Encore Michigan

Encore Musical Theatre taking ‘Stairway to Heaven’ 1/19-1/22

Show Announcement January 11, 2023

DEXTER, MI–What better way to kick off the New Year than with your favorite classic rock tunes? From Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” to Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice”, you’ll want to pull on your bell bottoms for this rollicking trip down memory lane. Along with that iconic climb up the “Stairway to Heaven”, there’s sure to be dancing in the aisles with the likes of The Hollies, the Doobie Brothers, Boston and Queen, and swaying to the soul-soothing sounds of the Eagles, Kansas, Journey and Styx as the hits keep coming!

Stairway to Heaven: A Tribute to Classic Rock is directed by The Encore’s Artistic Director Dan Cooney and features an outstanding cast of some Encore Favorites. Tyler J. Messinger (Billy Joel Tribute, Eagles Tribute, Smokey Joe’s Café) who was last seen as Sky in the summer hit Mamma Mia!, joins U-Mich Vocal Performance graduate David Magumba (Stevie Wonder Tribute; Smokey Joe’s Café), and Leah Gittlen (Eagles Tribute, A Thousand Faces: the Lon Chaney Musical) and, making their Encore debut, Oakland grad Ashlyn Moran (Rent, 35MM… Spelling Bee).

Leading the band is conductor, arranger and keyboard player R. MacKenzie Lewis; joined by Mike Bustos and Nick Martin on guitar, Ben Powell on bass and Mike Williams on drums. 

The production staff includes Sarah Tanner (Set Designer/Technical Director), Kathryn McIntyre and Danielle Bluteau (Stage Managers), Nikki Belenski (Lighting Design), Chris Goosman (Sound Design) and Jessica Glynn (Sound Engineer).

The Encore Tribute Concert Seriesis generously sponsored by Dexter’s Pub. Upcoming concerts in the series include Divas: A Tribute to the Greatest Pop Divas, and You’ve Got a Friend: A Tribute to James Taylor

Stairway to Heaven: A Tribute to Classic Rock runs in The Maas performance space at The Encore from January 19 through January 22, 2023. Tickets can be purchased at theencoretheatre.org, through the box office (no fee) by calling 734-268-6200, or in-person at The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street, Dexter MI 48130. Box office hours are currently Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10AM – 2PM and Wednesday 2PM – 6PM, also two hours prior to show times.