Encore Michigan

Les Misérables: Hope Rep’s “Les Miz” brings it home

Review June 12, 2015
The epic musical “Les Misérables” is about poverty and desperation nearly two centuries ago and thousands of miles away. Yet Victor Hugo’s classic tale of... Continue Reading

Modern take on La Traviata in the Big Easy a risk worth taking

Review June 12, 2015
Article:9825; Posted: June 12, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. Opera is full of hardcore traditionalists who do not want to see the classics by Mozart, Verdi... Continue Reading

“Mr. Burns” mixes “The Simpsons” with classic theater

Review June 11, 2015
Article:9821; Posted: June 11, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. How many years without an electronic memory would it take before ”The Simpsons” became Shakespeare? That’s the... Continue Reading

Love Letters: Rewarding play on the written word

Review June 10, 2015
Article:9815; Posted: June 10, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. Barn Theatre Producer and Director Brendan Ragotzy’s curtain speech opening night of "Love Letters" was punctuated by... Continue Reading

Clybourne Park shows we’ll never be post-racial

Review June 07, 2015
Remember when President Barack Obama was elected, and many essayists, political pundits and even some hopeful politicians mused that we might be in a “post... Continue Reading

Invierno: Magical adaptation brings “A Winter’s Tale” to life

Review June 06, 2015
Article:9795; Posted: June 6, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. Mysticism and magic have always been a part of “A Winter’s Tale,” and it is doubly true... Continue Reading

“Dogfight” sears and soars at Farmers Alley

Review June 05, 2015
“Dogfight,” an adaptation of a 1991 film, is a memory play of sorts, framed by one Marine’s return to San Francisco four years after his... Continue Reading

World Premiere: Detroit Rep’s “White Ash Falling 9/11” spotlights actors coping

Review May 29, 2015
Article:9753; Posted: May 29, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. Where were you on 9-11? What’s your story? Do you have one? Did you know someone who... Continue Reading

Mothers Nature: Three new works explore female relationships at Ixion

Review May 25, 2015
Article:9733; Posted: May 25, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. A mother’s nature is far from predictable--if only because no two mothers are alike. In “Mother’s Nature”... Continue Reading

Performers bare all for art

Review May 17, 2015
by John Quinn Article:9710; Posted: May 17, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. If LGBT playwright Ronnie Larsen is to be believed, there are uncanny parallels between... Continue Reading