MICHIGAN THEATER REVIEWS

Most people know the story of Peter Pan, but Stagecrafters is telling story of how he started his journey in Peter and the Starcatcher, which is currently running through December 16th at the Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak. The play is the fantastical adventure about how Peter Pan came to be and is ba...

Jersey Boys is a musical biography of The Four Seasons that showcases their most iconic hits and reveals the story behind the music that entertained audiences for a limited engagement in Grand Rapids this past weekend. It includes many of their well-known musical hits that will have you singing alo...

Guys and Dolls marked Kim Donovan's directorial debut 27 years at the Players Guild of Dearborn. She was pregnant at the time with her daughter, Maura. Frank Loesser's score must have channeled Maura's musical theatre talents in utero as she's now starring as Adelaide, "the well-known fiancee," in t...

'Wow, that was an amazing show,' you said to yourself after leaving Detroit Public Theatre's (DPT) current production of Cry it Out. And you said that last month after seeing Pipeline at DPT. Two back-to-back shows that nailed every single aspect of what refreshing, topical and entertaining theatre ...

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, one of the largest and oldest community theaters in the nation, is proud to present Disney's The Little Mermaid, which opens this weekend and runs through December 16th in Grand Rapids....

A little over a week ago I attended my first opera, Opera Grand Rapids' production of The Magic Flute, a fairy tale with the traditional fairytale themes of love and of good versus evil. The show starts with Prince Tamino, played by Dennis Shuman, alone in the woods fleeing a deadly serpent. He fa...

The Halloween classic Nightmare Before Christmas made its appearance a few weeks ahead of the holiday this past Saturday night in Grand Rapids to kick off the Grand Rapids Symphonicboom Series. The score was brought to life by the symphony located right on stage under the screen who played the mus...

Chicago is in currently at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. The razzle dazzle of the late 1920s is captivating audiences telling the story of Roxie Hart, housewife and nightclub dancer, who maliciously murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, ...

Broadway Grand Rapids is proud to present Finding Neverland as it opens the season of bringing Broadway tours into Grand Rapids. This has become a staple for the Grand Rapids area even attracting audience members from surrounding states, when before if you wanted to see shows of that caliber you wou...

Something Rotten! is anything but. With 10 Tony Award nominations under its codpiece, Something Rotten! is a campy spoof of Elizabethan proper meets 21st century satire with tongue-in-cheek nods to practically every musical to ever grace the Broadway stage. And it's oh-so brilliantly fun....

Stagecrafters current production is anything but tame, it's wild! The provocative and tantalizing show, The Wild Party, with book, music, and lyrics by former Oak Park resident Andrew Lippa, will keep the audience on the edge of their seats until last beat drops.The Wild Party is currently running ...

It's the sly inversion of good and evil that makes WICKED fascinating. It's wrestling with doing what's fashionable versus doing what's right that makes WICKED timeless. Now, those brilliant minds at Broadway in Detroit reprise this killer musical for us to fall in love with, all over again. Wheth...

Mark Twain once said, "There are five kinds of actresses: bad actresses, fair actresses, good actresses, great actresses-and then there is Sarah Bernhardt." So, it is very fitting, then, that Williamston Theatre Director Mary Job cast the masterful Karen Sheridan as the "Divine Sarah" in Memoir by J...

If you've seen and enjoyed the musical 42nd Street, you'll undoubtedly love Thoroughly Modern Millie, now playing at the Riverbank Theatre in Marine City through July 22. ...

In a savvy marketing move and perfect way to kick off the summer theatre season, Mason Street Warehouse (MSW) at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts opened with the get-happy, ABBA-tribute musical Mamma Mia! now playing at MSW through July 15.  Once you've enjoyed it live-and-in-person at Mason Stree...

Theatre-goers sure love a good ol' Southern female-bonding story y'all. Think Steel Magnolias, Crimes of the Heart and plays by the dynamic trio Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. The Dio knows a good one when it reads it which is why it has presented Jones, Hope and Wooten's The Dixie Sw...

Fore-tunately for audiences, Ken Ludwig's The Fox on the Fairway is being performed at Ridgedale Players in Troy and is not to be missed. While most comedy-loving theatre-goers are familiar with Ludwig's often-performed madcap romps including Lend Me a Tenor, Leading Ladies and Moon Over Buffalo, Th...

The hit Broadway musical On Your Feet! based on the life of seven-time Grammy winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband 19-time winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan is currently playing now through Sunday at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. Gloria Estefan has sol...

Have you experienced a theatre show that completely transports you to another world? That was the experience watching Metamorphoses on the Stagecrafters 2nd Stage of the Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak. Running from April 13th-22nd, it was a show that all the pieces fell into place - from the performe...

Now on stage at Canton Village Theatre is Spotlight Players' production of the musical ANNIE. Directed by John Sartor, this version adds wonderful scenes that improve the storyline even better than before. During the awkward moments when the curtain was down and set changes were being made, Sartor h...

King Lear is a splendid sight to see currently running at Little Door Theatre in Warren. Directed by owner and artistic director of the company, Shannon Hurst, the show uses minimum props and sets, beautiful visualizations through movement and lights, and allows the audience to focus on the talented...

Christmas Wonderland, a holiday spectacular, opened at the Fisher Theatre on Tuesday night and is an amazing and joyous experience for everyone of all ages to enjoy. The charming show is here in Detroit for nine shows until December 17th and fills the theatre with boundless holiday spirit through so...

An American in Paris, the most awarded new musical of 2015 and winner of four Tony Awards, is currently playing until December 10th at the Detroit Opera House. It is a stunning show filled with some of the most exquisite dance numbers in recent history, catchy songs, and a beautiful story to go alon...

Stagecrafters' Main Stage is currently presently the American classic, A Raisin in the Sun, until November 18th in Royal Oak. The talented cast performed the timeless play wonderfully and brought the audience fully into the drama of a 1950s Chicago family....

The Color Purple, the 2016 Tony Award-winning musical adaptation from Alice Walker's best-selling novel, is currently appearing at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. The powerful production is taking the city over with its dynamite cast and their emotional performances leaving the audience in awe by the...