John DeMerell News

The regional premiere of Head Over Heels rocked The Ringwald from May 13 through June 10.

Run, don't walk to The Ringwald to see their production of Head Over Heels! The production is the first one since the hot Broadway debut of the show that features songs of the 80s music icons, The Go-Gos, closed in January and will be at the beloved Michigan theatre until June 10th in Ferndale. The hilarious and inclusive musical celebrates love in its infinite varieties and includes iconic Go-Go's hits like 'We Got the Beat,' 'Our Lips Are Sealed,' and 'Vacation,' plus Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' and 'Mad About You,' and many more! It's the perfect show for The Ringwald's stage and the company does it marvelously. From the fantastic performances to the glorious costumes to the boppin' beat - The Ringwald's, Head Over Heels has it - and it should not be missed!

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.

Phone rings, door chimes, in comes Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical Company, which closes out The Ringwald Theatre's 11th season exactly on the theatre's 11th birthday-May 11. Winner of 6 Tony Awards in 1971, Company also happens to celebrate a birthday. Bobby is 35 and single. His friends are married and nosy. Bobby isn't getting any younger. And his friends won't let him forget it. Many of Sondheim's most celebrated songs (The Ladies Who Lunch, Being Alive, Getting Married Today, Another Hundred People) come from this impressionistic concept musical.

Phone rings, door chimes, in comes Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical Company, which closes out The Ringwald Theatre's 11th season exactly on the theatre's 11th birthday-May 11. Winner of 6 Tony Awards in 1971, Company also happens to celebrate a birthday. Bobby is 35 and single. His friends are married and nosy. Bobby isn't getting any younger. And his friends won't let him forget it. Many of Sondheim's most celebrated songs (The Ladies Who Lunch, Being Alive, Getting Married Today, Another Hundred People) come from this impressionistic concept musical.

The Penny Seats Theatre Company has announced that Peter and the Starcatcher, the second show of its seventh summer season, will open today, July 13th. The story is a clever and imaginative prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic tale, Peter Pan. 

The Penny Seats Theatre Company has announced that Peter and the Starcatcher, the second show of its seventh summer season, will open on Thursday, July 13th. The story is a clever and imaginative prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic tale, Peter Pan. 

The Ringwald Theatre will conclude its 10th Anniversary Season with the Michigan premiere of Silence! The Musical with book by Hunter Bell (Tony-nominated writer of {title of show}) and music and lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan.

Fans of comedian and actor Steve Martin will recognize his smart and ridiculous style in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, the first play he wrote for the stage. The story goes that Martin heard a joke that began "Picasso and Einstein walk into a bar…" and turned that concept into a joyous 90 minute romp.

Fans of comedian and actor Steve Martin will recognize his smart and ridiculous style in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, the first play he wrote for the stage.  The story goes that Martin heard a joke that began "Picasso and Einstein walk into a bar…" and turned that concept into a joyous 90 minute romp.  

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change -aka 'Everything you've ever secretly pondered about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit.' Two Muses Theatre wraps its successful season with the musical comedy, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, June 3 through 19, in its new space shared with Monster Box Theatre in Waterford.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change -aka "Everything you've ever secretly pondered about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit."  Two Muses Theatre wraps its successful season with the musical comedy, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, June 3 through 19, in its new space shared with Monster Box Theatre in Waterford.

In November, Two Muses Theatre will present the wondrous musical: The Light in the Piazza. (Book by Craig Lucas. Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel.)  The Light in the Piazza, winner of many Tony Awards, is as simple and complicated as its ineffable subject--love. When Clara falls for a charming young Italian man  in a Florentine piazza, her mother must decide whether or not she will reveal truths about her daughter that could destroy the romance. The show will be performed on weekends, opening on November 6 and closing on November 22. The Light in the Piazza is directed by Joe Bailey, Artistic Director of The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale, with musical direction by Jeff Bobick.

A local collaboration between Ann Arbor's Penny Seats Theatre Company and the University of Michigan's Environmental Biotechnology Group will feature the musical Urinetown: The Musical! and water conservation research in a creative way during the next three weekends starting July 30.

Urinetown: The Musical! The Tony-award-winning hit from 2001, will be performed by The Penny Seats Theatre Company July 30, 31, Aug 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15 (all shows at 7 pm). Set in an admittedly absurd dystopian future where one must pay to pee, the show lampoons corporate bureaucracy, pie-in-the-sky optimism, revolution without a plan, and the musical theatre genre itself. With a full pit orchestra (led by Richard Alder) on the band shell stage, the action takes place around the audience in the park. Featured performers include Brendan August Kelly (Ypsilanti), Roy Sexton (Saline), David Francis Kiley (Ann Arbor), John DeMerell (Walled Lake), Sarah Ann Leahy (Ann Arbor), Paige Martin (Ann Arbor), Cathy McDonald (Plymouth), Christina McKim (Albion), Jenna Kellie Pittman (Waterford/West Bloomfield), Linda Rabin Hammell (Detroit), Jeff Stringer (Jackson), Maika Van Oosterhout (Ann Arbor), and Daniel Bachelis (Howell). Production photos taken by Scarlett London.

'Urinetown: The Musical!,' the Tony-award-winning hit from 2001, will be performed by Ann Arbor's Penny Seats Theatre Company July 30, 31, Aug 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15. Set in an admittedly absurd dystopian future where one must pay to pee, the show lampoons corporate bureaucracy, pie-in-the-sky optimism, revolution without a plan, and the musical theatre genre itself. With a full pit orchestra (led by Richard Alder) on the band shell stage, the action takes place around the audience in the park. Featured performers include Brendan Kelly (Ypsilanti), Roy Sexton (Saline), David Kiley (Ann Arbor), John DeMerell (Walled Lake), Sarah Leahy (Ann Arbor), Paige Martin (Ann Arbor), Cathy McDonald (Plymouth), Christina McKim (Albion), Jenna Pittman (Royal Oak), Linda Rabin Hammell (Detroit), Jeff Stringer (Jackson), Maika Van Oosterhout (Ann Arbor), and Daniel Bachelis (Howell).

Yes, you CAN have your fruitcake and eat it too. Two Muses Theatre, a nonprofit, professional theatre based in West Bloomfield, Michigan, will produce two holiday shows in repertory this December.

Yes, you CAN have your fruitcake and eat it too. Two Muses Theatre, a nonprofit, professional theatre based in West Bloomfield, Michigan, will produce two holiday shows in repertory this December.

Two Muses Theatre presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, with music and lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin. The show will be performed weekends from tonight, Sept 27 through Oct 20. Two Muses Theatre performs in the intimate 150-seat theatre inside Barnes & Noble Booksellers, located at 6800 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield (south of Maple).

Two Muses Theatre presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, with music and lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin. The show will be performed weekends from Sept 27 through Oct 20. Two Muses Theatre performs in the intimate 150-seat theatre inside Barnes & Noble Booksellers, located at 6800 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield (south of Maple).