Mild temperatures, sunny days and the close of the school year make for a kind of giddy spring celebration right about now. With more daylight per day, and minimal skeeters as yet, there’s plenty of incentive to call the pre-summer-solstice your favorite time of the year.
Why would you give up this alfresco glory to spend an evening inside a theater? This week’s venues give you three great reasons, from the historic Lydia Mendelssohn, a gorgeous “shoebox theater” built in 1929; to the intimate 200-seat Sponberg Theatre on EMU’s campus; to a tiny, rustic, renovated Carriage House on the Old West Side. It also gives you one chance to enjoy both the weather and the theater, with “Much Ado About Nothing” in the panoramic outdoor setting of Nichols Arboretum.
Indoor or outdoor, the venues this week are scenery in themselves!
Photo by Glenn Bugala
Company: Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
Type of Company: Community
Venue/location: Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 10+
Description: The ancient game of chess becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, competitive gamesmanship, super-power politics and international intrigues. Set in the 1980’s at the World Chess Championships, the pawns in this drama form a love triangle: Freddy, the coarse American chess star; Anatoly, the earnest Russian champion; and Florence, a Hungarian-American female assistant who arrives with Freddy but falls for Anatoly. Featuring the 1980’s pop hit “One Night in Bangkok,” “Chess” brings the Cold War era to vibrant life.
Preview article
Fun fact: This is the first local production of the original London version of the musical.
For tickets and information: a2ct.org, 734-971-2228.
Show: “HONK!” book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, Music by George Stiles, through June 9
Company: Eastern Michigan University Theatre
Type of Company: Higher Education
Venue/location: Sponberg Theatre, EMU, Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 6+
Description: Based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling," "HONK!" is an upbeat musical comedy about an optimistic duckling and his adventures in the barnyard and beyond as he searches for a place to belong. A heart-warming celebration of being different, HONK! is sure to delight audiences with its sparkling wit and memorable score.
More information
Fun fact: The West End production opened on 11 December 1999 at The Royal National Theatre in London and won the 2000 Olivier Award for Best Musical.
For tickets and information: 734.487.2282, www.emutix.com, www.emich.edu/emutheatre
Show: “Landlocked” by Cusi Cram, through June 15
Company: Carriage House Theatre
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/location: Carriage House Theatre, 541 Third St, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 12+
Description: Anna is a Swiss artist who makes beautiful collages out of trash she finds on beaches. At a gallery opening of her work, she meets Pierre-Luigi, a Bolivian restaurateur who discovers his dentures in one of her pieces, and Aldo, an American trash collector looking to make a fresh start in Switzerland. Anna begins seeing Aldo and starts a correspondence with Pierre-Luigi. But with each person running from their past, can any of them hope to find their place in the world? A poignant comedy about love, loss, teeth, and new beginnings.
More information
Fun fact: The play was inspired by a true story in which a man found his lost dentures in an art exhibit.
For tickets and information: carriagehousetheatre.org
Show: “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, through June 23
Company: Shakespeare in the Arb
Type of Company: Higher Education, Community
Venue/location: Nichols Arboretum, box office is located at 1610 Washington Hts., Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 6+
Description: An environmental staging of Shakespeare’s comedy about love and loyalty. Directed by Kate Mendeloff and played by University of Michigan students and local actors, the beloved Shakespeare in the Arb draws thousands of devoted Shakespeare fans every summer from Ann Arbor and beyond. What makes Shakespeare in the Arb unique is the way the productions are staged, with scenes and audience moving through the Arboretum during the play. All the Arb’s a stage!
Preview article
Fun fact: Look for hobbyhorses and others!
For tickets and information: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/
Special ticket offer: MBGNA members get a discount and can purchase tickets at 5, before others at 5:30. Tickets for Shakespeare in the Arb are sold directly before each show. Limited seating available; arrive early. For ticket updates follow us on Twitter. Parking is available after 5 pm in University blue lots on Washington Hts., or in the U-M Hospital P2 parking structure on E. Medical Center Dr., or in metered spots on Washington Hts. or Observatory. Ann Arbor city buses also pick up an drop off on Washington Hts and E. Medical Center. Visit the AATA website for more information.