REVIEW: Misery Loves Company in Avon Players’ Clever Comedy ‘Drinking Alone’

Drinking Alone centers around a family reunion no one wants to attend, but you should snag a seat for this must-see production running at Avon Players in Rochester Hills, Mich., now through March 23, 2024. Written by Canadian playwright Norman Foster, Drinking Alone combines hilarity and insight into the tribulations of everyday life. Similar to the style American playwright Neil Simon is known for. The plot centers on the Todd family whose dysfunctional dynamics offer up plenty of humor and … [Read more...]

Comedy ‘Native Gardens’ at Meadow Brook Theatre

Hilarious comedy runs March 21 – April 14, 2024, on the campus of Oakland University High-powered lawyer Pablo, and his doctoral candidate, very pregnant wife, Tania have just moved into their dream house. It needs some work, but they’re excited to be next-door neighbors to community stalwarts Frank and Virginia. A disagreement over a long-standing fence line spirals into a hilarious war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement. Will anyone come out smelling like a rose? Or will it all … [Read more...]

Avon Players Presents Romantic Comedy ‘Drinking Alone’

Regret and family resentments ignite in this play with humor and heart Adult siblings reckon with their complicated past with their father as well as their unsatisfying life paths to comic effect as Avon Players presents Drinking Alone, running March 8-23. Joe Todd (Luigi Murri) leads a lonely, dull life dutifully maintaining the family dry-cleaning business. His sister Carrie (Hosanna Phillips) is a local television star whose career is thriving while her marriage falls apart. When their … [Read more...]

Michigan premiere of ‘A Little More Alive’ at Meadow Brook Theatre

Folk-pop musical runs February 14 – March 10 on the campus of Oakland University In this heartfelt and original folk-pop musical, two estranged brothers reunite at theirchildhood home after their mother’s funeral. An unexpected revelation distorts everymemory they have, and as they uncover secrets that had been hiding in plain sighttheir whole lives, Nate and Jeremy find that no one is exempt from the gray areabetween right and wrong. A Little More Alive runs February 14 through March 10, … [Read more...]

REVIEW: Get Inside the Beautiful Mind of Avon Players’ ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’

Wellington is dead and Christopher’s ordered life becomes forever flipped upside down in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time running now through Saturday, February 3, 2024, at Avon Players Theatre in Rochester, Mich. Originally a 2003 mystery novel by British author Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is largely narrated from the first-person perspective of 15-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone (Robert Carrigan) who lives in Swindon, England. … [Read more...]

REVIEW: Say ‘Yes!’ to the Riotous ‘Father of the Bride’ at Meadow Brook Theatre

Dum-dum-de-dum. Here comes the bride… and her very frazzled father! Holy matrimony turns into a cavalcade of chaos in Father of the Bride running now through February 4, 2024, at Meadow Brook Theatre (MBT) on the campus of Oakland University (OU) in Rochester Hills, Mich. Before audiences saw Spencer Tracy and Steve Martin lose their minds in their respective film versions, Father of the Bride began as a 1949 novel by Edward Streeter. Since then, it has been brought to life on stage and … [Read more...]

Save the date for ‘Father of the Bride’ at Meadow Brook Theatre

Classic comedy on the campus of Oakland University Edward Juvier plays the frazzled Mr. Banks in "Father of the Bride. Photo courtesy of Sean Carter Photography Mr. Banks is your ordinary suburban dad who believes that weddings are just simple affairs in which two people get married. When his daughter, Kay, announces her engagement, there’s a wedding on the horizon. He just wants everything perfect for daddy’s little girl, but he feels like his life has been turned upside down. Now his … [Read more...]

Avon Players presents ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’

A startling discovery is but the first step on a path of life-altering exploration A best-selling novel turned much-lauded play will give audience members puzzles to ponder as Avon Players presents The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time running January 19-February 3 in Rochester, Mich. Fifteen-year-old Christopher (Robert Carrigan) has an extraordinary brain: He is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the … [Read more...]

REVIEW: Believe in the Timeless Magic of Avon Players’ ‘Miracle on 34th Street’

‘I’ll believe it when I see it.,’ is a famous phrase. Well, believe me when I say you will want to see Avon Players’ production of Miracle on 34th Street running now through Saturday, December 9, 2023, in Rochester Hills, Mich. Avon Players last staged this show nearly a decade ago and it was refreshing to see the updates made to this production, while still staying true to the spirit of the story so many cherish. For those who may not know, there are two movie versions. The first is the 1947 … [Read more...]

REVIEW: Huzzah! It’s Time to Celebrate ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Meadow Brook Theatre

Every year as the air grows colder, a debate starts heating up – when does the holiday season officially start? Is it when 100.3 WNIC starts playing Christmas music? Or is it when the switch is flipped during Lagniappe and the Big Bright Light Show illuminates downtown Rochester? In my opinion, it is neither. The official holiday season begins when Meadow Brook Theatre (MBT) brings its beloved version of A Christmas Carol to life. And the time to see it is now through Dec. 24, 2023, on the … [Read more...]