Michelle Thompson News

Curated by Juan Michael Porter II, THE SERIES 2017 presents a versatile range of artistically provocative choreographers in contrasting programs of dance.  At each performance, one or two of the 12 guest companies will share the program with Michael Mao Dance in a set of works that run the gamut from social dance to jazz to contemporary ballet to abstract pieces marked by their German Expressionistic values. The common thread running through each company featured in THE SERIES  is the use of spectacular physical virtuosity to communicate fantastic ideas, June 6-11 at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th Street.

Theatre and Dance at Wayne concludes its 2016-2017 Season with three productions that showcase the scope of the program's dramatic capabilities.

Theatre and Dance at Wayne continues its 2016-17 season at the Hilberry Theatre with a dose of Shakespeare in Twelfth Night. Join us for a performance about the fluidity of life and filled with longing and laughter.

Theatre and Dance at Wayne continues its 2016-17 season at the Hilberry Theatre with a dose of Shakespeare in Twelfth Night. Join us for a performance about the fluidity of life and filled with longing and laughter.

The Hilberry Theatre's version of Next to Normal is one that does the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical justice. It is a powerful production that is filled with emotional and interesting performances by the talented cast. It is the first musical the company has performed since 2009 and they do not disappoint with any aspect. From the cast to the orchestra to set - it is a show that will move you on many levels.

Theatre and Dance at Wayne is presenting the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal from January 27th through February 12th at the Hilberry Theatre. The raw, rock-infused show has music by Tom Kitt with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and it follows Diana Goodman, a suburban mother grappling with worsening bipolar disorder. The show features two separate casts for this vocally challenging production, in which Diana will be played on alternative performance dates by both Devri Chism and Tiffany Michelle Thompson.

Theatre and Dance at Wayne continues its 2016-17 season by bringing together the undergraduate and graduate acting companies on one stage at the Bonstelle Theatre to present A Christmas Carol to audiences of all ages in Detroit. The entire company collaborates to deliver a holiday spectacle of story, song, visual and sensory delight for the season.

Eerily set in the streets of Victorian London, the fantastic cast of the Hilberry Theatre's Dracula company keeps the audience on edge through their exceptional story telling of Bram Stoker's well-known tale in this newly revised adaptation that is unlike any other. It is a version faithful to the original Gothic thriller filled with terror, intrigue, romance, and the struggle between Good and Evil, which leaves no doubt in the mind of the audience that they have witnessed an exceptional piece of Michigan theatre.

A gracious speech given by Jonathan Hollander - Artistic Director of Battery Dance Company - opened the 35th annual Battery Dance Festival. There was a welcome emphasis on all that went into making this festival possible, including calls for thanks to: Council member Margaret Chin and her continued support, American Express for two years of support, Holiday Inn for giving eighty free rooms - for the full run of the festival - to out-of-town artists, Mary McCormick and Funds for the City of New York for their support, Air India for flying the participating artists of India to New York, and the doctors of Weill Cornell who were on standby 'just in case'. Mr. Hollander closed his remarks with a special thank you to the main sponsors of the festival: 'The artists; they do it because they want to be here in front of you, the public.'

Celebrate the spring season with a visit to Midtown Detroit's destination theatre, concluding its 53rd season with the classic farce A FLEA IN HER EAR, written by Georges Feydeau, with a new translation by acclaimed playwright David Ives. Performances begin tonight, April 22.

We all know what it's like. You go to a performance that presents four different pieces, and by the end you swear that you've been seeing the same thing danced all night. It's like asking yourself: where did it start and finish, because you're in a Kafkaesque mode, and all you want is to be rescued into the realm of logic. Why exactly did the curators present this?

Williamsburg Movement & Arts Center and The Moving Beauty Series present THE CO-OP: 6 dancers plus 4 choreographers creating 1 beautiful show, this weekend, April 15th-17th, 2016 at 8:00 PM, at Williamsburg Movement & Arts Center in Brooklyn.

Celebrate the spring season with a visit to Midtown Detroit's destination theatre, concluding its 53rd season with the classic farce A FLEA IN HER EAR, written by Georges Feydeau, with a new translation by acclaimed playwright David Ives.

Now on stage at the Hilberry Theatre at Wayne State University is The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance production of THE GREAT GATSBY.  This moving drama tells the story of greed, betrayal and inequality in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922.  The young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby (played marvelously by Santino Craven) has a  quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan (played beautifully by Devri Chism).  The drama brings the classic 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald to life.

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance continues its 2015-16 season tonight, October 30 at the Hilberry Theatre with the opening of THE GREAT GATSBY. Wayne State University is delighted to present the only authorized stage interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, adapted by Simon Levy, featuring the memorable characters of the story interacting in its famous Gilded Age setting.

Staged readings for the finalists of the 2016 Louise Heck-Rabi Dramatic Writing Festival, hosted by Wayne State University, takes place today, October 22 and Friday, October 23 beginning at 9:00am in the Studio Theatre. Winners of the competition will have their plays presented at The Heck-Rabi Festival which is a unique opportunity for emerging playwrights to see their work produced.

Staged readings for the finalists of the 2016 Louise Heck-Rabi Dramatic Writing Festival, hosted by Wayne State University, takes place on Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23 beginning at 9:00am in the Studio Theatre. Winners of the competition will have their plays presented at The Heck-Rabi Festival which is a unique opportunity for emerging playwrights to see their work produced.

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance continues its 2015-16 season on October 30 at the Hilberry Theatre with the opening of THE GREAT GATSBY. Wayne State University is delighted to present the only authorized stage interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, adapted by Simon Levy, featuring the memorable characters of the story interacting in its famous Gilded Age setting.

Molly Smith directs her 30th production as Artistic Director of Arena Stage with a gritty and relevant take on the Tony Award-winning musical Oliver!, blending the chaotic worlds of 19th-century Victorian London with 2015 London. Smith's new in-the-round staging infuses a modern edge to the classic musical about an innocent orphan thrown into the dark world of double-dealing thieves and conmen, highlighting the disparity between classes and dangerous life on London's streets today. Featuring a remarkable score including 'You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,' 'Consider Yourself,' 'Where is Love?' and 'Food, Glorious Food,' Oliver! runs October 30, 2015-January 3, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.