Vera Cunningham's blog

Madame Arcati is back in town! And the great Arcati will soon be doing her crazy thing onstage at Howell High School as they are gearing up for a blast from the past with their production of "Blithe Spirit" to be performed March 19 , 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. and March 21 at 2 p.m. 

“Cinderelly, Cinderelly, All day long it's Cinderelly” sing the charming little Mice as they help to dress their mistress in the timeless Disney classic, Cinderella. Who doesn’t have fond childhood memories of singing with their little one “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” or the Fairy Godmother’s witty “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo,” especially if your household included any little girls?

“I’m in love!! I’m not s’posed to tink straight!” claims young Albert Soady Jr. in Escanaba in Love, the middle play in Jeff Daniels’ famous trilogy. Well, no one in this story exactly “tinks straight” but that doesn’t lessen their charm. That loveable Yooper Soady clan is back again in the next production at the Community Theatre of Howell. It will be presented at the Howell High School Freshman Campus, 1400 W Grand River, Howell, on Feb. 5-7 and 12-14.

I checked out this little gem last week at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, and strongly recommend that you go and do likewise. Even if you’ve missed the first two plays in the Escanaba trilogy, this one is a stand-alone prequel to the last prequel. Beginning with Escanaba in da Moonlight, which was a gigantic (and unexpected) blockbuster hit for Jeff Daniels, he went on to write Escanaba in Love which takes place during WWII, and now takes us back to 1922 and the genesis of the fabled Soady deer camp in northern Michigan. 

“No Girls, No Gags, No Chance!!” was the succinct judgment of one smart-alecky critic of the new musical, Away We Go, after its out-of-town opening during a raging snowstorm in New Haven CT in early March 1943 right in the middle of World War II. Virtually everybody connected with the production was convinced that he was involved in an impending disaster.

No stars? No jokes? No chorus line?

Fresh on the heels of Mrs. Lovett's tasty human meat pies in Encore Musical Theatre's recent production of Sweeney Todd, local theatergoers now have another chance to dip into the existential Stephen Sondheim canon with Pinckney Players' current production of Into the Woods.

I have a confession to make. Actually mind-blowing for me. I went to Dexter on a recent rainy afternoon to see the current production of Sweeney Todd at Encore Musical Theatre. Have to say that I went dragging myself every step of the way. This is NOT my favorite show, but I did have several friends in the show – Steve DeBruyne, Diana Obradovich, Kevin Deadman and Madison Deadman, plus other favorites from past shows – so I gritted my teeth and went.

Autumn greetings to all my fellow theatre lovers out there. If you’re reading this, then you probably share my passion for all things remotely theatrical. And how lucky we are to live in a place like Livingston County where we are virtually surrounded by theatres of all kinds – large and small, amateur and professional. Just about any night of the week, except for dark Mondays, we can have our pick of a comedy, a drama, a musical, a variety show……whatever our mood requires.