The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Entertainment - Thursday, September 10, 1992 - Page 7
THEATER
Continued from page 5
rush tickets on the, night of
performances, but they are ex-
ceptionally hard to get.
If you have transportation, you
lay want to take a short trip to
Chelsea's Purple Rose Theatre. This
quaint 100 seat theater presents five
new productions a year. Hollywood
actor and visiting professor, Jeff
Daniels, is the executive director and
a playwright at the theater. The
shows here are extremely popular, so
be sure to get your tickets in
advance.
A division of the University
*Activities Committee (UAC),
MUSKET, is comprised of students
who produce two shows a year.
Most of the students are in the
Musical Theatre program, but all are
welcome to participate. MUSKET is
important to many students because
it provides an outlet for non-majors
to pursue their dream of acting.
MUSKET chooses one musical
*o perform each term. Past pro-
ductions have included Broadway
hits such as Chess, Evita, and
Cabaret. MUSKET's shows are also
fancy because their budget comes
from a fee collected from each
student's tuition.
MUSKET shows are always
technically challenging and contain a
large amount of talent that would
otherwise go unnoticed because
some actors are non-majors. They
are also appealing because their
student tickets are priced as low as
$5.50.
Another division of UAC, Soph
Show is a smaller musical theater
group that consists only of first-year
MUSKET shows are
always technically
challenging and
contain a large amount
of talent that would
otherwise go
unnoticed because
some actors are non-
majors.
students and sophomores. This year
they will perform a play entitled The
Apple Tree. If you enjoy the Civic
Theatre's Second Stage Productions
you'll probably enjoy this smaller
type of show also.
Innovative and experimental
theatrical productions can be seen at
the Performance Network. In 1981,
the Network was born when six
people got together to experiment
with new work. Later, the concept
was evolved to also include a
performing space.
The Network's showsare always
great to see because they attract
many professionals due to the origi-
nality of the shows they house.
Isabelle, Tiree Ships, and A Shyster
will be performed there in Sep-
tember and this is one of only two
places in North American where this
spoof on Christopher Columbus can
be seen.
The Network also rents it's
performing space so other members
of the community can show off their
talent. The Network's productions
resemble the Civic Theatre's Second
Stage shows, but they are still a little
less glamorous. If you aren't a
serious theater fanatic you may want
to stay away from the sometimes
odd, but original shows performed
here.
One group that produces it's
shows at the Performance Network
is Serpent's Tooth Theatre.
Serpent's Tooth "dedicated to the
production of contemporary Amer-
ican drama."
In addition, the group chooses to
do newer works, by local play-
wrights, that contain socially rel-
evant themes. After some shows,
experts are brought in to lead
discussions on point brought up in
the play. This allows theater to
0
Gwendolyn S. Grote and Erin Dilly in their roles from the University Players' As You Like It, last April.
become, not only entertainment, but
a learning experience as well.
Again, I would advise those of Where to get tiCkets
you are expecting some big pro-
duction to stay away from here as for performanCes
well. Some may find lectures
interesting, but I personally don't
like to get lectured on a night out at ths town
the theater.
As anyone can plainly see, Ann
Arbor is an exciting place to be if A7
you are interested in theater. There
isn't anywhere else in the state Michigan League Ticket Office
where you can see quality theatery764-0450
performances for the same price as a
night at the movies. Purple Rose Theatre - 475-7902
Our generation has been con. University Musical Society- 764-
sistently known as an "electronic-
generation." Hopefully, these trad-2583
itional plays, original productions,
and Broadway musicals, combined MUSKET/SophSh-763-1107
with low student prices will bring Performancek663-0696
many to experience the wonderful
world of the theater. Serpent's Tooth
More information can be ob-
tained at the following numbers:
AACT (313)-971-AACT; Michigan
League Ticket Office (University's
Productions) (313)-764-0450; Purple
Rose Theatre (313)-475-7902; Uni-For showtimes every week,vi(esda h
versity Musical Society (31 3)-764- 'W eedet. it eeyT usdyi h
2583; MUSKET/Soph Show (313)- MiChigan- ;e my.
763-1107; Performance Network
(313)-663-0696; Serpent's Tooth
(313)-437-3264.
Danielle Quisenberry and Chris Stapleton in character from the University Players' The Time of Your Life.
1,