Lauren London News

Ann Arbor's Penny Seats Theatre Company is set to open its seventh season this year, with four shows, the largest season the company has ever attempted.  Through an operational support grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts, the company has expanded its offerings and will have a year-round presence.  

Penny Seats Theatre Company's production of 2007 Broadway musical smash, Xanadu (based on the 1980 cult classic movie of the same name), with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, runs July 14 through July 30 (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays) at Ann Arbor's West Park Band Shell.

Penny Seats Theatre Company's production of 2007 Broadway musical smash, Xanadu (based on the 1980 cult classic movie of the same name), with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, runs July 14 through July 30 (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays) at Ann Arbor's West Park Band Shell.

On July 14 at Ann Arbor's West Park Band Shell, the Penny Seats Theatre Company launches their production of 2007 Broadway musical smash, Xanadu (based on the 1980 cult classic movie of the same name), with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar.

Tonight, June 29th at 10PM ET/PT is the celebrity filled second season premiere of VH1's BARELY FAMOUS, featuring multi-hyphenate producers, actresses and writers Erin and Sara Foster.

VH1 announced Wednesday, June 29th at 10PM ET/PT will be the premiere date for the celebrity filled second season of BARELY FAMOUS, featuring multi-hyphenate producers, actresses and writers

VH1 announced Wednesday, June 29th at 10PM ET/PT will be the premiere date for the celebrity filled second season of BARELY FAMOUS, featuring multi-hyphenate producers, actresses and writers Erin and Sara Foster.

Given high audience demand, The Penny Seats will offer an encore performance of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well on the final performance date of the run, Thursday, March 3rd. This encore performance starts at 9:15pm, with dinner seatings beginning at 7:30pm. (This show is in addition to the sold out performance at 7:30 pm that same day.) As the show is only 70 minutes long, the evening will conclude at approximately 10:30pm. 

Given high audience demand, The Penny Seats will offer an encore performance of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well  on the final performance date of the run, Thursday, March 3rd.  This encore performance starts at 9:15pm, with dinner seatings beginning at 7:30pm. (This show is in addition to the sold out performance at 7:30 pm that same day.)  As the show is only 70 minutes long, the evening will conclude at approximately 10:30pm. 

Join Ann Arbor's Penny Seats Theatre Company February 11th, 18th, 25th, and March 3rd for the mesmerizing music, humor, and sentiment of the one and only Jacques Brel. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Penny Seats return to the stage this winter for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel, translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman. The show kicks off the sixth season for The Penny Seats.

?The Penny Seats return to the stage this upcoming winter for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel, translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman. The show kicks off the sixth season for The Penny Seats and will run on Thursdays February 11th, 18th, 25th, and March 3rd, at Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub and Restaurant, 318 South Main Street, Ann Arbor. The two companies are partnering to offer a dinner theatre-style show, with dinner seatings available starting at 6:00 pm, and performances each night at 7:30pm. Audience members can purchase tickets for the dinner-and-show package for just $20, or for the show only, for $10. Advance tickets (which are encouraged) are available online at www.pennyseats.org or by phone at (734) 926-5346.

BET's THE GAME series finale delivered 3.7 million viewers on its premiere night. For the last three years, THE GAME reigned as the #1 sitcom on basic cable among adults 18-49.

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).

The highly-anticipated 15th annual “BET Awards” will air LIVE tonight, June 28 on BET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Viewers can tune in to BET for all the star-studded performances and presenters at 8pm ET (tape delayed to Pacific and Mountain Time Zones).

Today, BET Networks revealed its final additions to an already hot lineup for this year's 15th annual "BET Awards" 2015 airing Sunday, June 28, 2015.

The highly-anticipated 15th annual “BET Awards” will air LIVE on Sunday, June 28 on BET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Viewers can tune in to BET for all the star-studded performances and presenters at 8pm ET (tape delayed to Pacific and Mountain Time Zones).

Ann Arbor's Penny Seats Theatre Company significantly expands summer offerings Ann Arbor's Penny Seats Theatre Company is set to open its fifth--and biggest--summer season at West Park, performing outdoor professional theatre for just $10 (or less) per ticket, on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (and one Sunday) throughout July and August. This year, the group takes up residence at the park for six weeks, performing two blockbuster comedies: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged], by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, and Urinetown: The Musical! by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis.