Brian Stanczak-Tuscany - Page 2

The Midwest premiere of Williston by Adam Seidel, playing now through June 30th at Detroit Repertory Theatre, is a fresh piece of theatre that successfully shines a light on the power of greed and money in modern day America. Three leasing reps travel to Williston, North Dakota to get mineral rights to the last big piece of undeveloped land. Leasing reps negotiate with land owners on behalf of oil companies about obtaining a lease to develop the land and typically operate on commissions which are a percentage of the leasing price.

There is nothing quite like watching live theatre performed outside in a Greek theater on a beautiful summer night in Michigan. Mamma Mia!, running now through June 15th at St. Dunstan's Theatre in Bloomfield Hills, will have you singing and dancing in your seat. Mamma Mia! is the sunny and funny tale of young Sophie's search for her birth father. The story unfolds on a Greek island paradise on the eve of her wedding. Sophie's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years earlier. Incorporating the songs made famous by Swedish supergroup ABBA, Mamma Mia! is a fun and uplifting story that will be sure to keep you entertained.

Stephen Sondheim's Company, playing now through June 1st at Avon Players in Rochester Hills, is a thought-provoking exploration of love and life in 1970's New York City. Bobby has a full social calendar but avoids romantic commitments. On the night of his thirty-fifth birthday, he reassesses his life by reviewing his relationships with his married friends and girlfriends. While all his friends are happy with their spouses, marriage has never been Bobby's speed. Through a series of vignettes showcasing his friend's day to day lives as couples, Bobby is taken on a journey of self-discovery. Smart and funny, Company takes the audience on a journey of one man's lonely life while he figures out the true meaning behind 'Being Alive'.

It Shoulda Been You, running now through May 26th at the Players Guild of Dearborn, is a hilarious musical that will leave the audience smiling from ear to ear. The synopsis of It Shoulda Been You involves a wedding between a Jewish bride and a Catholic groom. With the bride's mother being a controlling force of nature, things start to go haywire. This "perfect day" goes even more astray when the brides' ex-boyfriend crashes the party and tries to win the bride back on her special day. It's up to the sister of the bride to turn a tangled mess into happily ever after in this musical comedy for anyone who ever had parents.

The National Tour of Waitress, running now through May 19th at the Fisher Theatre, is a spectacular production all-around. Waitress tells the story of Jenna - a waitress and expert pie maker in a small southern town. She dreams of a way out of this small town and away from her broken marriage and abusive husband. Through the thought of winning a local pie baking contest and forming a brand-new life, Jenna longs to make her dreams a reality. In order to do so, Jenna must summon the strength and courage to rebuild her own life. With original music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, this show is sure to leave you singing in your seat.

All My Sons, playing through June 1st at The Purple Rose Theatre Company, is a dramatic and intense adaptation of the Tony-Award winning play. The play follows the story of Joe Keller, a working man who desperately wants to secure the business he spent so many years constructing. He is ready to hand it down to his son, Chris. Joe's wife Kate is still waiting for their eldest son Larry to return from war, determined that he is alive and will marry the former neighbor girl from next door, Ann, who happens to be the daughter of Joe's former business partner. To complicate this family drama, Chris and Ann are in love and want to get married. All My Sons shows a post-war American family in a spiral of lies, greed, love, and loss.

Wayne State University's production of Mamma Mia!, running now through April 14th, will leave you singing and dancing in your seat. Using the songs of Swedish supergroup ABBA, Mamma Mia! follows the life of Sophie Sheridan in the days before her wedding in Greece. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. The only problem is she has no idea who her father is. Sophie looks through her mother's old diaries and discovers that her father must be one of three possible men. She invites them all to her big day in an attempt to discover who her real father is. Trouble ensues as these three men all meet for the first time, all thinking they are Sophie's father. Sophie's mother Donna has to live with the daunting reality of her past coming back to haunt her on her daughter's big day. Wayne State's production of this jukebox musical is exhilarating, upbeat, and energetic.

Popcorn Falls, playing now through May 5th at Tipping Point Theatre in Northville, is a fast-paced comedy that will keep the audience on their toes throughout the entire performance. The town of Popcorn Falls is in trouble as their signature waterfall has dried up and they are losing more money each day. The play's antagonist, Mr. Doyle, is threatening to turn this small town into a water treatment facility. There is one way to save the town: put on a successful play in one week. Hilarity ensues as the mayor of the town and the town's executive custodian, along with a cast of misfit townsfolk, attempt to pull off this play in an impossible time frame.

Glengarry Glen Ross at Monster Box Theatre, running now until March 31st, does a great job of staging the classic 1992 film of the same name. In this Tony Award winning drama written by David Mamet, four desperate real estate salesmen are prepared to stop at nothing in order to win a cut-throat sales competition where prizes range from a Cadillac to being fired. Greed overcomes these men when realize the seriousness of the contest and what is on the line, causing them to turn to unethical activities so they can come out ahead. When one of the disgruntled men involves some of the others in an elaborate plot to rob the office, everyone becomes a suspect in the eyes of the law. The audience is able to get a glimpse into the shallow lives of the lives of these men, as they fight with each other to rise to the top in this high-pressure sales environment.

Death of A Salesman, running through March 11th at the Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale, is a powerful spin on an American classic. Written by Arthur Miller, Salesman won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the 1949 Tony Award for Best Play. The story follows the character of Willy Loman, a failing salesman, who can't seem to win happiness and success. In this powerful spin on a classic, audiences will be transported into Loman's lonesome world, and will witness how the quest for one man's dream tears an entire family apart.

FRIENDS! The Musical Parody at the City Theatre, running now through February 10th, is a fast-paced parody comedy that will leave you laughing throughout the entire performance. Based on the popular 90's sitcom, the parody show is as much nostalgic as it is wacky.

Many of you are familiar with the popular 90's sitcom Friends, involving six friends that live in the same building in New York City. Though the show has been incredibly popular since its original air date in 1994, its popularity has only increased among a new generation of viewers who fall in love with the sitcom more and more each day. Fans of Friends and fans of parody comedies can see FRIENDS! The Musical Parody at the City Theatre in Detroit from February 6th through the 10th. BroadwayWorld Detroit had the opportunity to interview Aaron C. Rutherford, who plays Chandler Bing in the national tour of FRIENDS! The Musical Parody. He calls this production a wacky and zany show that audiences will love!

Lend Me A Tenor at Player's Guild of Dearborn, running now until January 27th, is a rip-roaring show that will leave you laughing throughout the entire performance. This Ken Ludwig farce is set in September 1934. Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is primed to welcome the world-famous Tito Merelli, II Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as 'Otello.' The star arrives late, and through a hilarious series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. His pulse is so low that Saunders and his assistant, Max, believe he's dead. In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades Max to get into Merelli's 'Otello' costume and fool the audience into thinking he's II Stupendo. Max succeeds admirably, but Merelli comes to, and gets into his other costume ready to perform. Now two Otello's are running around in costume and two women are running around in lingerie, each thinking she is with II Stupendo.