Encore Michigan

Exhilarating escapades of the pre–jet set

Review October 05, 2014
By Carolyn Hayes Harmer Long-distance travel, even now with the benefit of jet engines, can be simultaneously arduous and thrilling. In centuries past, its hardships... Continue Reading

Frankenstein story finds hope amid despair

Review October 04, 2014
Mary Shelley has captured the imagination of artists everywhere since publishing her novel "Frankenstein" in 1818. The novel has spawned books, plays, cartoons, movies, other... Continue Reading

The Lehrer report: Be prepared for fun

Review October 03, 2014
So, how is Tom Lehrer holding up these days? Not the man himself, he's 86 and living in California, but his songs, those hilarious exemplars... Continue Reading

Strong ensemble leads ‘Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat’

Review October 01, 2014
"Jacob and Sons," a song early in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat," would have been an apt title for the production... Continue Reading

Ixion opens with intense drama

Review September 28, 2014
Family relationships can get so intense and so heart-wrenching that they are hard to watch. There are few places outside a family where love and... Continue Reading

Performance Network mines the magic of Uhry classic

Review September 27, 2014
"Driving Miss Daisy" by Alfred Uhry can seem like a simple play. It needs three actors, three set pieces, and few costume changes. The script... Continue Reading

A journey ends, a door opens, the past enters

Review September 27, 2014
Name a main character Ulysses and unless he's a Civil War general, you've got "The Odyssey" on your mind. The Ulysses in "Annapurna" hasn't done... Continue Reading

The house that Shepard built

Review September 20, 2014
By Carolyn Hayes Harmer With a title as uplifting as "Buried Child," the viewer might presume (correctly) that bleak times are ahead. But the mechanism... Continue Reading

They cram a lot into “Spamalot” – and good times ensue

Review September 20, 2014
Excalibur. No, that isn't it. Exuberance. Yes, that's the word for The Encore Musical Theatre's production of "Spamalot." In Thalia V. Schramm's staging, the Monty... Continue Reading

‘Grey Gardens’ presents complex moments

Review September 14, 2014
The Great Escape Stage Company is taking on a complicated musical with "Grey Gardens." "Grey Gardens" centers around two real people, though the autobiographical elements... Continue Reading