Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SMTD) will unveil its new outdoor stage, “OU Outside the Box,” a performing arts festival running April 5 – June 27. The festival will feature performances by SMTD students, artists-in-residents, and faculty in a safe, outdoor setting on the Oakland University (OU) campus. “We are beyond excited to have this opportunity to safely showcase our students and put their work front and center in this performing arts series,” said Amy … [Read more...]
‘OU Outside the Box,’ an Outdoor Performing Arts Festival on Campus
March 31, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance announces recipients of 2021 MaTilDa Awards
March 19, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Every spring Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance recognizes distinguished students and community members with MaTilDa Awards, which are named to honor Matilda Dodge Wilson, who donated the land on which Oakland University is built. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s award recipients were announced virtually on Tuesday, March 16 by Dr. Amy Hardison Tully, director of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance (SMTD); and Kerro Knox 3, professor of theatre and associate … [Read more...]
Rochester Symphony Orchestra announces Young Artist Competition winner
February 8, 2021 by Leave a Comment
The Rochester Symphony Orchestra (RSO) is proud to announce that Violinist Madeline Cha is the recipient of the 2021 Young Artist Competition award. In addition to this award, Cha has won many others: in 2018, she received an honorable mention in the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, in 2019 Cha was the category winner of the Open Strings Junior Division in the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, in 2018 and 2019 she was named the state winner and nationals alternate for the … [Read more...]
REVIEW: You’ve Got Mail! Avon Players’ ‘Forever Christmas: A Virtual Celebration’ is the Musical Christmas Card We All Need this Season
December 17, 2020 by Leave a Comment
When I sat in the audience on March 6, 2020, for the opening night of the Avon Players’ production of Lend Me a Tenor, I, and I daresay those around me had any clue that this would be the last time we saw live theatre for the remainder of the year. Suddenly, ‘intermission’ took on a whole new meaning as the days stretched into weeks and months. Now, we find ourselves deep into December and in desperate need of holiday cheer. Avon Players chooses to close out their 2020 season with Forever … [Read more...]
Oakland University to present virtual, staged reading of playwright Kitty Dubin’s ‘The Marriage Spectrum’ on Nov. 20
November 16, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Play examines the impact on a marriage of having a child on the autism spectrum The Joanne and Ted Lindsay Foundation, Oakland University’s Center for Autism Outreach Services (OUCARES), and the Oakland University Department of Theatre will present a virtual, staged reading of The Marriage Spectrum at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 on YouTube. The play, written by OU Lecturer and Award-Winning Playwright Kitty Dubin and directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre David Gram, The Marriage … [Read more...]
Meadow Brook Theatre Looking Towards the Future
June 23, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Meadow Brook Theatre (MBT) is excited to announce that its box office opened on Tuesday, June 23rd! For the past three months, MBT has been busy searching for solutions to move forward in a way that most closely resembles the theatre everyone knows and loves. "The current pandemic requires that we all remain vigilant in caring for our community and not opening until it is deemed safe to do so," said Cheryl Marshall, MBT's managing director. "At MBT, we are committed to continuing our … [Read more...]
REVIEW: Classical Opera Gets the Slapstick Treatment in Avon Players’ Uproarious Production of ‘Lend Me a Tenor’
March 7, 2020 by 1 Comment
Mention the word ‘opera’ and likely the first image that springs to mind is a woman in a Viking hat with blond braids, wearing a breastplate, and hitting an impossibly high note that can shatter any nearby glass objects. Or perhaps it’s the 1957 Bugs Bunny cartoon “What’s Opera, Doc?” spoofing Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. And while there is such a thing as opera comedies, I find it hard to believe that any opera attendee would ever leave a performance with their sides aching from … [Read more...]
Drama ‘Mary Jane’ Shines a Light on a Mother’s Life with a Chronically Ill Child
March 3, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Running at Meadow Brook Theatre March 18 through April 12, 2020 Mary Jane loves her son, Alex. All she wants is for him to be healthy and happy. However, Alex is chronically ill, which makes life challenging. While Mary Jane is perpetually optimistic, she is also tired and scared. She needs to know she’s not alone. Sometimes support comes from unexpected places, and you learn family isn’t just the people you’re related to. Mary Jane, by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog, runs March 18 … [Read more...]
Laugh Along with the Avon Players’ ‘Lend Me a Tenor’
February 24, 2020 by Leave a Comment
An impresario’s desperation leads to comedic confusion Metro Detroit audiences will get a humorous view of the world of opera as Avon Players presents the classic farce Lend Me a Tenor, running March 6-21 in Rochester Hills, MI. Henry Saunders (Joe Colosi), the general manager of a Midwestern opera company, is primed to welcome the world-famous Tito Morelli (Jonathan Farrell) for his one-night-only appearance as Pagliacci. The star arrives late and is accidentally given a double dose of … [Read more...]
REVIEW: Meadow Brook Theatre’s ‘Working’ Celebrates the Hope and Heart that Built America
February 17, 2020 by Leave a Comment
America was built by men and women who displayed tremendous ingenuity and grit. A new country didn’t happen overnight, so they rolled up their sleeves and put in the work — a lot of hard work. This past Saturday, Meadow Brook Theatre (MBT) paid homage to the plight of the American worker with the musical Working, now playing until March 8 on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Based off the 1974 best-selling book by Studs Terkel, Working shines a spotlight on 26 average … [Read more...]
