theater - The Eastern Echo

'Chesapeake' one-man show comes to The Yellow Barn

By Emily Slomovits · Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016

One-person plays are rare and not many have received wide circulation or much acclaim. This may be due to one thing: no matter how good a play is, it will succeed or fail depending on the actors in it, and obviously, with a one-person show, all the responsibility falls on a single actor. This can be a tremendous amount of pressure; learning an unusually large number of lines, being onstage non-stop for sometimes two hours or more and perhaps most importantly, having no other actor to interact with and be supported by.

Encore Theatre presents 'Sondheim on Sondheim'

By Emily Slomovits · Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016

Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as the grandfather of musical theatre. His career as a composer and lyricist has spanned nearly seven decades and his shows are some of the most beloved in the musical theatre repertoire: Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George and many more. But, among performers, his work is also known as some of the more difficult to perform and sing because of its unpredictability, density and complexity.

EMU Theatre finishes season with Anne of Green Gables

By Kelsey Hawkins-Johnson · Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015

Published in 1908 by L. M. Montgomery, the classic Canadian book, Anne of Green Gables was transformed from book to stage by the performance of members of Eastern Michigan’s Theatre in Quirk Theatre on Friday night.

Women’s SafeHouse: A realist performance about the violence against women in Turkey

By Kelsey Hawkins-Johnson · Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

Told through reading and performance, audio and visual components, the two-act play “Women’s SafeHouse” opened for the first time in America at Eastern Michigan University’s Frank Ross Laboratory Theatre in Quirk Hall on Monday night. “Women’s SafeHouse,” written by Turkish playwright, Tuncer Cucenoglu, depicts a modern tragedy about 11 women and their stories at a safehouse in Istanbul, Turkey where they fell as victims of violence and abuse.

Broadway's "Hamilton" is setting records, breaking down barriers in theater

By Emily Slomovits · Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015

It’s rare that a Broadway musical makes a splash in the pop culture world outside the theatre community.

The cast of "Junior High" from left to right: Taylor Morrow, Dakotah Myers, Justin Myers, Michael McDonald, Gabby Morris, Rachel Kindred, Christina Gee, Oren Levin, Travis Ealem, Nikkolo Romero and Gabriela Ciavattone.

Applied Drama and Theatre for the Young to perform “Junior High”

By Kelsey Hawkins-Johnson · Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015

Experience the world of adolescence in Eastern Michigan University’s Applied Drama and Theatre for the Young’s (ADTY) production of the musical, “Junior High.” ADTY has been touring to local elementary, middle and high schools for more than forty years.

Neighborhood Theatre Group needs $8,000 to finish season

By Sasha Brown · Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015

Eastern Michigan’s alumni, students and local professional actors are a big part of Ypsilanti’s newest theatre company, Neighborhood Theatre Group (NTG). Kristine Anne Danko and Aaron Dean, the founders of this company, have brought their talent to Ypsilanti after leaving the Chicago theater scene. EMU alumni included in the Neighborhood Theatre Group are Bradley James Drozdowski, Marissa Kurtzhals, Christopher Zavac, Mary Hourani, Eric Hohnke, Chris Jakob and Dawn Peterson.

'Little Shop of Horrors' exceeds expectations

By Emily Slomovits · Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015

In my three years at EMU, I’ve seen some wonderful theatre. But, the current main stage production, “Little Shop of Horrors,” is the best show I’ve seen here, hands down. Júlia Miyahara, a freshman majoring in international affairs, said, “I really like this musical, because it touches on a lot of real-life issues like poverty and domestic violence... I had very high expectations for this production, and it exceeded them by a lot.” The show is somewhat paradoxical – on one hand, it’s a frothy, entertaining and stylized show with catchy Motown music, while on the other, it’s a dark, grim, sometimes scary look at the lengths people will go to in order to get what they want.

Wild Swan Theater to perform original 'Rosie the Riveter' play

By Sasha Brown · Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015

Eastern Michigan University’s English professor, Emeritus Jeff Duncan, wrote the play, We Can Do It!: A Rosie the Riveter Revue. It is to be performed at 4-6 p.m.

Purple Rose Theater produces another high quality performance

By Emily Slomovits · Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015

Whenever I see a play at Chelsea’s Purple Rose Theatre, I can count on the acting, sets, costumes, and everything about the production to be the highest quality.

EMU Drama professor teaches and performs with great success

By Emily Slomovits · Monday, Aug. 31, 2015

There’s a saying, “Those who can’t do, teach.” However, we know that the two are not mutually exclusive.

Purple Rose Theatre debuts thought-provoking play about zombies

By Emily Slomovits · Sunday, June 28, 2015

For as long as humans have told stories, there have been cultural obsessions with monsters.

New local theater troop to present 'Beaver's Long Strange Trip'

By Afua Osei-Bonsu · Sunday, May 31, 2015

A young theater movement has given rise to many new theaters around Ypsilanti including Mix, Dreamland Theater and the newest member, The Neighborhood Theatre Group. On Friday, June 5, at 7:30 p.m., The Neighborhood Theatre Group will present a reading of Beaver’s Long Strange Trip at the Back Office Studio (BOS) located at 13 N.