50 | AUGUST 4 • 2022
I
t’s been 25 years since
Mitch Albom’s book
Tuesdays With Morrie has
been published and almost
that long since the adapt-
ed play has been produced
around the world — except in
Michigan.
That omission is being cor-
rected this year as
the play, written
by Albom and
Jeffrey Hatcher,
appears in six the-
aters around the
state with Michael
Russotto as
Morrie Schwartz
and Cody Nickell as Mitch
Albom.
The book and play relate
the conversational experi-
ences shared by Albom and
Schwartz, Albom’s former
college professor stricken with
ALS (amyotrophic lateral scle-
rosis), which gradually dimin-
ished the man’s capability for
movement.
The play, in conjunction
with the new release of the
book, will be shown in the
cities listed above, starting in
Traverse City and ending in
West Bloomfield. It portrays
the conversations the two
shared about their values and
experiences.
Before the play is acted out,
Albom had a conversation
about its contents and after-
math with the Detroit Jewish
News, and that is summa-
rized here. Ticket prices will
benefit Hospice of Michigan,
Centrica Care Navigators and
Michigan College Alliance.
TALKING WITH ALBOM
JN: What made you decide
to stage this production in
Michigan?
MA: The play debuted in
New York City and did well.
Then they decided to put it
on a national run in 25 cities.
I was in the newspaper and
on radio and ESPN, and there
were a number of theaters in
the area that wanted to do it.
That would have meant play-
ing favorites of some kind. It’s
had close to 600 different pro-
ductions around the world,
including Israel, Switzerland
and India. In conjunction
with the 25th anniversary of
the book, we said we would
bring the show to Michigan.
JN: Any script changes in
this new production?
MA: No. It’s kind of a
timeless play. There aren’t
references to current events
that go on. It’s intimate, loving
and funny. We laughed a lot.
Morrie wanted to laugh and
be silly. We captured a lot of
that in the play.
JN: Have you kept up with
the medical elements in treat-
ing ALS, also known as Lou
Gehrig’s disease?
MA: Very much so, but the
advances are not as I wished.
There are some on the verge
of breakthroughs, some very
promising potential drugs,
some very promising research
that suggests maybe they can
understand this. I’m very
involved with Augie Nieto,
who has ALS and has been
known as a multi-millionaire.
In his late 40s, he contracted
ARTS&LIFE
THEATER
COURTESY OF MITCH ALBOM
VINCENT WAGNER (SHACK)
Mitch
Albom
Tuesdays With Morrie
Mitch Albom’s celebrated play is coming to Michigan.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Details
Tuesdays with Morrie can
be seen according to the
following schedule: Aug.
10-14, City Opera House,
Traverse City; Aug. 17-21,
Wharton Center’s Pasant
Theatre, East Lansing; Aug.
24-28, Kalamazoo Civic
Theatre, Kalamazoo; Aug.
31-Sept. 4, Wealthy Theatre,
Grand Rapids; Sept. 8-11,
Great Lakes Center for the
Performing Arts, Bay Harbor;
and Sept. 14-18, Berman
Center for the Performing Arts,
West Bloomfield. For more
information and tickets, go to
MITCHALBOM.com/TWM25.