Salt in the Water

When someone tried to break into our house last year, Cedric and I were both told, independently of one another, to buy a shotgun.  “It is a sure way to scare people off,” conveyed co-workers and friends.  Vigilante justice: it is part of the Do It Yourself (DIY) narrative in Detroit, albeit DIY is often [...]

Review: La Bohème at the Detroit Opera House

La Vie Bohème!
Oops, wrong version.
Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press said of La Bohème that “there is no better starter opera for newcomers,” referencing the “across-the-board” appeal of Puccini’s emotionally nuanced compositions and the overall timelessness and universal accessibility of the opera’s core love story.  Both of these things are true, but I think [...]

DP2A Destination #1: Japan — The Mikado at the Detroit Opera House

For its 40th anniversary season, the Michigan Opera Theatre is once again presenting four full-scale operas (after scaling back to three last year — Nabucco; a very well-received Tosca, which I missed; and a lackluster, half-hearted Don Giovanni, which I almost regret to have seen), but surprisingly two of the four selections are slightly lighter [...]

CATS at the Fisher Theatre

CATS—it’s a musical about cats. Singing, dancing, pouncing, prancing cats. The idea in itself sounds ludicrous (and, truth be told, it kind of is ludicrous), but for 28 years Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony-award-winning CATS has delighted audiences, parents and children alike, with its whimsical look at the lives of Jellicle cats and their annual Jellicle [...]

Ohmigod, Legally Blonde the Musical

Never underestimate the power of blonde ambition. The charming Elle Woods from the 2001 cinematic confection Legally Blonde is back in her own imperturbably perky musical, fresh from a successful Tony Award-winning Broadway run and an unprecedented partnership with MTV (which aired the musical uncut last October to 12.5 million viewers as well as a [...]

It’s Not Over Yet, the Music of the Night: The Phantom of the Opera at the Detroit Opera House

The Phantom of the Opera is the most popular and successful musical of all time. It has played in 125 cities in 25 countries to over 100 million people and has grossed over $5 billion in its lifetime. It has firmly situated itself as an emblem of Western popular culture, with songs and melodies more [...]

Theatre Review: Rent at the Ringwald

The Spirit of Rent: Christine Chemello as Mimi

I hate Rent. Since seeing it performed at the Fox Theatre almost a decade ago, I’ve been pretty outspoken about how over-the-top, hyper-sentimentalized, and over-hyped I thought it was. After all the buzz, I was simply disappointed. I was further perturbed by the fact that this rock opera [...]

Behind the Bizarre

“We’re all mad here. I’m mad, you’re mad…,” said The Cat.
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said The Cat.
“Or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Madness? This is Detroit.

In April the group of performers loosely collectively known as “Theatre Bizarre” (known for their yearly Halloween fete which is probably best likened to a [...]

Review: The Pendergrass Fortune or Liars and Moneygrubbers

“The Pendergrass Fortune or Liars and Moneygrubbers”
Meadow Brook Theatre, Rochester
Through April 7, 2009
The cast of “The Pendergrass Fortune or Liars and Moneygrubbers” duke it out
with their flashlights as they try to decide which one of them will star in the theater’s
one-man show. (From left to right: Ryan Falcheck, Jamie Kolacki, Savannah Lee
and [...]

Review: Killer Joe @ The Ringwald Theatre

“Killer Joe”
Who Wants Cake?
The Ringwald Theatre, Ferndale
Through April 27, 2009
Killer Joe (Joel Mitchell) looms over timid and innocent
Dottie Smith (Christa Coulter) in the Who Wants Cake?
production of “Killer Joe” at the Ringwald Theatre.
Sitting through “Killer Joe,” by Tracy Letts, is like watching your worst nightmare at gunpoint—except you are holding the gun. [...]