigan Opera Theatre (sets and costumes)
Publishers’ Award for Excellence:
Detroit Repertory Theatre
For 50 years of excellence
Critic’s Choice Award:
Box Fest 2007
Shannon Ferrante, artistic director
Community Pride Award:
Out ‘N About Flint
09/08/08
Annual People's Arts Festival "At the Russell"
The largest assembly of artists, performance artists, musicians, and filmmakers in the City of Detroit - will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2008 from 11:00 a.m.-midnight at the Russell Industrial Center at 1600 Clay Avenue off I-75. There is no entrance fee to participate and no commissions will be taken.
Now in it’s second year, the Annual People’s Arts Festival (PAF) is the largest assembly of artists, performance artists, musicians and filmmakers in the city of Detroit. Last year, the free-to-artists festival drew over 4,000 people who visited more than 200 exhibitors and musicians to celebrate the inaugural launch of the festival. This year Festival planners expect that crowd to double - once again securing its claim to being the largest arts festival in the City of Detroit.
The People’s Arts Festival is unique in several ways. A music merchandising area will once again be set up for all participating bands with all sales being retained by the performers. Exhibit space, public lighting, sound systems, stages, and security are all being provided at no cost to participants by the Russell Center for Creative Arts, a not-for-profit group established this year to administer the PAF and other artistic projects at the Russell Industrial Center (RICdetroit.org).
http://www.rccadetroit.org/paf08/
The Russell Industrial Center is located at 1600 Clay Street Detroit, 313-871-1798.
09/03/08
Cyclists Explore Forty Miles Of Detroit
Nearly one thousand cyclists are expected to draw attention to Metropolitan Detroit’s growing network of Greenways while raising funds for the Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink on Saturday, September 20, 2008. It is the seventh annual Tour de Troit that will also raise awareness of cycling as a mode of transportation. The tour is a leisurely, meandering forty-mile exploration of Detroit’s history and points of interest. Escorted by the Detroit Police Department Tactical Operations, cycling and city enthusiasts can enjoy many neighborhoods and sights free of cars and traffic signs.
700 cyclists muster for 2007 Tour De troit.
The Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink, a project of the greater Corktown Development Corporation, is a series of bike lanes and pedestrian paths that connect Corktown and Mexicantown with each other and the riverfront. The “Dequindre Cut” is a soon to be completed pedestrian and bike lane that will connect the riverfront with Eastern market. Cyclists can learn about other greenway plans on the tour.
Registration and sign-in for The Tour de Troit will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Roosevelt Park in Corktown, in the shadow of Michigan Central Station. Coffee, carbohydrates and bike technicians will be available at that time, in preparation of the ride.
At 10 a.m., the ride will proceed through Downtown; Eastern Market; Brush Park; Boston Edison; University District; Palmer Park; Old Redford and Grandmont-Rosedale areas. A short rest stop is planned at the newly renovated Northwest Activities Center to allow riders to eat, drink and learn about community development and greenways planning in the city. The ride will end at Roosevelt Park where cyclists can remain from 2-6 p.m. to enjoy music, food and drinks.
The pace of the ride will be approximately 10-12 miles per hour and helmets are mandatory. In case of mechanical problems, a SAG (support and gear) van will be present, as well as a “Sweeper Squad” of experienced cyclists.
Pre-registration is available at www.tour-de-troit.org. The cost is $25 per rider ($15 for students) and includes a t-shirt if registration is confirmed prior to September 13. Roosevelt Park is located at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and 14th Street. Plenty of on-street parking is available, but riders are encouraged to take the SMART bus or cycle to the event.
Tour de Troit has garnered broad community support during its seven-year growth. It is a Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau “Visit Detroit” event and is sponsored by Miller Canfield; Team Detroit; Burst LLC; Vitamin Water; Slow’s Bar BBQ; Zachary and Associates; O’Connor Real Estate & Development; Canine to Five Detroit Dog Daycare; Bureau of Urban Living; Recy-clean; Michigan Green-Safe; Wheelhouse Detroit; The Hub of Detroit; Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance; New Center Council; Detroit Bikes!; thedetroiter.com and Kem 3D.
Cyclists embark on 2007 tour.
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